Rana DiOrio’s book What Does It Mean To Be Kind? is a lovely work of art. The adorable water-colored paintings on every page accompany a wide range of settings that will be familiar to any child. This book should certainly be read and praised when teaching little ones about kindness. It's a story with a message that can be read over and over to a young child, promoting the importance of being helpful and kind to those around us.

The use of bright colors is nothing shy of perfect. DiOrio makes kindness easy to understand by painting a picture that effortlessly illustrates the many forms of kindness. This book is about all of the different ways to be kind: it covers everything from being patient waiting in line, to picking up trash when you see it or giving someone a compliment. There is no negativity, dramatic or scary discussions or questionable topics.

The illustrations take common characteristics of kindness and neatly apply them to different scenarios, making the book both delightful, and easily understood. With the aid of the nicely drawn, richly colored pictures by Stéphane Jorisch, the book helps to promote compatibility. The highlight of the book is the end which prompts the reader and child to practice an act of kindness and reinforces how contagious and beneficial it would make the world a better place by being kind to one another.

What Does It Mean To Be Kind? hits shelves August 25 – pre-order your copy today!

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About the Author

Suzie Chiem

Suzie Chiem is an intern at Mamalode and a student at the University of Montana's Journalism School.