Charlesbridge | 978-1623542290
Did you know that more than half of the world’s refugees are children? It’s not hard to imagine the upheaval of leaving all that is familiar, including your homeland, friends, and family members in search of a place of safety and hope.
COUNTING KINDNESS: Ten Ways to Welcome Refugee Children: by Hollis Kurman, illustrated by Barroux is a gentle introduction to the topic of immigration and the ways in which small kindnesses can lift a child’s spirit and help bring a measure of security at a time of extraordinary vulnerability.
One boat helping us on our way.
Two hands lifting us to safety.
Three meals filling us up.
A bed, a book, a gift of things that are liked and needed (a soccer ball and clothing), a welcoming teacher, and new friends. Can such simple kindnesses make an impact? I believe they can.
In a complicated world where sides are chosen and solutions are nuanced and often harder to implement than we would like, each smile, each extended hand, each small kindness reminds readers of the power of a welcoming community.
How easy it is to forget that – as the old Joan Baez song (written by Phil Ochs) goes -“there but for fortune go you or I.”
While the ability to understand and share the feelings of another may not be quite as simple as “putting yourself in another person’s shoes,” it is, at the very least, a place to start.
Other picture books on Kindness:
- THE POWER OF ONE – Every Act of Kindness Counts by Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Mike Curato
- BE KIND by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jen Hill
- THE KINDNESS BOOK by Todd Parr
- EACH KINDNESS by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B. Lewis
