A LITTLE BIT OF KINDNESS CAN GO A LONG WAY

I finished two picture books today - one cute and one on the more serious side.  

We will start with cute - "It's All About Me-Ow" written and illustrated by Hudson Talbott.  This book was sitting on the cart, waiting to be shelved, and it caught my eye for two reasons.  One - my precious granddaughter likes to call kitty cats "Meeows" and two - one of the kittens on the cover looks a little bit like Motel, her kitty.  So I figured I had best read it!  It's quite adorable - the older, established cat of the household is teaching the new kittens all about the wonders of being a cat and having the appropriate catitude.  My favorite line is, "Purring - saying so much with so little."  If you have cats or if you like cats or even if you don't like cats (it will explain sooo much about cats), this is a must-read.  

The next book is "Each Kindness" by Jacqueline Woodson, Illustrated by E. B. Lewis.  I had the extraordinary pleasure of hearing Ms. Woodson speak at ALA a few years ago.  I don't know about you - but whenever I hear an author or illustrator talk about their work, it just opens up wonderful new layers of understanding behind what they have written and/or drawn.  After hearing her speak at ALA, I read "The Other Side", also illustrated by E. B. Lewis.  So when I heard about "Each Kindness", I knew I wanted to read it also. 

The story is told by Chloe.  One day, the principal brings a new girl into their class and she sits by Chloe.  The new girl tries to be friends, but Chloe does not want to be her friend.  So no matter how many times the girl reaches out to her, Chloe turns away.  The Bible tells us to "put on kindness" in Colossians 3:12.  This books is a gentle reminder of how important that is. 

 It's a picture book so it won't take long to read it - but it will stay with you for a long while.