New Year’s Resolutions, Kwanzaa, and More!

I used to have a goal of doing something actively kind every day. This was easier when I doubled as a book buyer in a busy bookstore and as an adjunct professor, but now that I work from home and pretty much see only two people all day long, it’s a little more difficult, and I have to define kindness in different ways. In this adorable and lyrical board book, kindness can be a happy song shared, art for a loved one, or even finding a cozy place to rest. Kindness doesn’t have to be big; it can be in the small things we do every day, and can be directed at both ourselves and others.

This picture book biography collection encourages kids to speak up when they see an injustice. Paul looks at 11 kids who have spoken up against injustice, from Angela Zhang, who devoted herself to science at 14 and discovered a nanoparticle that helps detect cancer early, to 5-year-old Sophie Cruz, who handed a letter to Pope Francis about the plight of immigrants. A poem, a quote, and a paragraph explanation accompanies each profile.

If I set a New Year’s resolution, this will be it. This lyrical picture book encourages the reader to pause, look, and listen to nature. Each page spread shows a scene from nature, from a garden to a meadow to a creek, and an animal hiding within the scene. With good observation skills, the reader can find each animal. The illustrations are really vibrant and lovely.

I love the idea of writing thank-you notes, but I’ve never managed to do so consistently (in no small part because I have difficulty writing with a pen or pencil). Sallie is inspired to write her first thank-you note after her grandmother sends her a knit scarf. This leads her to notice all the people that impact her life in big and small ways, and she begins writing thank-you notes to them all. This picture book gives a really easy formula to follow for writing thank-you notes, and it immediately inspired my daughter to write some!