How to Be Kind in Kindergarten by D.J. Steinberg
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by AstilbeFrom the best-selling author of the hugely popular Kindergarten, Here I Come!, here’s a guidebook in verse that shows children how to be kind in the new and exciting world of kindergarten.
Small enough to fit in a child’s backpack, this collection of short poems–one to a page–spans the entire year of kindergarten, offering sweet and simple tips on how to be your best self–sharing your umbrella with a friend; taking turns on the swings, and inviting someone to join in a game. This is the perfect companion to DJ Steinberg’s enormously successful Kindergarten, Here I Come!
It’s never too early to teach someone how to love others.
This picture book did an excellent job of showing young readers many examples of how they can show kindness to others at school. I loved seeing the wide variety of ideas the author had to share. There were examples for all sorts of kids, from talkative and outgoing ones who make friends easily to shyer children who might appreciate quieter methods of helping others feel welcome. It was also wonderful to see kids from so many different backgrounds represented in this tale. Kindness is more than just about making others feel included. Sometimes it can be a powerful way to fight back against many different types of discrimination as well!
I did find myself wishing that all of the examples had been arranged into a more defined storyline, however. They came across as anecdotes or specific moments in time instead of, say, showing a group of students learning how to treat each other kindly throughout the course of a single school day or something similar to that. If the scenes had been arranged more thoughtfully, I would have eagerly picked a higher rating for this.
The rhymes were well written. I found myself reading them out loud to no one in particular simply because they sounded so nice together. This was definitely something that works best that way, especially once I got into the rhythm of it and began to guess which words might be paired together next. It was the sort of poetry I would have loved as a preschooler and kindergartener.
How to Be Kind in Kindergarten was a beautiful reminder of just how important it is to treat others well no matter who they are or what they look like.
