Each Kindness

Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Illustrator: E. B. Lewis
Key Skills: Social Awareness, Emotions, Perspective, Empathy, Respect, Kindness, Bullying, Regret, Shame, Guilt

This story is about a girl named Chloe and the way she treats Maya, who is a new student. Maya tries to reach out to Chloe and her friends, but is rejected with increasing unkindness at each attempt. They make judgements of Maya’s hand-me-down clothing, making fun of her at a slight distance. Maya stops trying to befriend them and plays alone. One day, their teacher focuses on kindness and how each kindness creates a ripple effect. This experience was powerful to Chloe and she thinks about the way she’s treated Maya. She decides to apologize the next day; however, Maya doesn’t come back. Her family has moved again and Chloe has to live with the choices she’s made.

No, this story doesn’t end on a happy note. Chloe faces shame, guilt, and regret; each of these emotions can be very uncomfortable for children (and with many adults too). This book is a wonderful way to introduce and discuss these emotions. They are uncomfortable and they do sit heavy with students.

Bullying doesn’t make anyone feel better in the end, because that’s what Chloe was doing; she was being a bully and this is another angle you can take with your students. Bullying isn’t always loud and obvious, it can be sneaky and judgmental in the way that Chloe and her friends were behaving. If I’m using this book to talk about bullying, I share two stories with my class. The first is an instance of when I was bullied in school and the second is when I was the bully. I do this to show that I went through a similar transformation as Chloe and decided to do better. The kids are usually surprised to hear this story, but I feel it’s important for them to understand that we are capable of change and we can easily fall into a cycle of poor choices that hurt others (which leads to bullying).

I’ve also used this book to discuss kindness and The Golden Rule. We talk about the importance of welcoming others and inviting others to play or participate. We can talk about how friendships begin and why invitations can help you make more friends.

This book covers every Social Awareness skill: developing perspective, building empathy, appreciating diversity, and building/showing respect for others. There are SO many different ways to use this book! I’ve honestly brought it out throughout the year with different focuses each time. It’s a beautiful story that really reaches students in a way that a slideshow or me talking at them simply can’t do as well.

If you’re interested in purchasing this book, CLICK HERE to get it cheaper than Amazon on AbeBooks! (Also, check out your school or local library. This is one that is usually in stock.)