Three books that get students thinking about kindness and connecting with others

The second graders are focusing on kindness for Picture Book Month. Today's theme was thinking about how we connect with others.

Today's read aloud books included: Why Am I Me? written by Paige Britt and illustrated by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko; We're All Wonders written and illustrated by R.J. Palacio; and, Be a Friend, written and illustrated by Salina Yoon. What follows is a bit about each of the books we read, along with the students' thinking after reading the book. This was a #heartmelt kind of day. 

We started with Why Am I Me?  I used the Elmo (document camera) to project and read on the whiteboard. This allowed students to both appreciate and read closely the paint and collage illustrations, which are beautiful, engaging, and thought-provoking. Qualls and Alko's art places Paige Britt's narrative in a space that readers can think and explore. Two young children silently share thoughts about their place in the world and eventually cross paths with the understanding that they are part of a bigger whole -- not you and me, but we. It's quietly deep and beautiful.

With the context of needing to recognize who we are before we can connect with others, the students shared their thinking about themselves on a poster. 

I was planning to leave the middle space, where the faces overlap, blank to talk about the "we" and finding commonalities and connections with others (which we did during our brief discussions), but forgot to let the students know. I am okay with this though because their comments about themselves show the commonalities and connections.

"I am a bundle of joy."

"I feel like a good dancer."

"I am a daughter."

Having thought about themselves and finding connections with others, we read the next book, We're All Wonders.  Told with with tenderness, this book's message is empowering and hopeful. Like the narrative, the art is both light and deep. Palacio's narrative and art offers readers insight into what it feels like to be different than those around you and to be teased because of it. We can read the body language, we know how this feels -- escaping into his helmet, our young boy reassures himself that the Earth is a place that is big enough for everyone and all of our differences. If we just look, we can see that we're all wonders. 

Thinking about others, the students shared how their classmates are wonders - what it is they see in each other.

With a sense of who we are and  how we see others, it was time to cement our connection with others. We read, Be a Friend, a book these students read in kindergarten. (These second graders shared strong memories of this book and started miming before I cracked the cover.) Yoon's story about seeing and being seen perfectly compliments the other books we read. Once again, an important message is handled with tenderness. The Mime Boy, who feels invisible, is finally noticed by Joy, a young girl who understands that friends don't need words to communicate. Yoon's appealing and engaging illustrations along with her use of the color red ensure that readers focus on what's important.  

The students were asked to think about how they show kindness - the things they say and do for each other. They could also illustrate acts of kindness on cards, like Salina Yoon's endpapers in the book.

How are you celebrating?

ReedALOUD: Be a Friend

Today my kindergarten students and I read 

Be a Friend by Salina Yoon 

published by Bloomsbury. 

We had a great time.

Before reading the book, we talked about Picture Book Month and how picture books help us understand situations, like finding and making new friends. I asked the students if they had ever had a hard time making a friend, here are a few responses:

After that discussion, the students gave advice on how to be a friend:

I showed the students the cover of the book and explained that Dennis is a mime. We then explored what it is to be a mime and communicate with only expressions and body language. I modeled this with the students. If I had more time, I would have had the students explore miming emotions with each other. I plan to do this with my first graders.

We next looked at the jacket art and the case art. The students were curious to know how this heart pin fit into the story.

They were quick to discover the answer and see its importance. They are close readers. (It belongs to Dennis, but he gives it to Joy, his new found friend.)

The students also loved the heart shape repeating in the invisible jump rope.

This book inspired many important conversations around friendship. I think the illustrations left just the right amount of thinking space for the students to connect with the story but also make it their own.

Salina's spare use of narrative complements the story and allows her art to take center stage, which is fine, because these illustrations are something special and powerful. We feel elation in scenes like this...

...and feel sadness in moments like this.

(Although I love that my kindergarten students felt like he did have a friend in the little blue bird.)

I was also interested that Dennis was the topic of an important conversation in one of my classes. 

One class of students wanted to talk about why Dennis did not use his voice. They offered these reasons. I am heartened by their openness.

"Maybe he can't talk because his throat hurts."

"Maybe he just doesn't want to."

"Maybe he can't talk because he's sick."

"Maybe he doesn't want to talk."

"Maybe he's scared to talk."

Be a Friend is a beautifully-illustrated book will inspire conversations and warm the hearts of all readers.

After reading the book, students had time to draw what friendship looks like:

Be a Friend will hit bookstores in January. Keep your eye out for it!