Hey Friends!
I’m back with another edition of the books bloggers love. Let me just say that I LOVE this link up because I am able to read other bloggers favorite read alouds. My wallet is a little on edge, but we’ll be friends again soon 😉
With that being said, if you have a read aloud that you recommend for next month, leave a comment with the title. I am trying to read more books to my kids so we can discuss theme and other reading skills within the book.
The book I’m sharing with you is, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson.
To be honest, I had NO idea this book existed until a few weeks ago. I was at the Scholastic Reading Summit (blog post soon, eek!) and was definitely eavesdropping over two teachers in the book store #noshame. One teacher pointed to this book and recommended it to her friend.
Now… I GLADLY accept book recommendations, even if the recommendation wasn’t intended for me. I am so glad I was being nosy because this book is WONDERFUL!!
The story is about a new girl named Maya, who is not received well by her peers. Maya wears ragged clothes and old shoes, her peers quickly take notice.
During recess, the kids whisper secrets about her. Maya asks the girls to play time and time again, but the girls always say no.
As a result, Maya plays by herself.
One day, Maya shows up in fancy shoes and a fancy dress. However, her clothes were hand me downs. The kids coined Maya, ‘Never New’, since all her clothes were from a second and store.
The next day, the teacher had a lesson on kindness. She told the kids as she placed a stone in a big bowl, that “This is what kindness does, each little thing we do goes out, like a ripple, into the world”. The teacher then asks the kids to place a stone in the bowl as they share their kind actions.
One of the mean girls quickly realized that she had nothing nice to say, she could only think of her meanness towards Maya.
The next day, Maya’s seat was empty. The teacher told the class that Maya would not be returning to school because her family had to move away.
The little girl’s throat filled with all the things she wished she could say to Maya. She realized that the change of a kindness with Maya because more and more forever gone.
**There is definitely A LOT MORE to this book but I just summed up the main parts**
WOW…
This book has such a sad ending, but a powerful message!
Too often books end in daises and daffodils, but I love that this book ended the way it did. We will be able to have meaningful conversations with our kids that discusses how we should be nice the first time, because we aren’t sure if we’re ever going to get a second chance.
I plan on using these clear stones to imitate the lesson the teacher in the book did. We will each place a stone and think about our kind acts that week
I hope this is a peppy zesty idea for you!
If you would like to read my August read aloud,
Click {HERE}
If you would like to order Each Kindness on Amazon,
Click {HERE}
Win 4 of the books talked about in this link up below!
Kelli
August 10, 2015 at 3:38 pmI have this book!! And I've read it!! And clearly I have forgotten about it! Thanks so much… I'll be adding this book and the activity to my "first week" plans. 🙂
Kelli
Amber Calderon
August 10, 2015 at 3:42 pmHello Kelli!!
That is so funny that you have the book but forgot about it! I do that all the time!
Thanks for stopping by!
Amber 🙂