Tag: kindness

A Thoughtful New Look at Bullying and Hunger

Lynn: Lunch every dayKids have dealt with bullying through the ages and many youth books involve that issue.  So while it is not unusual to address bullying, it is rare to find a new approach to an old but serious issue. Kathryn Otoshi does just that in her new book, Lunch Every Day (KO Kids Books, 2022)

Powerful and emotional, Otoshi’s remarkable picture book is told from a young bully’s point of view, providing readers with a glimpse of what may propel his actions targeting “skinny kid.” Without excusing the bullying, the story asks readers to consider the large issues of abuse, bullying, power, and empathy. That is a lot in one short picture book but Otoshi does it brilliantly and in a pitch-perfect voice for young readers.

The moving act of kindness by skinny boy’s mother moved me to tears and is all the more remarkable as this story is based on the real-life experience of Jim Perez, a well-known anti-bullying educator.

What a discussion starter this book is!!!! Perfect for story-hours and classrooms!

Cindy: The fall holiday food drives are upon us, and it was always hard to watch the homeroom competitions for highest contributions when I knew that more than half of our student population qualified for free or reduced lunches due to poverty level. I’m always reminded of a rant that singer-songwriter Harry Chapin did on a live album. “What are these kids going to eat the next day?” Solving world hunger is a bigger problem than one picture book can address, but the act of kindness here is a good start. And so is showing that bullying almost always stems from deeper problems.

In addition to the moving story, Otoshi’s illustrations are strikingly effective and create a feel of smudgy chalk. Bold lines and intense colors provide a sense of mood while the facial details are often indistinct. This changes abruptly in the scenes with the mother talking to the bully in a subtle choice that emphasizes the power of the moment.

I do hope that Otoshi and Perez’s story makes it into every school library and classroom. Every kid should have Lunch Every Day.

I Talk Like a River – A Perfect Pairing of Text and Illustration

Cindy:  It mystifies me that people can still be mean to others for their looks, their disabilities, and other things out of their control. Little is more isolating or heartbreaking than the loneliness of being singled out or mocked or bullied for something that is just a part of who you are. No matter how many “Kindness Matters” or “Be Kind” movements there are, we still have work to do to spread compassion. I Talk Like a River (Holiday/Neal Porter Books, 2020) by Jordan Scott and illustrated beautifully by Sydney Smith, shines a light on one such effort. The young boy in this book stutters. With poetic metaphor, Scott writes of words that take root and stick and turn to dust in his mouth. Speaking aloud in front of a class often makes for a “bad speech day.” His father can tell and offers to “go somewhere quiet.” They head to the river, a favorite place, where his father one day points out the movement in the river, the bubbling, churning, whirling, crashing. But after the rapids are calm places where the river flows smoothly and he tells his son, “You Talk Like a River.” That line comes from Scott’s own father, who helped him with his own stuttering. This will make a beautiful read aloud in a classroom and would pair well with Jacqueline Woodson’s Each Kindness.

Lynn: We were lucky enough to see this book in galley at a Midwinter preview a year ago and it has been on my to-read list ever since. The finished copy is even more outstanding than I remembered. Sometimes the text of a picture book and the illustrations aren’t always equal in quality but that is not the case here. Rarely have I seen a case of the two coming together so perfectly. The text is deeply moving with writing that is ideal for a young audience and metaphors that every child can grasp.

“The P in pine tree grows roots in my mouth and tangles my tongue.

The C is a crow that sticks in the back of my throat.”

The illustrations are perfectly partnered with the text. Some are luminously beautiful, especially the scenes of the river. Some are ominous and threatening such as when the class has turned to stare when the boy is called on to answer in the classroom. Using watercolor, ink, and gouache, illustrator Sydney Smith’s art doesn’t just extend the text, it amplifies each emotion and experience. There is a gatefold center spread that opens to a shimmering image of the boy standing in the river backlit by the sun that is stunning! There are no words here but the images refract the overall healing sense of the place, the experience, and the father’s love and support.

Readers will come away from this book with a clear sense of the struggles the child experiences with his stutter and that is valuable. Perhaps more valuable is the underlying knowledge that the child is loved, supported, and understood and the strength that provides.

Update: We had this post in the queue and missed getting it published before the book was honored at ALA Midwinter with a 2021 Schneider Family Book Award for Younger Children. Congratulations!