Kindness is a quality I admire in people. I always had the desire to try and instill this in my children, knowing it would help me pay more attention to my own attempts to be more aware of treating others with kindness. I am convinced if the world showed more kindness to everyone, we could improve the health of entire communities. When I find books that encourage kindness, I always make a note of them, because I think they are a very important resource for people to have. The following five books are some of my favorites I have read recently that focus on some element of kindness. I hope you enjoy them! Elevator on 74th Street Written by Laura Gehl Illustrated by Yas Imamura New York : Beach Lane Books, 2025. Picture Book. I enjoy books that inspires the use of our imaginations, and a book about elevator that loves the residents of a building will do just that! It is so fun to see the journey of Ellie the Elevator as she takes care of all the people who live in her building. Ellie has ...
Last Day Pool Party By Emma Steinkellner New York: Labyrinth Road, 2026. Comic. 176 pgs. It's the last day of eighth grade and things already feel like they're changing. Dustin, who has never been popular, is hosting a pool party and has invited the whole class. Popular Maya, who used to be Dustin's friend, is attending only because her mom is making her - after she made a prank video that hurt Dustin's feelings. Paul is Maya's cousin who would rather be at home playing video games, but was given the choice of going to the party or his brother's ball game. Liv and Juhi are lifelong best friends who are about to be torn apart, as Juhi is moving to London and Liv feels frantic to find a new bestie. And then there's Rose. Tired of feeling invisible, she is determined to accomplish everything on her eighth grade bucket list in one night. Taking place over the span of just a few hours, this book captures all the angst and excitement of finishing middle school and...