Above image compliments of Random Acts of Kindness #worldkindnessday #makekindnessthenorm
November 13, is World Kindness Day. I’m happy to share that my latest picture book, The Weed That Woke Christmas: The Mostly True Tale of the Toledo Christmas Weed, has been listed on the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) recommended reading list for books about kindness. And it is in good company. I will share a few of my friends’ books that are on the list below. But, I hope you will check out all the books on the list here.
Because I was only allowed one entry, my book An Old Man and His Penguin: How Dindim Made João Pereira de Souza an Honorary Penguin isn’t on the list. But it is also about kindness.
I’m not going to get too carried away talking about kindness because I found a good place for that. The Random Acts of Kindness site has resources for educators and anyone interested in making the world a better place. They have kindness ideas, quotes, posters, videos, stories, and more.
Above image compliments of Random Acts of Kindness #worldkindnessday #makekindnessthenorm
In addition, click here to read their inspiring blog post “Make Kindness the Norm.”
THE CONTEST
I will kick off the Random Acts of Kindness Contest by offering a couple prizes for the contest.
We will have a first place and a second place winner. The winners of the contest will win their choice of the following prizes. The first place winner will get first pick, and the second place winner will choose from the remaining prizes.
• Complimentary access to my picture book writing course Art of Arc
• The collection of my webinars currently available at this date
• A signed copy of An Old Man and His Penguin: How Dindim Made João Pereira de Souza an Honorary Penguin
• A copy of Who Will? Will You? (also on the SCBWI recommended reading list)
What do you need to do?
- For the rest of the month of November, carry out a random act of kindness.
- Comment on this post by sharing what you chose to do for someone else (the random act of kindness).
- Share this post in social media.
- With your comment, include where you shared the post link.
- 1-4 are requirements to be entered in the contest. Number five is just a favor. Please, if you have any of my books and you like them, I would be very grateful for reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and anywhere else you might prefer.
The contest will be over at midnight central time on December 1, 2020. The first place winner will be chosen by Alayne’s choice of the best random act of kindness, and second place will be chosen via a drawing. I will announce winners within two weeks from the end of the contest.
In addition to my friends’ books about kindness (at the end of this post) and those on the SCBWI reading list, I’d like to do one more random act of kindness. My friend Ellen Leventhal’s wonderful picture book A Flood of Kindness is available for pre-order and will be released in April 2021. I’ve ridden along with her as she had her writing journey for this book, and I can attest to its excellence. The book was inspired by Ellen’s personal experiences with floods in Houston, with the most devastating being the result of Hurricane Harvey.
“The night the river jumped its banks, everything changed.”
So begins A Flood of Kindness, a poignant picture book that addresses grief and loss and demonstrates how kindness can bring hope. The story is written in beautifully lyrical spare prose and told from an intimate first-person point of view. Ellen has filled the story with heart and readers “feel” Charlotte’s experience as they follow her watching floodwaters rise in her home until she is forced to evacuate to a shelter with her parents.
I believe Blythe Russo’s fabulous art is going to bring even more emotion to the story, as we “see” what Charlotte experiences.
Some of my friends’ books about kindness.
See the SCBWI reading list for more.
Authors: Dozens of Doughnuts Carrie Finnison, Ready, Set, Gorilla Melissa Stoller, Be Kind Pat Zietlow Miller, Finding Kindness Deborah Underwood
Author Illustrators: Hedgehog Needs a Hug Jen Betton, Hugsby Dow Phumiruk
Illustrators: Brianne Farley, Sandy Steen Bartholomew, Jen Hill, Irene Chan
Good luck with the contest, and remember kindness makes the world go round!
Above image compliments of Random Acts of Kindness #worldkindnessday #makekindnessthenorm
Alayne Kay Christian 