BOOK MARKED
Teaching Kids
to be Kind
In honor of Random Acts of Kindness Week, which starts
on Feb. 16, we partnered with the Random Acts of Kindness
Foundation to share 12 books that offer parents and
teachers an opportunity to explore kindness concepts and
social and emotional learning with children of all ages.

PRESCHOOL ‘A Ball for Daisy’
Masterful wordless artwork captures a
small dog’s roller coaster of emotions as
she loses a beloved toy but unexpectedly
gains both a new toy and a new friend in
this award-winning title.

‘Be a Friend’
By Salina Yoon
A young boy, whose unusual way of commu-
nicating leaves him feeling lonely at school,
finds an understanding new friend in this
quiet story about discovering commonalities
and accepting differences.

‘Dee Dee and Me’
By Amy Schwartz
A little sister grows tired of being bossed
around by her older sister and finds a new
assertive voice in this pitch-perfect offer-
ing that captures authentic everyday sibling
squabbles and reconciliations.

EARLY ELEMENTARY
‘Invisible Boy’
By Trudy Ludwig
Illustrated by Patrice Barton
Inventive illustrations that move from
gray tones to full, bright color capture a
boy’s loneliness and then joy when he finds
friendship among his classmates.

‘A Sick Day for Amos McGee’
By Philip C. Stead
Illustrated by Erin E. Stead
In this Caldecott Medal-winning book, an
exceptionally big-hearted zookeeper finds
his role reversed after he falls ill and is cared
for by his beloved animals.

‘What Does It Mean to Be Kind?’
By Rana DiOrio
Illustrated by Stéphanie Jorisch
After a young girl helps a new student feel
welcome, kindness spreads throughout a
community, one act at a time.

MIDDLE GRADE
‘Absolutely Almost’
By Lisa Graff
A young boy with learning challenges nav-
igates a new school with help from a new
sitter and others in this heartfelt novel.

52 Washington FAMILY FEBRUARY 2020
GETTY IMAGES/E+/PRESCHOOL: NICOLA KATIE; ELEMENTARY: LJUBAPHOTO;
MIDDLE SCHOOL: FANGXIANUO; ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS/YOUNG ADULT: ANTONIO_DIAZ
By Chris Raschka



Happy
BOOK Birthday,
MARKED Judy Blume!
‘The One and Only Ivan’
By Katherine Applegate
Illustrated by Patricia Castelao
This Newbury Medal-winner and No. 1
New York Times bestseller tells a story of
life-changing friendship, humane treat-
ment of animals and the power of art — all
from a gorilla’s perspective.

‘Raymie Nightingale’
By Kate DiCamillo
Three girls, each navigating her own
heartbreak, form a fierce, unlikely friend-
ship over the course of a summer in this
moving novel.

YOUNG ADULT
GETTY IMAGES/E+/PRESCHOOL: NICOLA KATIE; ELEMENTARY: LJUBAPHOTO;
MIDDLE SCHOOL: FANGXIANUO; ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS/YOUNG ADULT: ANTONIO_DIAZ
‘Counting by 7s’
By Holly Goldberg Sloan
After her parents’ death, Willow finds a
family of supportive friends who are as
quirky and idiosyncratic as she is in this
novel about resilience, community and
kids (and adults) who don’t fit neatly
into categories.

‘Sorta Like a Rockstar’
By Matthew Quick
Despite a tough life of uncertain
housing with her alcoholic mom, 17-year-
old Amber remains a self-proclaimed
“princess of hope” as she cares for her
rescue dog and grows deeply involved in
her community.

Each month we celebrate
a bithday of literary
significance. Judy Blume was born in Elizabeth,
New Jersey, on Feb. 12, 1938. As a
young child, she
enjoyed letting
her imagination
run wild but never
dreamed she’d
become a writer.

As an adult,
Blume continued
to make up stories in her head, and
when her kids were in preschool,
she decided to start writing
them down.

Some of her most popular titles
include “Are You There God? It’s
Me, Margaret,” “Blubber,” “Just as
Long as We’re Together,” and the
five-part “Fudge” series. Many of
her books are set in New Jersey,
where Blume grew up, as well as
locations where she has lived as
an adult, such as New Mexico
and Connecticut.

In addition to her beloved
children’s books, Blume has also
written bestselling novels for
adults. Her most recent, “In the
Unlikely Event,” was published
in 2015.

Throughout her career, Blume’s
books were frequently censored by
the American Library Association.

Because of that, she became a
champion for free speech, fighting
to keep challenged books on the
shelves and currently sits on the
board of the National Coalition
Against Censorship.

Today, Blume splits her time
between New York City and Key
West, Florida, where she and her
husband own an independent,
nonprofit bookstore. They
have three children and one
grandchild, whose first word was,
appropriately, “book!” ■
‘Marcelo in the Real World’
By Francisco X. Stork
A boy who falls on the high-functioning
end of the autism spectrum faces an eth-
ical challenge when he stumbles across
revealing evidence at his summer job at a
law firm. ■
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