I Am a Kindness Hero

PreS-K–A follow-up to Adams’s I Am a Warrior Goddess, which focuses on empowering girls to be leaders in making the world a better place, this title demonstrates the many paths of kindness, as exhibited by a boy with black hair, a white T-shirt, and deep brown skin. Building a home for bees. Helping an elderly woman cross the street. Tying a little sister’s shoes. Standing up to bullies. He demonstrates just some of the numerous ways that a kindness hero shows power and strength by loving, respecting, and helping family, friends, and strangers of all ages. Adams’s clear, direct text, paired with the bold style of Lemniscates’s papercutlike scenes of kindness in action help allay the didacticism of the messages; the heroics take place in an ordinary neighborhood and in snug domestic scenes. The focus is on encouraging gentleness in boys, but the story is accessible to all children. Paired with Adams’s previous book, this may guide parents and caregivers to engage in direct conversations with young children on developing positive character qualities.