Lend a Hand: Poems About Giving

Gr 1–5—Acrylic and pastel paintings depict children, teens, and adults of varying ages, races and abilities going about their daily routines: eating lunch in a cafeteria, getting a haircut, reading in a library. The accompanying short poems, however, depict simple acts of kindness, adding a further dimension to the book. For instance, the poem "Sandwich" describes a girl offering another student part of her lunch ("At noon, I noticed/the new kid/sitting alone/with only the words of a book/to feed her."), paired with an illustration of the two. It would be easy for a book with this title to hit readers over the head with its message. Instead, this is a gentle book that will add value to any classroom or library collection. For a different angle on the same topic, pair this book with David Ezra Stein's Because Amelia Smiled (Candlewick, 2012).—Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL