I know first hand the damage that bullying can have on children, It weighs heavy on your psyche, and emotional well-being. I was determined to find a way to teach children important values to fight the root causes of bullying. I found an old "sketch" and it was my "aha" moment. With continued tweaking, my bubbly hippo was born that I named Bentley.
Sporting his red running shoes, Bentley has become a positive role model for children. He represents resilience, friendship, joy, and kindness. We all grew up hugging a teddy bear, but now it's time for the World to Hug a Hippo. The books I've picked below inspire me and will help kids learn the value of kindness.
Bentley and his friends are en route to the Annual Fair when they hear a fuss at the back of the bus. A crowd has gathered around Toby the elephant, pointing fingers, and making fun of him when the bus finally stops, his glasses are taken from him.
Surprised at this behavior Bentley assures Toby that this will be dealt with. Spending the day at the fair, A cry for help is heard in the distance.
Will Bentley and the others offer their help? Or should they just keep on searching for Toby's glasses?
A sensitive and difficult topic to discuss, children will learn about peer pressure:
different types of bullying
the importance of being kind
that they have a voice and can be heard
how to be a good friend.
This is a wonderful story about self-confidence, self-esteem, and being kind to ourselves.
It is easy to want what others have and oftentimes comparing ourselves brings about negative emotions.
This story teaches us to embrace our differences and accept ourselves as we are.
Johanita is a young girl of African descent who does not like her hair. She has short, tight, kinky curls but wants hair like other girls at school because she believes it will make her more beautiful.
When she goes to the mall with her mother one day, Johanita discovers a salon full of wigs. She proceeds to try on different wigs and wears one to school each day to match with her 'twin'. After a new girl starts school, Johanita discovers that beauty comes in many forms and it isn't your hair that makes you beautiful. 'Hair Peace' was…
An entertaining and educational series where our friendly polar bear continues on his adventure teaching children about climate change and how being responsible and caring for our environment and the planet is a form of kindness that we all benefit from.
Driven from his melting Arctic home in search of food, Captain Polo once again takes to the ocean in his trusty boat. Little does he know about a hidden stowaway with a secret agenda...
"Must read. Fantastically enjoyable graphic novel with an eco-conscious theme - educational and thought-provoking for children and adults alike...[ ]..every bit as enjoyable as other contemporary and classic graphic novels." - Reedsy Discovery
Picking up from the previous books in the series, Pole to Pole sees the now well-seasoned globetrotter Captain Polo back on the ocean waves falling into one adventure after another. After nearly getting…
An adorable book for younger children to learn proper values that help to spread kindness to all including themselves. Teaching kids to be nice, caring, and considerate will help them identify ways of being kind to their family, friends, and those around them.
These charming Wee Bees characters help children learn valuable lessons about caring, loving and being kind to one another. Each unique bee will reveal how they use their "good attitude" in their everyday life.
Being kind is not only doing something, but kindness is also knowing when you are not ready or responsible enough to care for something like a pet. Oftentimes we think of ourselves and our wants and overlook our capabilities and responsibilities.
So many children think puppies are so cute, and they desperately want one, not truly understanding the responsibility that comes along with it. This novel is about a little boy who was one of those kids who desperately wanted a puppy, or so he thought. He learns the cost of having a puppy, both financially and physically. Teachers, parents, and students will find an extension activity at the end of this novel that tie Reading, Language Arts, Writing, and Math together with one story. Students are asked to find the total amount this family spent, research specific breeds, and calculate…
When children are raised with proper social skills and values, it reflects in their behaviour towards others. This is a story about
teaching proper manners and behaviors, and children will be able to identify and apply positive actions and kindness.
Henry learns the importance of manners when he wakes up one morning without them. Follow Henry as he goes through his day and watch his manners try to catch him.
I am adopted. For most of my life, I didn’t identify as adopted. I shoved that away because of the shame I felt about being adopted and not truly fitting into my family. But then two things happened: I had my own biological children, the only two people I know to date to whom I am biologically related, and then shortly after my second daughter was born, my older sister, also an adoptee, died of a drug overdose. These sequential births and death put my life on a new trajectory, and I started writing, out of grief, the history of adoption and motherhood in America.
I grew up thinking that being adopted didn’t matter. I was wrong. This book is my journey uncovering the significance and true history of adoption practices in America. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women’s reproductive rights places an even greater emphasis on adoption. As a mother, historian, and adoptee, I am uniquely qualified to uncover the policies and practices of adoption.
The history of adoption, reframed through the voices of adoptees like me, and mothers who have been forced to relinquish their babies, blows apart old narratives about adoption, exposing the fallacy that adoption is always good.
In this story, I reckon with the pain and unanswered questions of my own experience and explore broader issues surrounding adoption in the United States, including changing legal policies, sterilization, and compulsory relinquishment programs, forced assimilation of babies of color and Indigenous babies adopted into white families, and other liabilities affecting women, mothers, and children. Now is the moment we must all hear these stories.
Who Is a Worthy Mother?: An Intimate History of Adoption
Nearly every person in the United States is affected by adoption. Adoption practices are woven into the fabric of American society and reflect how our nation values human beings, particularly mothers. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, the renewed debate over women's reproductive rights places an even greater emphasis on adoption. As a mother, historian, and adoptee, Rebecca C. Wellington is uniquely qualified to uncover the policies and practices of adoption. Wellington's timely-and deeply researched-account amplifies previously marginalized voices and exposes the social and racial biases embedded in the United States' adoption industry.…
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