I Am a Kindness Hero

The team behind I Am a Warrior Goddess returns for this companion picture book, which utilizes the refrain “I am” while following a dark-haired, brown-skinned child with blue eyes who is kind in all aspects of life. Lemniscates’s textural artwork shows the child respecting flora, fauna, and fellow humans: surveying a vegetable garden ready for harvest (“I am... a guardian of the Earth”), carrying an elderly woman’s groceries across the street (“Heroes are kind to strangers and to friends”), defending a younger kid (“I fight for kindness when I stand up for others”), and more. Through small, individual acts, the child shows compassion and aims to make the world a better place. Though Adams’s text sometimes veers toward the didactic (“I battle my jealousy when I high-five the winner”), the book should still encourage young readers: “If I fight for kindness, then maybe others will too.” Ages 4–8. [em](Jan.) [/em]