ianreadstokids reviewed Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer
"Kindness is reaching out"
4 stars
Can a picture book made for babies change how you think about the world?
When I first read this I was like "sure, kindness makes us strong." It's such a simple book, it can't have that much to say, right? It's just a series of short vignettes demonstrating ways to be kind.
But then, as I read it over and over each night, I started to get invested in these kids and their vibrant intergenerational world. I mean, one kid is so slow he's literally losing a footrace to a snail, but his friends still stick around to cheer for him. I started to think "you know what, kindness makes us strong!" Out there in the adult world, sometimes the best skier on the planet waits around at the finish line to catch the skier in dead last and congratulate him. In case you were wondering, the …
Can a picture book made for babies change how you think about the world?
When I first read this I was like "sure, kindness makes us strong." It's such a simple book, it can't have that much to say, right? It's just a series of short vignettes demonstrating ways to be kind.
But then, as I read it over and over each night, I started to get invested in these kids and their vibrant intergenerational world. I mean, one kid is so slow he's literally losing a footrace to a snail, but his friends still stick around to cheer for him. I started to think "you know what, kindness makes us strong!" Out there in the adult world, sometimes the best skier on the planet waits around at the finish line to catch the skier in dead last and congratulate him. In case you were wondering, the slow kid and the snail show up later in the book as friends.
Bad things still happen in the world of the book. Sometimes you break your drum or eat shit on your roller skates, but when that happens your friends and neighbors show up for you, and care for you when you need care. That's the kind thing to do.
So in January 2026, when Donald Trump sent an army of violent, lawless ICE agents to Minneapolis to wage a campaign of racial violence, and the people of our city started taking shifts to put themselves in between those thugs and our neighbors, I was like "Well, yeah. Kindness makes us strong."