Butterfly Wings - almost a year late

I wrote this post back in May 2018, and never posted it because I was called away.  Every news cycle makes the theme of this post more and more relevant.

Kindness - once a virtue that everyone tried to emulate, kindness appears to be the exception.  It doesn't get attention, or bring in the big bucks.  So, authors jump into the void and provide books that make kindness the answer to our problems.

Together at Midnight by Jennifer Castle follows two teens who witnessed an accident and felt that they might have intervened in time to stop it.  Challenged by a waitress to complete a certain number of kind acts by midnight on New Year's Eve, the teens do the best they can.  Each kindness is followed by a chapter detailing the recipient's story.

Captain Superlative by J.S. Pullar. A mysterious student dons a costume - including a cape - and races through the halls of a middle school doing good deeds.  When shy Janey follows suit, the "hero" gains an unlikely sidekick.

One of the biggest kindnesses is adoption - opening your home to a stranger's child - like the kindness in this post's featured book.

If Only by Jennifer Gilmore - when Ivy's mother was Ivy's age, she had Ivy.  Then, she tried to find the best adoptive family for Ivy.  This book tells of Bridget's choices in finding a home for her child, and it tells of Ivy's search for her birth mother.

That brings me to my story:
17 years ago, my brother and his wife adopted a little boy.  I remember my first meeting with him - a wispy haired whirlwind of laughter and madness - tearing around their rented home in his diaper.  Madcap, unpredictable, he made his parents so happy.

 They knew that he might have serious learning disabilities.  They did not care.  As he grew, they met each challenge with all the determination of Mama and Papa Bear.

He had attention issues and was VERY hyperactive.  Spending time with him was hilarious and frustratingly tiring.  

When he entered High School, they discovered that the private school education - a great school, known for its work with learning disabilities - had not taken hold.  They had two choices; place him in special education or find another specialized school.

They sent him away to the Gow School in South Wales, NY.  On Friday, he graduated from Gow, with an acceptance to college.

In If Only, the teenage daughter wonders if she is the best possible version of herself.  The book records her teenaged mother's attempt to find the perfect adoptive family for her baby.  Each "possible" family is given a chapter.

If my brother and sister-in-law had not adopted their son, would he be a different version of himself?

All I can be sure of is this.  Watching my nephew graduate made me proud.  The speeches that he and his classmates had to give before they got their diplomas told similar stories.  Before they got to that school, many had been told they would never graduate, never go to college, never amount to much at all.

My nephew is lucky to have parents who were willing to put their financial security at risk to educate him.  The world would be so much better if all students had this kind of support.

Kindness - big, small and in between - is always the right choice.

PS.  He finishes his first year of college in May.  He has done very well.

Woes! Wants! Wishes!

WOES!

My iMac died.  Seven years of trouble-free operation - except for the time it fell off its shelf, smacked me in the head and got a crack in the screen -and now, static and frozen screen.  Apple Support told me my computer is Vintage or Obsolete.  Note the capital letters - their choice, not mine.

All my photos and files are on that computer.

I bought an external hard drive and backed up the aforementioned files but I need a Mac to open them.

 I bought a PC laptop along with a year of Microsoft Office.  I thought my iMac had been resuscitated and would live forever.  WHY!!!???  I should have bought a MacBook.!!

(My Office log in card has not arrived - minor woe.)

WANTS!
Kindness!  Honestly, I want that more than anything.  The system we had to process asylum seekers worked for over 90% of cases.  Slap on an ankle bracelet and send them off to find a place to stay.  Call them back for their day in court.  Cheaper for tax payers and so much kinder than separation and imprisonment.  Donate to RAICES or ASAP.**

Renewable energy!   This is a no brainer.  Energy companies will quickly find a way to make money off of renewables, so they should just make solar, wind, wave and geothermal energy more readily available. Ecotech Institute of Colorado features 8 renewable energy organizations here.

Clean Water!  Puerto Rico, Flint, MI, and a large part of the Third World do not have clean water.  Clean the water!
For organizations and charities that work to provide clean water to Third World Countries, read this article. 
Unidos, The Hispanic Federation's Puerto Rico Relief initiative is still in operation.  Mercy Corps also collects and distributes water in Puerto Rico.
Flint, MI, suffers from being poor, black and not fun to report.  It is hard to find organizations that help with the water situation in Flint.  Don't get me started about the awful source of this problem.  (GREED!  POLITICS!  GREED! )  Most of the articles found in an internet search are 2 years old or older.
The City of Flint is offering bottled water and water filters to its residents.  This initiative began in April, 2018 (huzzah).  Scroll down on their page to find out how you can donate money and/or water to Flint's residents.

WISHES!
OK.  This is the me! me! me! portion.


**I wish you would all go to Chiles' Play on Amazon and/or Bandcamp and buy a CD or song.  WHY? Because we will donate 10% of the purchase price of every CD to ASAP.  This offer also extends to CDs you buy from me or Dan.  

Did you already buy the CD? Say something nice about the CD on Amazon and we will donate 10% of YOUR purchase price to ASAP.  Comment below to let me know when you do comment on Amazon.

 

#benefit, #Chiles' Play, #immigration, #RAICES, #Cleanenergy

Secret Agents of Good - Kindness

Someone dropped off the New York Times Book Review between my front doors today.  The page was opened to this review.

You Can’t Teach Kids Empathy, but These Picture Books Inspire It

I'd like to say a public THANK YOU to that Secret Agent of Good.

Little Blue Bunny and I are trying to think of SAOG activities for the Fall.  Our friend, Scootaloo, picks litter up in her neighborhood.  She wears gloves and has one of those long handled grabbers.  Scoot is almost six year old.

The kids in First Day School bake cookies for Young Friends who are attending college away from home and for other Friends in the hospital or Assisted Living Centers.

LBB made a list of stuff to do in a classroom or at home.  And I collected book lists and activity websites to spread the word. 

  

Secret Agent of Good Activity List

1.  Classroom Activity: Make a bingo card with kind acts on it... The first person to cross off a row or column gets to wear the Kindness crown or necklace or medal.

2. Hold the door for someone.

3. Ask someone to play with you.

3. Share a crayon, marker or pencil.

4. If someone is upset, say something nice,  "Do you need someone to sit with you?"  "Do you need help?"

5. Tell someone something nice about themselves.  "You have good ideas."  "You are funny."  "You are a great climber."  "I like the way you twirl."

6. Give someone a high five when they get the answer right.  This is especially important for kids who work harder at getting right answers.

7. Don't let anyone sit by themselves at lunch or in the playground.

8. School Activity - Ask someone you don't know very well what they like to do after school.  They might do something that's so cool.

9. Smile at someone.  Smile at grown-ups. (Don't talk to them much, though, unless you know them OR your grown-up is with you.)

10. Offer to carry something for someone - especially if they have several things to carry.

11. Let someone else go first in line or at the playground.

12. Make someone a picture, a card, a friendship bracelet...

13. Fist bump someone and smile while you do it.

14. Pick things up from the floor.

15. Help straighten up after crafts.

Some Books to Read to Get Inspired.

Brightly's list of kindness picture books.

 Candlewick's Classroom for August.  Great books (all from Candlewick) about Social Emotional Learning (self-awareness, social awareness, responsible decision making, relationship skills and self-management) or SEL. 

Activity Websites for Craft Ideas and More

Kindness Rocks are everywhere.  Look for them during your morning walks. Here is Mod Podge's take on this cool craft idea.

Cootie catchers used to be a playground torture device -  or a game to see what we'd be when we grew up.  Now you can use these folded paper toys to suggest kind things to do.  From Coffee Cups and Crayons, here are ideas on making a Kindness Cootie Catcher (or Fortune Teller, if you prefer).

Playworks offers 12 activities to encourage kindness in children.

List My Five - an educator's blog - offers five classroom activities that promote an atmosphere of kindness.

Random Acts of Kindness is a world wide effort to make everyone's life smoother by urging people to just do kind things.  They have a Kids' Activity Page.  Check it out.

Little Blue Bunny and his friends remind you to be kind and to become Secret Agents of Good.

Secret Agents of Good - Booklists

Little Blue Bunny does not watch the news.  If he did, he'd be very sad this week. People all over the world are hurting and killing other people for no good reason.  (The details make my heart ache too much to go into.)

How can I explain all this to a Little Blue Bunny who only wants to be a Secret Agent of Good?  I can't.  I can only say what Mr. Rogers quoted his mother as saying.  "Look for the Helpers, Little Blue Bunny."

Can that Panda be a helper?

I can also share lists of books on the fight for equal rights, on kindness, and on diversity.  Here are those lists.

In December of 2016, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch posted an article titled 1. "New Books for Young Readers Tackle Kindness and Friendship.  THIS LIST IS AWESOME.  The list is a wild mix of stories, history, slice-of-life, coming-of-age,  novels, graphic novels that tackle every aspect of kindness.  From something as ordinary as the day to day life of a cowboy, to different species combining resources to survive the wild, to learning how to fit in,  every title increases the readers understanding of the complexity of human problems and the simplicity of being kind.  LOVE 💖
(Warning: You might have to fill out a short survey to read the entire article.  My survey was on what kind of cheese sauce I buy.)

Social Justice Books put together 2. this 2017 summer reading list for readers of all ages.  The titles are 2016 and 2017 copyrights.  Check out the other booklists on this website. There are dozens of lists.

Brightly offers a list of 3. "Books To Help Kids Understand the Fight for Racial Equality".  The list is a good place to start.  From picture books, through memoirs the list traces voting rights, the "separate and equal" myth, and biographies of influential rights workers.  This list is too short.  Add to it, please.

NNSTOY (Nation Network of State Teachers of the Year) produced a lovely illustrated and annotated 4. booklist on Social Justice.  The list is 42 pages long and covers racism, sexism, different abilities, gender bias, abuse, slavery, war, apartheid, the Holocaust, religious freedom.  Print it out and carry it with you the next you take your children to the library.

Today's Parent (a Canadian parenting magazine) offers 5. 12 Kids' Books That Combat Anti-Semitism.  This slide show offers short descriptions of 12 books that explain Jewish holidays, culture and most importantly, history.  Books about the Holocaust and more recent acts of anti-semitism (although not all that recent) allow children of all faiths to see models of kindness and character.

The Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin developed this bibliography of children's books on social justice in 2003 and updated it twice, most recently in 2016. 6. 50 Books about Peace and Social Justice.

Back in November, less than a week after my birthday, the day after the 2016 elections (sigh),  I put together this little list of booklists about diversity.  Diversity and Stuff.  

Little Blue Bunny and I will continue to spread joy and kindness where we can.  You are loved.  Pass it on.

Books of December - Kindness (Candlewick - Publisher Spotlight)

Today in my inbox, Candlewick sent me a little post on Bob Graham's books that promote kindness.  Kindness is in short demand these days, even now, during the holiday season.

Candlewick Press concentrates on books for young readers.  

Here's a little more about Bob Graham.

MORE BOOKS ABOUT KINDNESS:

One Winter's Day by M. Christina Butler.  Hedgehog must find a new home.  Along the way, he discovers friends who are even colder than he is.  Adorable pictures, simple words tell the story of kindness repaid.









The Most Perfect Snowman by Chris Britt.  Drift, one of the first snowmen of the winter has been thrown together and forgotten.  Then, he gets everything he dreams of, scarf, hat, gloves.  When a terrible storm blows in, Drift has to decide... does he keep his wonderful gifts or share them with others?

A Heart Full of Kindness

I just received a copy of Mara Rockliff's new book,  My Heart Will Not Sit Down.        I cried.

 Although the story is fiction, Rockliff was inpsired by a true event.  In 1931, New York City received $3.77 from the people of Cameroon.  The money was to feed the hungry children, victims of the Great Depression.

How did the illiterate and poverty-stricken people of Cameroon even know about the Great Depression?  Rockliff imagines a mission teacher telling his classroom about the hungry children in his home village, New York City.  One of his students, a girl called Kedi, wants to help.  "Her heart will not sit down" after she hears of children who have no food. She knows what it is like to go to bed hungry.  She cannot imagine how sad it must be to have no food at all.  So she asks everyone in her village for a coin or two.  Coins are rare in her village.  The next morning, her mother gives her a tiny coin and the thought that this is all she has to share makes her sad.  But her village knows the right thing to do when someone is in need and her small coin is joined by many others.

Rockliff's words carry this story along like a song.  Anne Tanksley's bright, chunky, almost childlike illustrations give the book an accurate sense of time and place.  The story stands alone as a lesson in caring and kindness.  I highly recommend that everyone read Rockliff's Author's Note which explains where the story came from, the life of the people of Cameron in the first half of the twentieth century, even where she found the descriptive phrases such as "my heart will not sit down".

In a time when we are all busy protecting what we have, this book points out that even a small kindness is meaningful, to the giver and to the recipient.  This book reminds us that one small coin can become many and that small gifts can lift a heart.

My heart will not sit down now that I have read this book.  I want to pass this kindness on.