THE SOUND OF KINDNESS

A parent and child go for a walk in their neighborhood, finding examples of kindness in the dialogue they hear.

The duo’s rhyming adventure is told entirely through upbeat dialogue balloons. “ ‘You can do it.’ ‘That sounds fair.’ ‘Oh! I’m sorry.’ ‘We can share.’ ” An adult cheers on a young cyclist; two children play cards; and two children work out playing with one toy. Other overheard kindnesses include offers to help, recognition of a good deed, declarations of friendship, examples of compassion and empathy, extensions of courtesy, reassurances, and affirmations—all easy for children to emulate. Martínez’s illustrations effectively highlight the parent and child and the people interacting in each spread by picturing them in full color. The rest of the various scenes are in muted shades. Parent and child share the same brown skin and short black hair; other people are diverse. Backmatter lists other types of kindness walks; e.g., a quiet kindness walk is for noticing people’s actions, and on a literary kindness walk, you read a story while pausing to point out examples of the characters helping others. The author notes that “when we look for something in our world, we have a greater chance of finding it,” and that “our world and its loud news offers many angry sounds.” Kindness walks counteract the negative by seeing ways others “lift each other up.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Inspiration to find—and perhaps spread—acts of kindness in our world.