The Kindness Machine
Written by Christina Dankert
Illustrated by Chad Dankert
Ages 4+ | 32 Pages
Publisher: Purple Butterfly Press | ISBN-13: 9781955119085
Publisher’s Synopsis: Creative and artistic 2nd-grade teacher, Mr. Wilson, wants to teach his students about kindness. Mr. Wilson creates The Kindness Machine, a special machine that shows the students exactly what they can do to bring kindness to their classroom and into their hearts! Instead of telling his students to “be kind,” which is something children hear from a very early age, they learn exactly what they can do in their own lives by pressing the special buttons. In the end, Mr. Wilson teaches his students that they each have their own Kindness Machine within them to help make kind decisions for others and themselves.
This creative, innovative, and fun teaching method will direct kids to be kind to one another in their classroom and beyond. The book includes discussion questions to help the reader consider not only kindness towards others but also kindness towards themselves, a lesson that is not always taught.
The Kindness Machine is a practical and innovative tool for teaching emotional literacy, kindness, and acceptance of self and others.
Available in hardcover, paperback, and as an ebook.
MY REVIEW
Parents and teachers of young children are aware that guiding them to better social skills and empathy with others can be a difficult process. Some children are slower to mature in those areas of development; others mean well, but are unsure how to support their peers or make a friendly gesture. Christina Dankert, author of The Kindness Machine, has taken her own experience as a second-grade teacher and created a story to help present those concepts in a kid-friendly way.
Mr. Wilson, the teacher in the story, brings in an invention to share with his class. The machine he has built is covered in buttons of all shapes, sizes, and colors. A message appears on the screen when a student pushes a button. Mr. Wilson talks over each of the suggestions and the class tries them out. The students practice smiling at each other, giving compliments, and similar skills. The last message is to be a chef and mix all those ingredients together. As Mr. Wilson explains, “Each kindness action is great on its own, but the real magic happens when you combine them.”
This book is good for parents to read with their own children and discuss how to be kind to others, or for classroom or guidance lessons on how to get along together at school. Whatever our age, we can all use a few reminders on how to make the world a friendlier place.
PURCHASE LINK
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3COBXwa
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/2078/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christina Dankert is a second-grade teacher. She has a passion for literacy and believes that we can change the world by reading to the children in our lives. This is her debut picture book. She lives in Sylvania, Ohio, with her husband, Chad, and their two children. She has dreamed of collaborating with her husband to merge their two professions of educator and artist into one meaningful product. The Kindness Machine allowed that dream to come true.
Learn more about Christina at www.christinadankert.com.
