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How to Be Kind: Making the World a Better Place through Empathy and Compassion
106 pages, Paperback
Published October 7, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 15, 2025
I really like the premise of this book: offering strategies for adults and children to practice kindness and empathy together. It’s an important goal, and I appreciate that the book tries to provide concrete, accessible activities to build social-emotional skills.
That said, the execution felt uneven. The text switches back and forth between addressing children directly and addressing adults, which makes it unclear who the book is really for. While it’s marketed as suitable from kindergarten through grade five, I’m not convinced it hits the right balance: there’s too much text and not enough illustration for younger kids, but the tone may feel too young for older ones. The result is a workbook that sits awkwardly between audiences.
The exercises themselves are simple and familiar—listing ways we care for ourselves, drawing faces in circles to show different emotions. These could be useful with younger children, but for older kids they’re probably too basic. Personally, I would have preferred a book written primarily for adults (parents, caregivers, or teachers) with clear instructions on how to guide children through the activities.
As a professional, I wouldn’t use this resource in practice. It doesn’t feel robust enough for therapeutic or classroom use, and the presence of Buttercup the Bee as a mascot only adds to the sense that it’s geared toward younger children who may, in turn, struggle with the heavy text. On the other hand, older children who could follow the instructions might feel patronized by the tone. Ultimately, I didn’t finish this book and stopped at the 40% mark.
Verdict: A well-intentioned resource with a solid concept, but uneven in audience and execution. Best suited for parents or caregivers looking for very simple introductory kindness and empathy exercises to share with younger children.
Thank you to NetGalley and Future Horizons for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.
That said, the execution felt uneven. The text switches back and forth between addressing children directly and addressing adults, which makes it unclear who the book is really for. While it’s marketed as suitable from kindergarten through grade five, I’m not convinced it hits the right balance: there’s too much text and not enough illustration for younger kids, but the tone may feel too young for older ones. The result is a workbook that sits awkwardly between audiences.
The exercises themselves are simple and familiar—listing ways we care for ourselves, drawing faces in circles to show different emotions. These could be useful with younger children, but for older kids they’re probably too basic. Personally, I would have preferred a book written primarily for adults (parents, caregivers, or teachers) with clear instructions on how to guide children through the activities.
As a professional, I wouldn’t use this resource in practice. It doesn’t feel robust enough for therapeutic or classroom use, and the presence of Buttercup the Bee as a mascot only adds to the sense that it’s geared toward younger children who may, in turn, struggle with the heavy text. On the other hand, older children who could follow the instructions might feel patronized by the tone. Ultimately, I didn’t finish this book and stopped at the 40% mark.
Verdict: A well-intentioned resource with a solid concept, but uneven in audience and execution. Best suited for parents or caregivers looking for very simple introductory kindness and empathy exercises to share with younger children.
Thank you to NetGalley and Future Horizons for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.
October 26, 2025
*How to Be Kind: Making the World a Better Place through Empathy and Compassion* is a warm and uplifting workbook that helps children learn to be kind, caring, and understanding. As I read through it, I was impressed by how it combines gentle lessons with fun, hands-on activities that teach important life skills like solving problems, making good choices, and practicing self-care. Buttercup the Bee is a cheerful guide who makes each activity enjoyable and easy to follow. I also appreciate how the book includes helpful strategies for children with autism while remaining meaningful and accessible for any child from kindergarten through fifth grade. In a world that often feels busy and disconnected, this workbook is a wonderful reminder that kindness and empathy can make life better for everyone. Too often, we forget how important it is to help young children understand and express their emotions—this book helps fill that gap beautifully.
I highly recommend it to parents, teachers, and caregivers who want to nurture emotional growth and kindness in children. A huge thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
I highly recommend it to parents, teachers, and caregivers who want to nurture emotional growth and kindness in children. A huge thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
January 26, 2026
I got this book for my son, but along the way, this book is also for me. I am not the type of person who read self-help books, but I got hooked with children self-help books. It easily to understand and so simple to follow.
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"Engaged parents, guardians, and other caregivers, such as teachers and therapists, have the strongest impact on molding the minds and actions of young people."
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This book easily explained about how to be kind. The examples of situations the young people might find in daily life helped so much to understand and how to implement the motivations to actions.
My son loved the illustrations so much. The little bee with beautiful flowers. He was eager to follow the little bee while I read and explained the book to him.
Encouraged by this book, we tried to be kind, even in the simplest ways possible, every single days. I still need to reread this book to my son so he could fully understand and implement this book in his life.
Thank you to Kristie Zoller, Future Horizons, and NetGalley for the ARC.
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"Engaged parents, guardians, and other caregivers, such as teachers and therapists, have the strongest impact on molding the minds and actions of young people."
---
This book easily explained about how to be kind. The examples of situations the young people might find in daily life helped so much to understand and how to implement the motivations to actions.
My son loved the illustrations so much. The little bee with beautiful flowers. He was eager to follow the little bee while I read and explained the book to him.
Encouraged by this book, we tried to be kind, even in the simplest ways possible, every single days. I still need to reread this book to my son so he could fully understand and implement this book in his life.
Thank you to Kristie Zoller, Future Horizons, and NetGalley for the ARC.
September 25, 2025
I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for a review. I read this with my 5 year old daughter. While the ebook wasn’t the best format to read this, I would definitely consider buying a hard copy. This was a great tool to read and do the activities with a young child and it opened up the opportunities for a lot of great conversations and role playing.
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews