This gentle picture book is written by Kristi Yamaguchi, a famous figure skater well known for her modesty and generosity of spirit. So, of course, she would write a picture book that shows kindness is always the best choice.
The characters in this book are anthropomorphized animals. Cara, a cat and a figure skater, is known for her kindness to others. When she sees a dog too timid to go out on the ice, she teaches him to skate. When he thanks her, she says, “just pass on the kindness.” He does by sharing his lunch with the polar bear. The dog then asks the polar bear to, “just pass on the kindness.” The kindness is passed on to the monkey, then the skunk, and then the mole passes it on to Cara. In a beautifully karmic circle, Cara performs her best skating presentation as a result.
The story ends with the following.
“Cara was so happy! She knew that caring and passing on a small kindness, one good deed at a time, had come full circle right back to her. Caring makes a big difference.”
Yes, the book is a bit preachy but it would be well used by teachers and leaders of children’s groups to explain how even the littlest action causes ripples throughout the world.
The illustrations are suitable full-color cartoonlike characters. The expressions are shown in a simple manner.
I didn’t think my granddaughter would want to hear the story a second time, but she did. She enjoyed the way the kindness played through the circle and back to Cara. She also liked how the characters treated each other.
I was very pleased to win an advanced copy of this book for review.
CLICK ON THE BOOK COVER TO PURCHASE A COPY FROM AMAZON.
Bonnie Ferrante - Books and More for Children 
Seems like yesterday that I was following Kristi on the ice.
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