"Race to Kindness" was heartwarming and inspiring! The picture book beautifully illustrates the power of kindness for young readers. With engaging rhyming text, it introduces children to the various ways they can spread kindness, showing that even small gestures can make a significant difference. As an elementary librarian, I highly recommend this book for its ability to spark discussions about kindness and empathy in young minds. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this advanced review copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review of the book!

The author was only 9 years old. So much insight for one so young. His examples of kindness are well thought out and simple. The world would be so much better if we all read and practiced this book. Amazing illustrations. The characters are so diverse and I really liked that. This story was well written and a joy to read. A great gift for children. This is a book I would read to my great grandchildren. Important, easy lessons to learn.

I was given an ARC to read from NetGalley and the publisher. This review was unbiased and my own uninfluenced opionion.

I love this book! Race to Kindness is full of bright, beautiful illustrations and an amazing message. Following how to be “K.I.N.D.”, this book offers so many easy acts of kindness to help inspire children. It even explains how no act of kindness is too small and the ripple effect may just be greater than you could imagine.

This book would be a perfect read aloud for teachers and parents alike. I will absolutely be getting copies of this book for my friends’ classrooms.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zonderkidz for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love acronyms and using "K.I.N.D" to help kids remember how to be kind is incredibly useful. The color palette of the illustrations is really comforting and the sweet illustrations give practical examples of kindness. I can see this being a great talking tool with kids about being kind!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

Arc NetGalley Review App

*I read these to my retired service dog and he reviews them.
All the star, the race to kindness was a great race, he does a lot of the tasks along the race for him mommy. So he understands kindness. We sat ‘ sharing is caring’ in our home. He like the race to kindness a lot.

I am so grateful for the chance through net-galley and Zonderkidz to read this beautifully illustrated and well-written children's book. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, encouraging young and old readers to be compassionate and kind. The book did a fantastic job showcasing tangible ways that we can all be kind alongside the text. It was additionally fantastic to see how the young author's words about his life ideology and movement to be kind come to life. I highly recommend this book for children, parents, teachers, and librarians to add to their library!

very good read. Will recommend this for my nieces, the colours and the rhyming words makes it all the more appealing for kids.

This would be good to have at a home library or a book for kids to read for fun in the classroom. It was very enjoyable.

This was a great inspirational story for our family. This wonderful book was written by Orion Jean, who was TIME 2021 kid of the year. What an absolutely wonderful story and way to share. In Race to Kindness we join in their race to share and show kindness everywhere they go. In this race everyone is welcome and everyone belongs. Even better, everyone wins! This story shares the many many ways we can all share kindness in our world. Using the word “KIND” it details ways we can be kind. Simple ways, like smiling, including everyone and sharing compliments can help make others feel better and encourage others to be kind as well. THis book is perfect to share with family, friends and in the classroom. Children, and adults, of all ages can learn how easy it is to be kind and make our world a better place.

What a great book and what a wonderful cause. Incredible that it's written from such an amazing young man. As an early childhood educator and a mom I totally loved the book and can definitely recommend it. My boys 4y and 6y totally loved it too. We'll done Orion Jean, your family must be so proud of you

Loved this book. It was a great way to explain what kindness is and ways to be kind. My 4 year old had interesting questions. We will be buying this and reading over and over.

What does it mean to "be kind"? This book SHOWS many acts of kindness we all can do and is presented in a gentle rhyming way.
The illustrations by Darshika Varma, are clear, delightful, and colorful, and add to the meaning in the message.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school or your public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Zonderkidz via NetGalley. Thank you!

A fun story encouraging children in a fun way to think of others. Quite an impressive story for one so young.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zonderkidz for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review. (Publish Date: 07 May 2024)

“Race to Kindness” by Orion Jean was one of my favorite Children’s Fiction picture books I’ve read this year! Everything about this book was a homerun: the heartwarming story, the gorgeous illustrations, the inspiring message, and the thoughtful details like a place for children to write their names.

“Come join our great race where kindness begins,
Where everyone’s welcome and everyone wins!”

I love this “kindness movement” book, because it teaches children how simple, thoughtful steps can make a huge impact. This book is geared for children ages 4 – 8, and I think it should be in every school and public library since many children aren’t learning the basic steps of kindness at home. Suggestions like including others and small acts of kindness are the helping children realize that being kind isn’t hard – and it can be fun and rewarding!

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all children, parents, educators, and librarians to help spread the kindness among our youth.

This book is beautiful in so many ways! From the rhythm and rhyme of the words, to the stunning illustrations, we loved every page. This is a must buy for all children library. My 4 year old really enjoyed it and we will definitely be adding it to our home library! Thank you for providing me with an eARC of this book, will be sure to order it when it releases.

This delightful book gives practical advice on being kind using the acronym K.I.N.D. My school has a Hope Squad that focuses on spreading Kindness, Friendship and Compassion and they come around to read books to my kinders and I am going to buy this book for them. I like how it focuses on the little things that everyone can do and that small acts of kindness get bigger as they go out into the world and inspire more kindness. The best thing though is the author bio at the end! I didn't realize that the author is a kid and his Race to Kindness speech that wrote when he was 9 led to him being involved in lots of charity work. My school is also a service learning school and I think Orion's story is inspiring. I love to show my kinders that you don't have to be an adult to make a big difference in the world!

Thank you Netgalley and Zonderkidz for an advance reading copy of this book for review purposes.

Cute book that shows kids how to be kind. The author gives his peers real examples, in rhyme, of ways to reach out to others with kindness, from including them, sharing meals, donating books, etc. the illustrations are engaging and cute.

Great messaging teaching all about kindness and giving great real life examples. I think this is great for a kindergarten aged kid. The story flows well, has great illustrations and was easy to consume but contains so many important things to consider everyday as we interact with one another.

I absolutely LOVE this book. It is a perfect way to show kids ways they can be kind to others. For some kids saying to them "Be Kind" is vague. I love that this book gives kids examples of ways they can and likely already are being kind to others. I will definitely be buying this book for my store when it becomes available and I will be buying it for my friends and family with young children.

This book is an educator’s dream. Not only does it make you feel good, it teaches kindness in a fun creative way, it rhymes, and it was written by a difference making child author. I adore the way this book is written by using a nemonic device with the letters k-I-n-d. It gives the children easy to use ideas on spreading kindness. I am very excited to use this book in my classroom. I will suggest this book to my colleagues and purchase a copy for our library. This is a must have in all elementary classrooms.