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Kindness Returns
Demonstrates that helping others creates relationships that benefit everyone when trouble comes.
Why It's On Our Shelf
A witch loses items as she flies, and each time an animal helps her find something, she invites them on the broom. Eventually the broom snaps from too much weight, but the animals she helped save her from a dragon. The rhyming by Julia Donaldson has great rhythm and the illustrations by Axel Scheffler are colorful and engaging. What makes this work is the theme of reciprocity - the witch's kindness is repaid when she needs help. The repetitive structure means kids start to anticipate what happens next, and the ending where they make a bigger, better broom is satisfying. It's become popular alongside The Gruffalo as one of Donaldson and Scheffler's signature books.
Why It Works
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Inclusivity
The witch makes room for everyone who asks, teaching that there's often space for one more.
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Community Problem-Solving
When the broom breaks, all the animals work together to save the witch and create something better.
Imagination & Make-Believe
Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak
Max sails to a land of wild creatures and becomes their king.
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Imagination & Make-Believe
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Crockett Johnson
Harold draws his own adventure with his magical purple crayon.
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Imagination & Make-Believe
Not a Box
Antoinette Portis
A rabbit transforms a simple box into anything imagination allows.
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