Summary

Perfect for all children experiencing loss or grief, A Flood of Kindness gracefully confronts difficult feelings and celebrates the healing power of kindness.

"The night the river jumped its banks, everything changed."

So begins A Flood of Kindness, a poignant picture book that addresses grief and loss and demonstrates how kindness can bring hope. Written in spare prose and told from an intimate first-person point of view, the story follows Charlotte, a young girl who watches floodwaters rise in her home and is forced to evacuate to a shelter with her parents. Kind people she doesn't know give her food, socks and shoes to keep her feet warm, and a place to sleep. As Charlotte adjusts to the shelter—a strange, crowded place that is not home—she grapples with feelings of anger and sadness. But as the days go by, Charlotte starts to realize how grateful she is for the things that she does have—her parents, a cot to sleep on, food to eat—and starts looking for ways to help others in the shelter.
All children deal with sadness and loss in some way, whether it stems from a natural disaster, the death of a pet, or moving to a new place. A Flood of Kindness acknowledges those difficult feelings and helps readers process them in a healthy way. Children will be encouraged to be kind to those who need a friend and to help others in whatever way they can, no matter how small.

Review

A Flood of Kindness is a beautiful story sharing the experience of a child being displaced by a flood. She goes through every emotion and is trying to work her way through understanding that her current situation is necessary but temporary. This has such a wonderful message being how children in times such as this don't understand leaving all that is familiar to you to the unknown. No matter how hard things might be, there are always people there to extend themselves. I love how everyone at the shelter, despite not having much, has everything to give including themselves. This presents such a wonderful lesson on being there for each other and making sacrifices for others who may need something you have more. Through dealing with her pain of loss and uncertainty, she gains the experience of strangers and their kindness, inspiring her to do the same.

Pages: 32

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