The Kindest Red

From the team that brought us The Proudest Blue comes another story of kindness and friendship. The Kindest Red by Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali and Hatem Aly is a story about making the world a kinder place.

It’s picture day and Faizah is wearing a beautiful red dress that was once her mother’s and then her sister’s and now hers. In class the students are talking about the kind of world they would each love to see. Faizah thinks about a kind world and puts her thoughts into action on the playground. When she needs a little kindness, her friends are right there to support her, just like she supported them.

Books about kindness will always be relevant and timely. Children are just developing their worldview and when we can infuse kindness and caring into their thoughts and their worldview, our world looks a little bit brighter. I love that this story shows readers very simple acts of kindness that they could very easily take and incorporate into their own day. Whether it’s playing catch with a friend, helping someone when they get hurt, or tying a friend’s sash on their picture day dress, there are many ways we can show kindness to one another.

I love how this story will spark many different discussions amongst families and classmates. It’s a fantastic jumping off point to talk about the world we want to see and how, in our everyday lives, we can achieve these things.

This book also reflects the joy of many different people. Thanks to the beautiful illustrations by Hatem Aly, readers have the opportunity to see faces of many different colours and children of different abilities sharing kindness. The illustrations are joyful and fill the pages with colour. The bold illustrations make this a book perfect for sharing in a big group like a classroom.