Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler

Reviews

Most children will enjoy the story, and teachers will find the lesson aptly told. Recommended wherever values education is taught. – Booklist

 

Cuyler has coined a catchy refrain and opts for lingo that is casual and hip. But the comedy of classroom chaos is most entertainingly rendered by the illustrator, Sachiko Yoshikawa. . . . Yoshikawa’s everyday scenes of courtesy and responsibility look heavenly: fluffy white clouds frame the vignettes and float across fields of heart-strewn pink. The kids’ spherical faces resemble cartoon confections, and the cutout hearts, marking their achievements, look good enough to lick. – The New York Times Sunday Book Review

 

Teachers will find the lesson aptly told. – Booklist

Mrs. Ruler is frustrated with her kindergarten class. They have been acting out all week, so she reminds them “kindness is cooler” and charges each student to perform five acts of kindness. Most of the class catches on quickly; only David seems to have trouble internalizing Mrs. Ruler’s maxim that “a slice of nice makes a mile of smile.” Eventually, even David finds a way to be good, rescuing the class’s gerbils during a harrowing escape. The author of 100th Day Worries (2000) incorporates here the same enthusiasm, counting practice, and humor she used in the earlier title. Especially useful is an appended list of the 100 acts of kindness, which will get kids started and fuel their own ideas. Yoshikawa’s vibrant illustrations capture the boundless energies of five-year-olds on their best (and worst) behavior. Although sophisticated listeners may find Mrs. Ruler a bit preachy, most children will enjoy the story, and teachers will find the lesson aptly told. Recommended wherever values education is taught. – Booklist

 

When students in Mrs. Ruler’s class misbehave, she keeps five of them inside during recess and assigns their punishments. Each one must perform five acts of kindness and report them to the entire class during show-and-tell time throughout the week. The students respond enthusiastically and the twins recite their combined ten good deeds the following day. Soon, the whole class wants to be part of a project to complete 100 acts of kindness. Most of the acts mentioned in the text and shown in the pictures are common chores completed by the students around their homes and in the classroom. A list of “100 Acts of Kindness” divided into the categories of “Family Kindness,” “School Kindness,” and “Community Kindness” appears near the end of the book. The list contains many suggestions not mentioned in the story. The colorful cartoon-like illustrations depict a spirited group of multicultural students frolicking through the pages. – Children’s Literature

 

This story relates 100 acts of kindness as great examples of how to be kind to others. The author had kindergarten and first-grade students in Princeton Junior School to provide these acts of kindness examples. They could be used on any elementary grade level to emphasize kindness in the classroom and school. The story might be a little long to hold the kindergarteners’ attention, but the rhyming text will help. If we start with these acts, then our world would be a better place to live! Fiction, Highly Recommended. – The Lorgnette-Heart of Texas Reviews