“Cara’s Kindness” by Kristi Yamaguchi, illustrated by John Lee c. 2016, Sourcebooks $16.99 / $23.99 Canada 32 pages
Everybody thinks you’re a pretty nice kid.

And that’s a great thing. Being kind to others is fun, it feels good, and it helps brighten someone’s day. It’s also very easy and, as you’ll see in “Cara’s Kindness” by Kristi Yamaguchi, illustrated by John Lee, when you’re nice, it often comes back to you.

Cara the Cat simply could not find the right music for her skating routine.

She tried all different kinds of songs but nothing seemed quite perfect enough. She was spinning on the ice and listening to yet another song when she spotted a sad little guy sitting in the skating rink bleachers. His name was Darby the Dog, and he told her he was sad because he didn’t know how to skate.

Terri Schlichenmeyer
But that was okay. Cara cares, so she helped Darby learn to skate. When he felt confident enough to do it by himself and he didn’t fall so much anymore, Cara told him to “pass on the kindness!”

All that skating made Darby hungry, so he sat down to eat his lunch. He’d almost bitten into his peanut butter sandwich when he met Pax the Polar Bear, who’d left his lunchbox at home. Pax was starving! Darby happily shared his lunch, and when the last crumb was gone, he told Pax to “pass on the kindness!”

Walking home from the skating rink, Pax saw Marky the Monkey, who was in a bit of a fix. His ball had fallen in the cold water, so Pax got it out for him because polar bears don’t mind cold water at all. When Pax gave Marky the ball, Pax smiled because helping made him happy. He said, “Pass on the kindness!”

And so Marky passed on the kindness to Samantha Skunk, who’d just moved to town and didn’t know a soul. Samantha passed on the kindness to Milo the Mole, who loved hockey very much but couldn’t see it well enough to know what was happening and who was cheering.

And as for Milo …? He had one last kindness to pass on.

Ever since your child was old enough to understand words, you’ve tried to teach empathy and compassion. Sometimes, though, it might take a big-eyed kitten in skates to bring the message home, which is why you need “Cara’s Kindness.”

With a Pay-It-Forward-type message that even the littlest child can understand, author and Olympic medalist Kristi Yamaguchi shows kids that good begets good in this simple story. But that’s not the only message here: Yamaguchi’s characters also display patience and perseverance as well as inclusion, all with a gentle bit of humor inside the difficulties they encounter. Add beautifully vivid artwork from illustrator John Lee, and you’ve got a book that kids will love to page through as they hear the story read.

I think this is a great group-read for older toddlers, although children ages 4-to-7 may appreciate it more. For any kid who needs a reminder that “caring makes a big difference,” “Cara’s Kindness” is a nice little book.