This is such an adorable book! I loved the font and text being so clear to read. The illustrations were very well done too. Overall, great message!

The Kindness machine is a wonderful book for helping you start a discussion about kindness and what it means to be kind. Children often find it difficult to articulate what it is to be kind and I am invariably told by them 'it is being good.,' or giving presents. This book explains to children how we can be kind to one another and that we have the power to be kind inside us. The concept is explained in a lovely and easy to read manner. It is slightly long for reading out loud in one sitting and I needed to use two sessions to read the story fully as my time was constrained. It led to many more discussions with the children around the issue and I used the story as a reference and guide. I liked that the book came with some discussion questions as well which were very helpful at teasing out the children's ideas and developing their comprehension.
The story is beautifully illustrated and the children enjoyed getting a chance to read the book in their own time.
This book would be a fantastic resource for your child's library, or classroom and for their social and emotional development.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* pretty cute idea for a kids book, im not sure if i would buy this brand new but would buy used for sure!

I like the concept of the book a lot, but I feel like the execution fell flat. The illustrations were not as well done as I expected the story was a bit wordy unnecessarily.

I enjoyed each illustration and the intent behind this book.
Given my role as Secretary for the Exco of the Singapore Kindness Movement, this book makes my heart so so happy ♡
Kids and adults alike can benefit from the wonderful feel-good book with the best intentions.

Loved the message in this story. Everyone can use the reminder to be kind and this story is the perfect thing to do that. I love that it talked about something as simple as a smile is a great way to be kind. A great story not only for children but all ages.

El diseño de dibujo was lame, like honey, you can do better.
Entiendo que toodo esto de "the kindness machine" es para que lxs nenxs aprendan y blablabla pero aun asi, como que es demasiado rebuscado.

I loved how specific the machine is. Sometimes we get in a habit of saying be kind but forget how to help kids learn how to do that. This book can be added to SEL lists and read all year long. I can't wait to hear what ideas kids come up with on what they can do.

This was a cute story about a creative teacher showing his students the importance of kindness. I liked the examples and I think this would be a good book for young kids to read to remind them to be kind. It also shows how important caring teachers are and the impact they can have on their students.

This is one of the best picture/storybook on learning about kindness: how to be kind, what we can do to be kind, which words actually mean kindness and how we can practice it everyday.

I find the concept really innovative and practical. The illustration is fun and the writing/presentation entertaining.

A good book which will find its place in every school and home.

Thank you, Purple Butterfly Press, for the advance reading copy.

I found this book by husband and wife on NetGalley, and I loved it. The story is that of a second grade teacher who comes up with ingenious ideas to make complicated concepts easy for his young students. This reminded me of my primary school teachers who similarly tried their best to simplify studies. Mr. Wilson's latest invention however is a machine with lots of buttons that teaches children how they can be kind. I found the questions on the Before Reading, During Reading, and After Reading page quite interesting and a good exercise. The pictures in the book were beautiful and imaginative, perfect for students aged 6-9.

I really thought the concept of this book was a good one. Mindfulness & kindness are such important traits that we must instill in our children. We want our kids to be their best selves and books like this can help show how far a little kindness can go.

I read this story to my 6 (almost 7) year old. At 1st he was very engaged, but by the middle he was starting to lose interest...asking "how many more pages." Some pages were a bit too explanatory for younger children so I think that was part of the reason he started losing focus. I think some of the words (ie furrowed) may be a little advanced for the young readers this book seems to be targeting.

My child did enjoy talking about kindness and examples of ways to be kind to himself & others. So the prompts at the beginning of the book were great conversation starters and a good way to get a child interested in what they are about to read. I love when books do this because it is a good way to try to keep children engaged and for us adults to see how they see the world and process things around them.

My son thoroughly enjoyed the illustrations, the children's smiling faces and the look of The Kindness Machine were his favorite parts.

The overall idea of the story was good, I just think the wording could be more kid friendly to keep the children more engaged and excited.

I adored everything about this book, from the lively illustrations to its powerful message. This is not only a wonderful read for everyone but acts as an excellent resource too. Highly recommended!

I know this book is supposed to be for 2nd-grade level kids or so. However, the book is long and the wording is more toward older elementary kids.

The book has a great message tho. I do like that the guide at the beginning is great. I can see this book being used in schools across the country.

This book is a definite winner. It has great illustrations, which is especially good when your reading to young kids. It's the message however that truly makes this a must-read for all children. Kindness is one of those things that should start being taught at a very young age, now more so than ever in the current climate we're now living in. Happy Reading!

Thank you Netgalley and Shyhook Press for this Arc.
The review and opinions are solely my own.

Strong actionable ideas. I think this story is especially valuable for this school year, as we emphasize empathy and social-emotional learning. Many students need to re-learn and practice being together as a cohesive social community, after being relatively isolated during remote school time. This story will work well for first and second graders, with concrete ideas for reaching out and being kind to others.

Sorry it's OK, but I really didn't love the book as a whole. I think there are other books about being kind that are less wordy and overall nicer. Very American in style.

Love love love this book. Seriously coukd not love it more. I teach emotional literacy and this book is PERFECT. An ideal length to read in class and so easy for kids to understand.

The art proportions are quite off but the backgrounds itself are fine. I like the inclusion of questions at the beginning of the book. It will definitely help both guardians/parents and educators to help better utilize the book to actually encourage discussion with the child to make sure the child not only understands the messages of the book but keeps those messages after finishing the book. I think the design of the kindness machine is definitely nice and pleasant.. It's a nice and simple book for kids that emphasizes the importance of concepts like inclusion for young kids. It is definitely something I can see being a nice classroom aid.

As a 2nd grade teacher, I felt this book would be a great resource to use to help teach the concept of kindness. In my opinion, it would be best read at the beginning of the year. I do think the age range is just a little off, and read it more as an ages 6-9 book, rather than 5-8, as I think some of the language may be too complex for Kindergarten, even in a read-aloud setting. I think the formatting of the book and the actionable steps were very easy to follow and would be easy to implement and remind students of year round. I also appreciated the questions at the beginning of the book to help teachers, or parents/caregivers, guide their child(ren)s way through the book.