What a charming message! I really enjoyed reading this book about giving children easily accessible and age-appropriate ways to be kind to those around them. It truly built up the importance of the little things and illustrated that all of those little ways we demonstrate kindness made a big impact on the lives of others. I liked the illustrations and the characters were adorable! The message was easy to understand, catchy, and written in an amusing and lovely way. I would love to add this book to my classroom, and it would be a wonderful way to introduce a social skills lesson on kindness. A great book!

A simple, but valuable lesson presented with fun, engaging illustrations. This book is a great introduction into how to be kind and make new friends. Perfect for beginning of the school year or for when a new classmate is about to join the class, ‘The Kindness Machine’ reminds us to value and utilize our superpowers to make the world a better place for everyone.

Another staple for the classroom shelves. Although this book is marketed as a fictional story, in my opinion I do feel that it reads better as a additional learning tool.

At the start of the book there is a page of suggested questions to be discussed before, during and after reading. The questions tie in well with the story so there are plenty of opportunities for these questions to be looked at and discussed.

I love the concept of The Kindness Machine itself and the idea that it generates simple and easy to understand examples of ways that you can be kind to others. The illustrations work beautifully with the story, they are bold, fun and most importantly of all, diverse.

All in all this is a lovely book and I would 100% recommend to anyone who is looking at approaching the topic of kindness with young children. However, like I said previously this to me reads more as a topic of discussion than a fictional story so that is something that I would advise people to bear in mind when purchasing.

Huge thank you to @netgalley and @purplebutterflypress for this earc in exchange for an honest review 😊

Charming and creative, a perfect book to introduce the concept of kindness to young readers. The kindness tips are accessible and applicable for all readers, making it easy for every kid to have a "superpower." The concept of a kindness "machine" is sure to keep young ones engaged. Highly recommended.

Pretty cute.
I do enjoy reading books for children even though I am no longer a kid. I like it when books teach us about one of the greatest thing that we humans can do: be kind!

This is aimed at young children but I loved it and could see how children from 2-11 could all adore this and learn a lot from it. It could spark a lot of activities surrounding kindness using prompts from the book and expanding with the children’s ideas. I think every classroom needs a kindness machine which could be a display to remind children about being kind. Every nursery and primary school should have copies of this book in every classroom in my opinion.

Rated: 3 stars

This book was really enjoyable to read. I loved the illustrations, particularly the diversity of all the children and how each one was unique with their own features. But overall it just felt like something was missing, I wasn't hooked on the story.

The language and terminology are fantastic. However, the language is simplistic, but there were some tough words in there like 'compassionate', which makes it an easy read with a pinch of difficulty.The sentence structure wasn't overly complex either. This means although I'd target this book at ages between 5-8, you could use the book for younger children. Or you could read it to older children and use the book as a hook for exploring the theme of kindness.

In a Nutshell: A cute story with a simple yet powerful message.

Story:
Mr. Wilson is a second grade teacher who is known for his imaginative inventions. One day, he walks into his class with something huge draped with a sheet. On uncovering it, the surprise is revealed to be a “kindness machine.” (Not a spoiler; the title should tell you what was underneath the sheet! 😉) Mr. Wilson uses this machine to explain to the children how to implement kindness in their daily routine and make it their superpower.

While the idea of such a big machine to explain some simple ideas sounds grandiose, the impact it will have on little kids is undeniable. Each suggestion is so straightforward and practical that any child (and adult) can incorporate these suggestions easily. What I especially loved was that one of the points spoke about being kind to yourself. That’s something so many of us forget; that we need to take care of ourselves as much as we do for others. The author is a second-grade teacher and it is very clear that she has put her expertise and her experience to good use in this story.

The illustrations are simple and cute, and more importantly, inclusive. They complement the story perfectly without outshining it.

I am not too sure about this but based on the visual cues, I think the font used in the story is a dyslexia-friendly font as it has bold letters at the start of each sentence and is more weighted than usual fonts. If yes, well done!
There are discussion questions at the beginning of the book for three specific reading points: before, during, and after. These are amazing and will definitely add to the impact of the book and its moral. (I was stumped on one of the questions: “what does it mean to be kind?” So easy to ask, so tough to answer!)

Much recommended to all little readers who want to make the world a better place with kindness.

4.5 stars.

My thanks to Purple Butterfly Press, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and NetGalley for the ARC of “The Kindness Machine”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Cute story that helps explain kindness and ways you can show it to a younger audience. The 2nd grade teacher makes a kindness machine, and each button has a different way you can show kindness. From things such as smiling to loving yourself. Cute illustrations and overall good message for all.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

Adorable Illustrations and powerful message.
A story where the author focused on the power of kindness and how easy it is to spread kindness.

More and more people are doing acts of kindness, giving something for another person's happiness, without asking for anything in return. Why? Because they feel fuller and happier when they are altruistic.

Scientific studies have shown that goodness has many emotional and physical benefits. Neuroscience experts say that kindness brings changes in children's brains. A child will never learn what kindness is just by thinking or talking about it. They need to feel it on their skin in order to repeat the act of giving. And this is exactly what this metaphoric story is teaching each of us. Everyone has the superpower of doing good and being kind to others.

The Kindness Machine is a tale of a teacher who brings a secret machine to his class, which is revealed to be a kindness machine that spits out phrases that when combined embody kindness. I didn't love this book because the first phrase that the machine spits out is "smile", and I feel that expecting children or adults to smile or risk being labeled rude is problematic. I did like the rest of the concepts and the idea that you need to combine things to produce true kindness.

Mr. Wilson, a teacher in second grade, can't wait for his class to begin because he has a very important interactive lesson to share with his students. When the kids arrive they encounter a mysterious new machine that their teacher has designed to teach them about kindness and that will convince them that kindness is their new superpower.

This creative, innovative and fun teaching method will direct kids to be kind to one another in their classroom and beyond. He convinces each student that they are indeed "Kindness Machines" personified! How cool is that? They can go forth out of school and be ambassadors of kindness wherever they may go.

The illustrations are colourful and enrich the positive inspiring message. If you have to choose to be something... ALWAYS... be kind! I highly recommend this book.

This is more of a teaching tool than a story, but it could be a very effective way to start a conversation about kindness. The Kindness Machine offers suggestions of ways to be kind, and they are phrased in a simple, kid-friendly way that should be relatable for early elementary kids. The book also includes helpful questions to prompt engagement and interaction with readers. This would be a useful resource for pre-K - 2nd grade classrooms.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

The wonderful message about kindness is shown through a teacher in a second-grade classroom as he helps his class recognize that they have a superpower: empathy. I love the creative illustrations, and the fact that this was written by a second-grade teacher makes the lesson and characters feel even more authentic. I especially loved the focus on "love yourself" and "be a chef" (in order to try varying amounts of each ingredient and mixing them together).

This would be a fabulous first-day of school read-aloud, perfect for school counselors, librarians, and teachers to have on hand. I highly recommend the Kindness Machine and love the message that the author includes as a preface as well.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who works with children!

This book will be great for teaching (and reteaching) what kindness looks like in your classroom! I loved the actionable displays of kindness, while also including built-in questions to ask students while reading. I can’t wait to use this with my 2nd grade students!

I just reviewed The Kindness Machine by Christina Dankert. #TheKindnessMachine

Thank you to NetGalley and Purple Butterfly Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published March 22, 2023.

This is a very cute children’s book. The teacher shows the students that they each have a super power: being kind. But he takes it a step further and through his wacky Kindness Machine invention, he teaches them some concrete ways to be kind, like smiling and complimenting others.

This short-story expresses a prevalent theme of kindness that is important for kids and that can benefit them. The illustrations collaborate nicely and overall make it a very sweet read.

This book could be an excellent read-aloud in a classroom, with children challenged to build their own (physical) "kindness machines" and add buttons with more ways they can be kind. Also helpful were the "before-during-after" questions provided for educators in the front of the book. The fact that kindness towards the self can create kindness towards others was a positive message as well.. Recommending this book to teachers might be the best way to get this book in front of students rather than through book clubs, etc.

This is a very sweet book with a lovely clear message that children will love and fabulous illustrations. Thanks for the ARC.