Gratitude for beginners

Gratitude for beginners

Book to note: ‘Goodness Gracious: A Gratitude Book for Children.’

Sonja L. Cohen
Spread from the book "Goodness Gracious: A Gratitude Book for Children", published by Skinner House, 2019.

Goodness Gracious: A Gratitude Book for Children, by Kathleen A. Green, illus. by Lori McElrath Eslick (Skinner House, 2019; $14). Ages 3–8.

© 2019 Skinner House

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Taking time to express how thankful you are for someone or something in your life is a valuable practice, and Goodness Gracious: A Gratitude Book for Children (Skinner House, 2019) helps kids learn to do just that. “Maybe you don’t know who or what you’re thanking,” the Rev. Kathleen A. Green writes in her introduction, “but that’s perfectly OK. It still feels good to remind yourself just how good some things are and how much you love them.” The book features a variety of “thankful thoughts”—some of which can be sung to recognizable tunes—that help young people express gratitude for the things that make them feel happy and supported, whether it’s the people and animals in their lives, the natural world around them, or pancakes and scrambled eggs. Charming images by award-winning illustrator Lori McElrath Eslick show children and families with diverse racial and gender configurations; one child is shown using a wheelchair.

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