Ever wondered what constitutes kindness and why a good act from the heart can make a difference? Pat A Cake’s The Big Book of Kindness is one such board book that can help you understand what kindness is and why it matters. And that too, with the help of a lift-the-flap matching game!
There are many ways this book helps you understand and learn the power of kindness. Is it just limited to being friendly or gentle? No, there are a lot of things that come under the domain of kindness, and by the time you are through with this book, you will be both an expert on the subject and a better person with a kind heart.
Using illustrations by Villie Karabatzia, this board book explains actions that can be categorised as acts of kindness. Kindness can be about laughing with a friend, showing love to your family, sharing toys with a friend, welcoming a new neighbour, or making a new student feel at home in your class. If you do that already, then you would also know that singing a song to make someone else feel good, carrying an elderly person’s bag and being polite to everyone also constitute kindness.
Instead of dividing the book into chapters, the authors decided to pose interesting questions that are answered on that very page. For instance, there is a whole page dedicated to kindness to pets, another to kindness in parks and so forth. These different scenarios not only show people being kind, but also help you understand what makes that act kind in the first place.
This board book is like interacting with elderly parents, elder siblings, or grandparents, who are usually there with answers to everything. It is not just perfect for boosting empathy and reducing frustration, but also gives pointers to you and your friends on how to impress others.
The final game at the end of the book is a not-to-be-missed thing, since it not only summarises whatever you had read, but also gives you a chance to test your own learning. It is not just a book for helping toddlers, but also for those parents who want to help their kids grow up into perfect human beings.
Published in Dawn, Young World, January 10th, 2026
