Book Review of The Day Kindness Came
The Children’s Book Review
The Day Kindness Came
Written and Illustrated by Phyllis Harris
Ages 3+ | 32 Pages
Publisher: Morehouse Publishing (2026) | Hardcover ISBN: 979-8-89895-003-3 | eBook ISBN: 979-8-89895-004-0
What to Expect: Kindness, Empathy, Inclusion, Misunderstanding, Animals, Allegory, and Social-Emotional Learning.
The Day Kindness Came is a heartwarming, beautifully crafted picture book that demonstrates the transformative power of reaching out to someone who feels left out.
In The Day Kindness Came, Bear is the only one of his kind in Whispering Woods, a place where rumors spread quickly, and the woodland animals fear his imposing size, thundering voice, and heavy footsteps. Though he is the largest creature in the forest, the judgment of others leaves him feeling painfully small and isolated. Everything changes when a little girl named Kindness enters the woods and sees past his frightening exterior directly to his tender heart. Her quiet act of friendship sparks a ripple effect across the entire woods, prompting the curious animals to rethink their fears.
Phyllis Harris delivers a moving social-emotional allegory using lyrical, accessible prose that flows effortlessly when read aloud. Harris excels in contrasting big, sensory descriptions—such as ground-shaking steps and rumbling laughs—with quiet, intimate moments of compassion, like when Kindness gently touches Bear’s enormous paw and lets her small hand rest comfortably in his. By personifying emotional concepts, the text offers children a clear and relatable entry point into discussing empathy, prejudice, and inclusion, and they are trusted to feel the weight of Bear’s loneliness before experiencing the uplifting relief of his acceptance.
Harris’s delightful artwork possesses a warm, whimsical, classic quality that creates a calming atmosphere that appears to glow. She uses expressive character design to highlight the stark contrast between Bear’s formidable physical presence and his gentle inner nature. Thematic words like FEAR, HOPE, and JOY are overlaid on the forest environment, creating a visual language that reinforces the setting’s emotional transformation; these soothing details reward repeat readings and help pre-readers connect to the story’s themes.
An essential addition to home bookshelves, elementary classrooms, and storytimes focused on social-emotional learning, The Day Kindness Came is a perfect fit for young children learning how small acts of empathy can make a big difference.
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About the Author
Phyllis Harris is an author, illustrator, and designer whose work has appeared in more than thirty picture books. Harris made her author-illustrator debut with The Gift Shop Bear. She illustrated the bestselling Maverick and Me by Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt and On Christmas Day, a posthumously published picture book by Goodnight Moon author Margaret Wise Brown. She is also the author of Claude, which earned a starred review in Kirkus Reviews and which School Library Journal called “outstanding.” Harris lives near Kansas City, Missouri.
