IF ONE JUDGES a book by its cover, then Kindness Grows is assuredly a book you will want to read. The unique cover features a cut-out, a peek-through that continues through the pages, first as a narrow crack, then a sapling and, finally, a mature, leafy tree.
When I saw this children’s picture book written and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup on display at Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault, I immediately grabbed it. Both for the novel, artsy cover and for the title. Kindness is desperately needed right now in America.
I’ve found, as an avid reader, that children’s picture books are as much for adults as kids, especially when they carry a universal message for all ages. In this book the message of kindness.
This author-artist smartly uses dark colors in her illustrations to represent negative behavior on one page balanced by light colors, positive behavior, on the opposite page.
For example, Teckentrup writes about friendship and how mean words can damage a relationship. That’s shown in two children with their backs turned to one another against a dark sky backdrop. On the opposite page, the friends face each other in a sunny garden scene. Teckentrup writes about how encouragement, positive actions and words can grow love.
Another two-page spread shows a group of children arguing in a rainstorm with pointed finger, pulling arms, clearly mad at one another. On the opposite page, they hold hands, play together under a blossoming tree. Words and art reinforce each other.
This author does not shy away from truth when she writes of the widened cracks of anger, of our inability to listen or to try and understand.
But she shows the reader how to overcome disagreements and differences, starting with a smile. Simple actions—like care, kindness and love—bridge division. No matter our age, together we can be better. That’s the resounding message shared in Kindness Grows.
TELL ME: What children’s picture book has resonated with you on the subject of kindness or another topic especially relevant to today?
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
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