Tag Kaylani Juanita

The Little Things: A Story About Acts of Kindness

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The Little Things: A Story About Acts of Kindness
Christian Trimmer and Kayla Juanita
Abrams

Here’s a sweet story showing how small acts of kindness can cumulatively create a large impact on an entire community.

It all begins with a spirited little girl (who prefers the look of three pigtails to two) walking onto the beach after a terrible storm has washed up thousands of starfish. She carefully picks them up one after another and puts them back in the sea. As she does so she’s approached by a man who asks, “What’s the point? You won’t be able to save them all.”

Acknowledging this, her next action triggers the old man to do likewise and this small act of kindness sets in motion a chain reaction.

The man takes his grandson along to the animal rescue centre where he adopts a dog; the boy later goes to help his neighbour clean up the mess the storm has created in her garden and so on. Each small act not only triggers another but its effect on each individual’s mood is transformational, and kindness spreads throughout the entire neighbourhood.

Not long after, another storm blows through that town: the little girl returns to the beach: can you guess what she discovers there…

Kaylani Juanita’s portrayal of the diverse cast of characters is superb: each person’s identity is celebrated through her attention to detail in every scene she’s created for this uplifting tale.

Ta-Da!

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Ta-Da!
Kathy Ellen Davis and Kaylani Juanita
Chronicle Books

Once upon a time a little girl was playing happily with her animal friends in a homemade castle until DUN DUN DUH! there appears at her door, a wizard accompanied by his ‘dragon’.

So begins an action and reaction concatenation with boy wizard attempting to subvert the girl’s peaceable play with his roistering, wrecking actions. She counters these with her wand ‘Ta-Dah!’ and magic spells.

This to and fro of ‘Dun Dun Duhs and Ta-Dahs continues apace until the dragon, having imbibed rather too much water, needs an urgent visit to the bathroom, and the boy exits stage right …

leaving girl and dragon to live happily ever after.

Well, perhaps not quite ever after, for after an uneventful interval, the two decide to pay the boy a visit to see how things are going. And going they certainly are: the boy has become a magician and is about to perform before a decidedly small audience.

Small that is, until girl and dragon pitch in providing more watchers and a co-performer.
Show over, it’s time for a snack providing more happily ever afters … whoops! Not EVER, after all: there’s still time for one final, sub-aquatic adventure together.

DUN DUN DUH! … Ta-Da!’

Conflict and resolution done with panache in this debut for both author, Davis and illustrator, Juanita. It’s a wonderful portrayal of children’s imaginative play with its give and take and boundless possibilities.