Kind: A call to care for every creature by Jess McGeachin

"In this book you'll find

Many kinds of things

Some have slippery scales

Some have feathered wings

But kind is more than type

Kind is how to care

For creatures that you meet

And places that we share"

Kind is a truly special book. It is in part a rhyming narrative and in part a non fiction catalogue of animals. The layout of white text page and bold colour background on each animal group works really well to showcase all the variety of creatures found in the animal kingdom. Jess McGeachin has covered the main animal groups: Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Insects, and Fish. It is easy to see he works in a museum. A great deal of care has been taken with the scientific-style illustrations and the book design is excellent too, with the yellow illustrated spine and the end papers.

The rhyme is strong and consistent, the cover is tactile and inviting, and I really appreciated the final pages which flip the word kind to mean kindness to towards others and self.  I did wish this book had back matter but I guess young readers could use it as a jumping off point to research or discover more about the animal names that sound so interesting for example I would like to know more about many of the horned animals such as Gerenuk; Blesbok; Klipspringer; and Greater Kudu.

Although this is not a story there are many elements that make it both a picture book and a non fiction text. There is a very strong sense of place which is different on each and every spread – from sandy shores, coral reefs and deep ocean depths, to grassland, wetlands and red desert. 

The ‘characters’ of the different animals themselves are diverse and convincing, but there is also a sense of character in the narrative voice – a gentle commanding tone, use of second person pronouns to draw the readers in - and also in the child in the forest who opens and closes the book. Repetition of the phrase "Be kind to those ... " has a beautiful rhythm when the text is read aloud.

The word choices in this book are perfect:

"Be kind to those who weave they knit and knot with ease a home in silver silk dancing on the breeze."

"Be kind to those with find as they dart below the reef. A symphony of colours beyond the eyes' belief."

"Be kind to those who wake while others start to yawn. A parliament is sitting before the break of dawn."

This book is a very clever weaving together creatures from the natural world with the concept of kindness. The illustrations and design are bold and engaging. There would be lots to discuss with a class about the meaning and choice of the title. There are lots of details to pour over on each page - rather like looking at an animal catalogue. This is wide-ranging book that takes the reader out from a central anchor of interpreting the nature of what kindness means in different contexts and settings. 

Kind has been listed as a CBCA 2023 Eve Pownall (Non Fiction) Notable book. Another book by Jess McGeachin - Deep also made this list and then went on to be selected for the shortlist of six.