A cute and whimisical story with a message - that kindness can change us for the better. As Marla the goldfish proves when she befriends the scary piranha in the tank next to her.

Reading time was definitely a hit today when we read I CAN BE KIND. My group of young readers sat quietly and attentively as I read to them of how one small goldfish could make a difference for his whole neighborhood. A very lively tale that we all loved. And since I had to immediately "read it again", the popular vote says it should be read by everyone!

A cute children’s story about how even those who seem to be the grumpiest and meanest can change with friendship.

I really enjoyed I can be kind. It is a simple way to teach my students that we can change. The piranha Oscar learns that, although his natural habit is to eat goldfish, once he befriends Marla he is no longer interested. He learns that he can change and he can be happy with Marla eating the fish food.

I was given the opportunity to read I can be kind by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It has beautiful illustrations and I agree with the adopt don't shop message but I don't think the romance should have been added, friends maybe but not romance. Thank you BooksGoSocial via NetGalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a creative take for a lesson in kindness, although I was a bit disturbed by the pet shop feeding goldfish to a piranha. We are currently looking for a forever pet and the books message regarding that search was near and dear to my heart.

Great art work
Engaging story. My 5 year old liked the pictures and talking about then more than he liked me reading it to him.

First of all, I appreciated the artwork in this book for children. I think the choice of colors and style will be appealing. I also appreciate the message of choosing pets that have been given up or abandoning, although for the age group, it might not hit the mark.
The story is not great. I thought there was too much happening within the plot, both pushing the anti-pet store vibe and the thought that a meat-eating piranha should be classified as a bully for simply doing what he was intrinsically evolved to do. This sort of sends the message that you have to conform to those around you and deny who you are to maintain harmony. I do think his antagonistic attitude towards the goldfish was consistent with bullying but the fact that he eats meat isn’t a choice for him but who he is. If anything, the goldfish bullied him into denying an innate genetic part of himself.
I also felt that the book is for a young elementary student while the story was for an older student.
Overall, I think this story could use some editing or publisher advice.

#IcanbekindABraveLittleGoldfishHelpsAGrumpyPiranhaBeKindCaringAndGenerous #NetGalley #BooksGoSocial

I'm mixed about this. I read it because I'm specifically looking for books about kindness for preschoolers, and I admire the intent to teach kindness. The author also called attention to the difference between rescuing a pet and the often illegal and immoral practices of pet stores, but then calls the location in the story a "pet shop" but explains it only has rescue animals. I thought this could be a bit confusing for children.

I'm also uncomfortable with the romantic message—it's sort of like a Harlequin novel with fish, where the love of a good female is enough to change the angry, abusive male, which isn't a great message to send children in my opinion.

I thought the artwork in this book was lovely. However, I am an adult and somewhat traumatized by the piranha eating goldfish and being fed his friend. I can’t imagine what a child might feel. I also question how easily the piranha changed a basic instinct of his and why their had to e s anything more than a friendship between the piranha and the goldfish.

This is a book with very good intentions that illustrates the importance of resonance. Some parents and educators will see this as a feel-good book with a wonderful message. Yet, others may not feel so inspired.

The story begins with a message to adopt a pet and not to buy from pet factories or pet stores. However, the story takes place in a pet shop. Some children might be perplexed by the conflicting message, yet the author tries to minimize that by mentioning that this pet shop was different from regular pet shops.

Because I teach very creative and deep-thinking children who might process things a little differently than most people; I can see how the mixed messages could detract from the main idea.

I like that the words iguanas, chameleons, piranha, and geckos are used because it gives children a chance to pronounce words that they may not be familiar with in their written form.

However, the book mentions that the piranha eats goldfish, and then there’s a picture of scared goldfish. Highly sensitive children might not appreciate that imagery.

Also, there’s somewhat of a hint of romance in this book that some parents may not be comfortable with.

Finally, the About The Author page notes that, “getting ready to hatch are hot sexy romance novellas”. I understand the author wants to promote her future work, but children reading this book are likely not the target audience for that.

Overall, the book has a positive message. But whether the delivery of that message resonates is up to the purchaser to decide.