Mission Statement and Core Values for NCCS: Kindness

Everyone knows the cool beans. They're sooooo cool. And then there's the uncool has-bean. Always on the sidelines, one bean unsuccessfully tries everything he can to fit in with the crowd--until one day the cool beans show him how it's done.

With his trademark bright colors and bold lines, Todd Parr takes on a topic more important than ever: being kind to each other. This idea is both a perfect fit for Todd's cheerful, child-friendly positivity and incredibly close to Todd's own heart. No matter what other people choose to do, you can always choose to be kind--and what a wonderful thing to be.

With lyrical text and breathtaking art, the author-illustrator of "The Book of Mistakes" delivers a gorgeous picture book about caring for one's own heart and living with kindness and empathy.

When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate contemplates how to make her feel better and what it means to be kind. From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving and thoughtful story explores what a child can do to be kind, and how each act, big or small, can make a difference or at least help a friend.

Janey, a quiet outsider, is inspired by the eccentric and enigmatic Captain Superlative, a masked superhero who runs through the halls of their middle school, performing radical acts of kindness.

One morning, Jonah decided to become ruler of the playground. Everyone agreed to obey his rules to play in King Jonah's kingdom . . . Everyone except for Lennox . . . because she wanted to rule the playground, too. A gloriously rendered, hilariously deadpan tale of playground politics.

A child recognizes his own humanity, his capacity for doing harm and being harmed, his ability to feel joy and sadness, and his belief in hope and promise to keep learning.

Frightened by news of angry people around the world, a young girl gets her parents' help in learning to be compassionate and brave a little at a time.

Shares a story of loving who you are, respecting others and being kind to one another.

While planting seeds in their garden, two animals learn the value of kindness.

When Ms. Albert teaches a lesson on kindness, Chloe realizes that she and her friends have been wrong in making fun of new student Maya's shabby clothes and refusing to play with her.

Amos McGee, a friendly zoo keeper, always makes time to visit his animal friends, but when he becomes sick and cannot come in to work, the animals pay him a visit instead.

Even when the class bully at her new school makes fun of her, Molly remembers what her grandmother told her and she feels good about herself.

A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.

Mr. Rabbit wonders if he will be able to get along with his new neighbors, who are otters, until he is reminded of the golden rule.

When an organization like PeaceJam, founded by two individuals with an amazing idea and the enthusiasm to make it happen, takes the influence of eleven Nobel Laureates and pairs it with the energy and drive of youth all over the world, the results can be astounding! Recently, PeaceJam has issued a Global Call to Action that it hopes will inspire a billion different projects to initiate change for the better. In these pages, we highlight just a small number of the goals that PeaceJam has already accomplished. Both awe inspiring and humbling, this book contains profiles of each of the Nobel Peace Laureates involved in PeaceJam, firsthand accounts of youth and their work with the Laureates, plus tools and resources to inspire others to action. Grade 5+

Thirty-one stories have been masterfully adapted and translated to transmit the soft, lyrical voice of the originals. The traditions of India, Japan, and Tibet are well represented, while China and other Buddhist-influenced countries are not. Includes Jataka tales, stories of the Buddha in past incarnations, which are widely read and retold to Buddhist children throughout the world.

20 simple, feel-good steps, to learn how to be confident and happy with themselves.

Twelve-year-old Winifred is being fostered by the eccentric but kind Margery Dawson while her mother is dealing with addiction problems, and mostly Fred is determined not to form any attachments to anybody--until the condition of Toby, the abused dog next door, captures first her attention and then her heart, and somehow it becomes increasingly difficult to stay detached from the people who are helping her. Grade 5-8

When seventh-grader Piper's father is hired by Chumley Prep, a school where every student seems to be the best at everything, she gets the chance to compete for the prestigious Excelsior Award. Grade 4-7 (Lexile; 650)

An epic fantasy about a young girl raised by a witch, a swamp monster, and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, who must unlock the powerful magic buried deep inside her. Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinarymagic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge onschedule--but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her--even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she's always known. The acclaimed author of The Witch's Boy has created another epic coming-of-age fairy tale destined to become a modern classic. Grade 5-9 (Lexile: 640)

In the unique landscape of the Camargue (France) during World War II, Lorenzo lives among the salt flats and the flamingos. There are lots of things he doesn't understand–but he does know how to heal animals, how to talk to them; the flamingos especially. He loves routine, and music too: and every week he goes to market with his mother. It’s there he meets Kezia, a Roma girl, who helps her parents run their carousel–and who shows him how to ride the wooden horse as the music plays.

But then the German soldiers come, with their guns. Everything is threatened, everything is falling apart: the carousel, Kezia and her family, even Lorenzo’s beloved flamingos. Yet there are kind people even among soldiers, and there is always hope. Grade 5-8 (lexile: 900)

Deep beneath London, five extraordinary youths, orphans who bonded over their shared sense of justice, have formed the Urban Outlaws and dedicated themselves to outsmarting criminals and performing Random Acts of Kindness (R.A.K.s), but they are in serious trouble when they face a genius super-computer, Proteus. Grade 5-8