Children's ✦ Penny’s Take
What Is Kindness?
Jenna Dawson · 2021
61/100
👎 Skip It
Jenna Dawson's picture book earns points for a thoughtful concept — distinguishing genuine kindness from surface niceness is a more useful lesson than most books in this space attempt, and her early childhood credentials show. The self-published format limits editorial reach and distribution, and the explicit LGBTQIA-inclusive framing means it will be a natural fit for some families and a mismatch for others. Within its intended audience it's a worthwhile read; outside it, families should know what they're choosing.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
⚠ Parent note — our reviewers flagged: Explicitly LGBTQIA-inclusive framing with gender-neutral language and diverse family structures — may not align with faith-conservative audience values. We still scored it 61; these are context for your family, not an automatic skip.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety74
Substance / usefulness59
Craft & writing55
Originality62
Evidence & accuracy78
Hype vs delivers59
Age-fit67
👁 Human-eye gut-check63
Penny’s verdict61
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