Review - Tomorrow I'll Be Kind

Tomorrow I'll Be Kind
by Jessica Hische
Date: 2020
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

In a follow-up to Tomorrow I'll Be Brave, award-winning illustrator Jessica Hische brings to life another series of inspirational words and scenes with her lovely hand-lettering and adorable illustrations. This uplifting and positive book encourages kids to promise that tomorrow, they will be grateful, helpful, and kind.

Tomorrow I'll be everything
I strive to be each day
And even when it's difficult
I'll work to find a way.

Immerse yourself in the beautifully hand-lettered words of widsom, hope, and positivity alongside adorable illustrations of love and caring. This book is a reminder to all readers, young and old, that the smallest kind gesture can make the biggest difference in the world--we just have to remember to be kind to one another.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This book is a bit strange. While the sentiments are nice, I don't really understand the "tomorrow" element. It makes the book seem like a manual for procrastination. Why can't you be helpful, generous, and kind today? Why do you need to put it off? (If you keep saying "tomorrow", you'll never actually have to do it. So what's the point here?)

The illustrations are interesting. Colourful and graphic, they still manage to incorporate lots of details. Each of the concepts is highlighted with a big, fancy word that spans a spread. However, some of these are kind of hard to read (like, you need to lean way back to be able to see what the word actually is, because there are a lot of flourishes that kind of obscure the basic shape). While the fancy lettering will probably appeal to adult readers who like that sort of thing, I question having something with such poor readability in a children's picture book.

Overall, this is just okay. I would've liked it a lot better if the emphasis had been on things that we can do today rather than tomorrow.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.86 out of 5