Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed

GREAT message! Loved the idea behind the book and think it is a wonderful message for children to hear in this day & age.

The book (especially the beginning) is worded for PK-1, then the end gets very long and wordy (more appropriate for grades 2-3). I find that a bit inconsistent in general - that's why I'm giving it 4 stars.

The description made me buy this book. It would be nice if each person would pay forward a kindness to five other people, but the story seems a bit far-fetched, and went on longer than I anticipated. I have not read it to my kindergarten students yet, so their reaction may be different from mine.

This book is almost impossible to follow and read all the way through. It has a good pay it forward concept that is executed terribly and almost illegibly. I'm planning on getting rid of it unfortunately.

To the author. Please consider re releasing this book with more diverse skin tones and changing the phrase about the man being surprised someone would return his wallet "despite being poor". There are so few books on acts of kindness for young kid and this book has the potential to be the absolute best.

Cute story, came quickly. I have no problem with what color or ethnic group is or is not represented here. It's a good story for kids (or ANYONE!) about "paying it forward." And that should be applicable to all people across the board, regardless of any diversity we may have.

"We all want to change the world." -- John Lennon, from "Revolution," 1968

Mary is a child who just happens to do something nice for somebody. She picks some fresh blueberries and leaves them on her neighbor's doorstep. Her neighbor has no idea who her benefactor is, so she makes a big batch of blueberry muffins to share to show her appreciation.

One of the people who eats the delicious muffins does something kind for another person and before long, each person by whatever degree of separartion starts to commit random acts of kindness.

What a lovely story! It shows how kindness can increase exponentially by a single act. It shows how one person CAN make a difference, even if they never know that they did.

A good companion book to this is Weeping Under This Same Moon

This is a wonderful little book! I loved it! And the illustrations are wonderful too! I teach children's virtues classes and use the book, "30 Days to a Better World Starting with Me!" which gives lots of ideas for acts of kindess that are suitable for kids. "Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed" will be a great addition to my classes. Every kid should have books like this to inspire them to think of others. My complements to Emily Pearson. Nice job!

I love the concept behind this book -- that ordinary, everyday kindnesses can have far-reaching results. But the book was simply too long and complicated for young children to understand. I tried to read this to my four-year-old, and she had little patience for the wordy story. She also showed absolutely no interest in the mathematics of how one person can affect many. And my older kids (ages 8 and 10) found the story too simplistic.

While I love the story, it misses the age groups on both ends, being simultaneously too simple for older kids and too complicated for younger ones.

This is a fabulous book. If you embrace the philosophies of service learning and making a difference, and it is important to you that your child or classroom of children understand and become civically responsible individuals, then this book is a great tool. It is an outstanding story for children from kindergarten through fifth grade (although some explaining and reviewing will be necessary for the younger children). Even though it is a story/picture book, the older children will enjoy it as well.

Teaching children about giving is the theme of this tale. Mary does a simple deed only to find it multiplies with dramatic results, touching the lives of others. My third graders were inspired to try "Random Acts of Kindness" after hearing this story.

Wonderful choice for children as a read aloud that promotes doing good deeds for others. A great "what goes around, comes around" book. Great teacher resource with cute pictures and catchy storyline. I am really glad I bought this book!

This is a fabulous book to share with children of all ages. I am a Principal of an Elementary school and we used this book as our book of the month, sending it home after it was read in school for students to share with their families. The author had some great insight in writing this book. Thanks Emily!

Love the message, but wish the writing had been a bit better. As an unschooling parent, I also wish the book hadn't unnecessarily mentioned school.

Like another reviewer, I was surprised and disappointed to see that everyone pictured is white, even when the whole world is pictured. And this choice is especially odd since the illustrator is Japanese! I wonder how she felt about that.

Not everyone is white, and not every child goes to school.