Kim Adams was born and raised in St Croix. St Croix is located in the US Virgin Islands. She currently resides in New York City with her husband and their three children [2 sons and a daughter]. While that's the case, Kim is much more than a mother and wife however in that she's also an author and small business owner. She fell in love with the art of storytelling when she was a young child. That in and of itself has stuck with her ever since. Kim resultantly developed a passion for early childhood education and helping children reach their maximum potential. With that being the case, she's authors a series of children's books called Billy Be Kind. These books teach children critical life skills such as taking care of their things, making new friends, and the importance of sharing. Kim was a finalist in the Black Caucus American Librarian Association (BCALA) Best of the Best Book List in 2021.
I had the pleasure of purchasing the latest book in the series, Billy Be Kind: Making a New Friend on January 17, 2022. The story revolves around a 6 year old young lady named Lucy-Lou. She's a beautiful little girl with a bright smile. That smile has unfortunately faded due to her inability to make new friends due to her shyness. Billy witnessed her sitting by herself on the playground quietly crying and he said enough. Billy stepped in to befriend her and teach her how to make friends.
I found myself particularly intrigued with this story because it spoke to me as both a child and adult. I moved around a lot as a child in that I attended four separate elementary schools. I resultantly did not know who too befriend or better yet how to go about making friends in those new places. What's worse is that my daughter had the same experience herself. I did the best that I could to help her in telling her not to overthink things, to find someone that looks like they're fun, introduce yourself, and ask if you can play with them.
Billy Be Kind: Making a New Friend goes into those very things that I discussed in conversations with my daughter albeit it does it in a way that's more creative than I ever could have fashioned. An important item to highlight in that regard is that it's replete with coloring sheets that help to reinforce the story and lessons obtained within. I felt it important not only for me to have a copy of the book but to also read it given my personal experience with shyness and dealing with a once shy child. Consequently I reached out to Kim in asking if she would allow me to share the book on my IG Live. She gave me her blessing to read it on January 20, 2022 as she sat in the audience and cheered me on in my reading and shenanigans. Those of you that missed it can watch the replay of it by going here. Those of you that would like to purchase a copy of Billy Be Kind: Making a New Friend can purchase copies here. Those of you that would like to learn more about Kim Adams or who would like to follow along in the series can do so by going here.
Thank you Kim for writing this book on behalf of children who struggle to make friends and their respective parents. I'm definitely a fan and I will be purchasing additional copies of the books within this series.
5 ⭐️’s
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