November 13 is World Kindness Day — a lovely reminder that kindness is something we can practice, celebrate and nurture in our children every day.
As parents, we often hope our children will grow up to be thoughtful, compassionate people. We encourage them to share, say thank you, help a friend and consider how others might be feeling. But kindness is more than remembering good manners. It is learning to recognize another person's feelings, appreciate differences and choose to do something thoughtful, even when no one is watching.
As a children books' lover, I find a good story is one of the best places to begin.
Stories that help kindness grow
For World Kindness Day, we've brought together a collection of Vietnamese and Vietnamese-English children's books that explore empathy, compassion, gratitude, friendship, inclusion and respect.
Here are a few titles to discover:
Bilingual The Kindest Fairy Tales | Truyện Cổ Tích Tử Tế
What if familiar fairy tales unfolded with a little more kindness?
In The Kindest Fairy Tales, four familiar stories are reimagined with kindness, gratitude and empathy in mind. With gentler outcomes and thoughtful messages, this bilingual book offers a wonderful way to show children how compassion can change the way a story unfolds.
It's also a lovely opportunity to enjoy a familiar storytelling tradition while reading in both Vietnamese and English.
Sự Tử Tế Đẹp Như Bông Hoa
Kindness can be like a beautiful flower — bringing happiness to both the giver and the receiver.
Translated from Jayneed Sander's You, Me and Empathy, this story follows Quinn through everyday moments when she shows care for the people around her: comforting her sick mother, helping her brother after a fall and soothing another child who gets hurt at the park.
Through Quinn's experiences, children discover that empathy begins with noticing how others feel and choosing to respond with care.
Trạm Dừng Cuối Ở Phố Chợ
Sometimes, kindness is about seeing the beauty in people and places we might otherwise overlook.
The Vietnamese translation of Last Stop on Market Street invites young readers to discover the value of community, appreciate different perspectives and notice the small moments that make everyday life meaningful.
It's a thoughtful story about looking beyond what we have or don't have, and recognizing the richness of human connection.
Social and Emotional Intelligence – Bộ Sách Phát Triển Trí Tuệ Cảm Xúc
Kindness also grows when children learn to understand themselves and the people around them.
This six-book collection explores important social and emotional skills, helping children navigate feelings, relationships, respect, acceptance and everyday challenges. These are meaningful conversations to revisit as children grow and encounter new situations at home, at school and with friends.
Em Làm Việc Nhà
Helping others doesn't always happen outside the home. Sometimes, it starts with putting away toys, lending a hand or taking responsibility for a small household task.
Em Làm Việc Nhà introduces children to the idea of contributing to family life. Through everyday activities, little readers can begin to understand cooperation, helpfulness and how even small contributions can make a difference to the people they live with. I especially love this book for its gender-neutral take on house work - the entire family participates, it's not just mom's responsbility.
Growing kindness while growing Vietnamese
For Vietnamese-speaking families raising children in Canada and the US, sharing these stories in Vietnamese can offer something extra.
A story time can become more than a chance to practice vocabulary or improve reading skills. It can help children connect meaningful ideas — such as empathy, friendship, gratitude and respect — with the Vietnamese language.
For bilingual families, reading the same story in Vietnamese and English can also create opportunities to compare words, discuss ideas and make connections between the two languages.
And for children who are still developing their Vietnamese, illustrations and familiar everyday situations can help make the experience more accessible and enjoyable.
Let's make kindness part of our everyday stories
World Kindness Day is one day on the calendar, but the lessons behind it are worth sharing all year long.
Read a story together. Ask your child how a character might be feeling. Talk about a time someone was kind to them, or think of one small act of kindness they could do for someone else today.
Because raising kind children isn't about expecting them to get everything right. It's about helping them build the understanding, confidence and compassion to make thoughtful choices as they grow.
Explore the the full Books on Kindness collection at VietCan Books and find meaningful Vietnamese and Vietnamese-English stories to share with your little readers.