Most People

by Michael Leannah, Jennifer E. Morris (Illustrator)

Overview

2017 Gold Moonbeam Children's Book Award: For dedication to children’s books and literacy and for inspired writing, illustrating and publishing.

The world can be a scary place. Anxious adults want children to be aware of dangers, but shouldn’t kids be aware of kindness too?

Michael Leannah wrote Most People as an antidote to the scary words and images kids hear and see every day. Jennifer Morris’s emotive, diverting characters provide the perfect complement to Leannah’s words, leading us through the crowded streets of an urban day in the company of two pairs of siblings (one of color). We see what they see: the hulking dude with tattoos and chains assisting an elderly lady onto the bus; the Goth teenager with piercings and purple Mohawk returning a lost wallet to its owner; and the myriad interactions of daily existence, most of them well intended. Most People is a courageous, constructive response to the dystopian world of the news media.

Fountas & Pinnell Level M

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884485544
Publisher:	Tilbury House Publishers
Publication date:	08/15/2017
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	222,952
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Michael Leannah was a teacher in elementary schools for more than 30 years and is the author of an instruction manual for teachers, We Think with Ink. His children’s fiction has been published in Highlights for Children, Ladybug, and other magazines. Author of MOST PEOPLE.  A resident of Wisconsin, where he is a father and proud grandfather.

Jennifer E. Morris is the author and illustrator of May I Please Have a Cookie?, Please Write Back! (combined sales over 1 million copies) and The Lemonade Hurricane as well as other children’s books. She also illustrates children's magazines, greeting cards, party ware, and educational materials and is the recipient of the Don Freeman Memorial Grant awarded by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Jennifer lives in rural Massachusetts with her husband and two children.

Read an Excerpt

The first few pages of this gentle, reassuring picture book begin:

Most people love to smile.Most people love to laugh.Most people love to see other people smile and laugh too.Most people are good people.

Most people want to help when they see someone crying. Most people want to help when they see someone who is in trouble.

Most people want to make other people — even strangers —feel good. Most people are very good people.

Some people do bad things. They yell bad words. They lie and steal. They bully and hurt and destroy. But most people don’t do those things. If you could line up all the people who want to be good and all the people who want to be bad, the good line would stretch from here to the tallest mountain. All the people in the bad line could crowd together in a dark and gloomy room.

Editorial Reviews

Most People works especially well because it doesn't just tell children to "be" good. It shows them how to "do" good.

The New York Times Book Review - R. J. Palacio

"This is a gem, and one I love having on my shelves to turn to during tough times. "

happily ever elephants - Have No Fear! The Best Books for Kids With Anxiety: Fear of Strangers or Bad Things Happening

"Most People" is a courageous, constructive response to the dystopian world of the news media and very highly recommended for family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library picture book collections."

The Midwest Book Review

"Most People is an inspiring choice to start a discussion on diversity, empathy, and kindness as well as on analyzing what we hear and see in and on the news. The positive perspective is welcome and provides young readers with comfort and examples of how people in general and they specifically can make a difference with even simple heartfelt gestures. Most People is an excellent book for home, classroom, and library bookshelves."

CelebratePictureBooks.com - November 13 - World Kindness Day

"Most People reminds kids that, although there are many scary events and images in the world, there are also countless examples of goodness."

35 Children's Books that Teach Empathy and Kindness - Huffington Post - Caroline Bologna

"I love this book! It is a perspective not often found in children's books so directly, that most people in this world are good. I can't wait to order this for our library, and I will be recommending it to patrons."

Lakes Region Library Librarian

"I love the sense of community and messages of kindness. I also like how the book explains that people who do bad things can change.  Because deep down aren’t all humans good people? I like to believe so or at least hope this is true. As the book states, “there is a seed of goodness inside {each person} waiting to sprout.”     The author’s note acknowledges that while children need to be careful of strangers, they also need to know that most people are good, kind and helpful. Our children don’t deserve to be overly fearful of the world no matter how much the media communicates this.  I think this book can help spark lots of great discussions with smaller children whenever tragedies strike as it’s easy enough to understand.  A great book to add to your home or school library."

Kindness Matters - Here Wee Read - Mrs. G

"This offers a fairly simple and positive perspective on the world around us."

Most People - Booklist - Jessica Anne Bratt

10/01/2017
K-Gr 2—"Most people love to smile. Most people love to laugh," begins this well-intentioned work of bibliotherapy. In a bright, clean city, a large cast of recurring diverse characters go about their day, illustrating the book's message that "Most people want to make other people—even strangers—feel good. Most people are very good people." Of course, some people do bad things, like swear, lie, steal, bully, and destroy, but the book repeatedly reassures readers that they are in the minority. Doing something bad doesn't necessarily make someone a bad person; people make mistakes and can change. People can be sad or mad or have a bad day, but most would rather be happy. The friendly cartoon illustrations do a great job showing the connectedness of the community, emphasizing how each person can positively affect others, and dispelling stereotypes. Some parents may be chagrined to find that swearing is lumped into the "bad person" category. Additionally, the spread that discusses the total ratio of good to bad people is a little alarming, as it crowds all the bad people together "in a dark and gloomy room" and the shadowy figures are the opposite of reassuring. This book may be useful for kids struggling with general anxiety, but its simplistic message belies the lived experiences of many children. VERDICT Buy to spark classroom discussion or to fill a very specific gap in collections.—Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

School Library Journal

2017-05-24
"Most people are very good people." Leannah keeps repeating his message in a worthy yet didactic text that might be most valued in Sunday schools were it not for the surprisingly diverse and contemporary illustrations. Precise, occasionally irreverent ink-and-watercolor illustrations bring different neighborhood people into focus as they go about their days. A bearded, tattooed, white biker type politely allows an older woman with light brown skin, using a cane, to board the bus first and courteously says "After you ma'am." A little black girl hands another, who sits scowling, a flower to cheer her up. A white man with a blue mohawk waits patiently in line. A young white boy points out a lost dollar bill to a man with light brown skin waiting to buy honey. A street musician plays, a blind woman hugs her guide dog, and a grandfather and his grandson, both white, give a pie to a homeless white woman. Many of these characters are seen in their apartments that night, the Hell's Angel lookalike and the blind woman both reading in their separate apartments, the spiky-haired punk playing with his cats, and some families enjoying a meal together on the roof. Yes, the illustrations depict an almost perfect place, with diversity, inclusiveness, and basic goodness, but we can dream. Despite its textual platitudes, the visual stories here are well worth telling. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews

"This book is a great resource for younger children to understand that even though bad things happen sometimes (as seen in the news, etc), that most people are good, kind and helpful. It reassures children that even though a few people may choose to do bad things, most people are kind and want to help others."

KDL - Kent District Library Staff Picks 2017 - Jill at KDL Service Center

"Most People is a lovely book that addresses the issue of people not always being good. No parent wants to see their child become disillusioned with the world, and this book helps deal with this concept in a kind and gentle manner. The lovely illustrations support the text, nicely depicting "not good" actions in ways a young child can grasp, such as stealing and vandalism. Since all children do things that are "not good" it also shows that someone can be sorry, change their actions and be forgiven. Nice book to deal with both sides of this concept - if somebody in a child's world has done something "not good", or if they have."

Middle School Librarian

"This reassuring picture book shows children that the world around them is filled with helpful and friendly people.  It is a book that brings a sense of safety to the young reader or listener, one that can help see their community and their school in a different way. It’s also a book that will start conversations about what kind of person they are and what positive changes they want to see in their world. The illustrations emphasize diversity and the friendly urban setting. The book follows the course of a day and ends with a beautiful city night and people seen through windows and on rooftops as a larger community.A strong and positive book that is important for children of today. Appropriate for ages 3-5."

Waking Brain Cells

"Most People, we are told, love to smile and laugh. Most people want to help other people. Most people love the sunshine. Most people are good. There are some people who aren’t good, of course, but if you could line up all the good people and all the bad ones, the line of good people would be much, much longer. That simple reasoning is perfectly pitched for its young audience, who will enjoy piecing together the story-within-a-story of the two main characters as they illustrate the messages of the text within the context of their own lives. MOST PEOPLE works especially well because it doesn’t just tell children to “be” good. It shows them how to “do” good.

 "

You Can’t Teach Kids Empathy, but These Picture Books Inspire It - NYT Book Review - R. J. Palacio

"I still believe most people in this world are kind — and that’s the overall message of this heartwarming book. I love the sense of community and messages of kindness embedded in the story. I also like how the book explains with simple reasoning that people who do bad things can change — “there is a seed of goodness inside {each person} waiting to sprout.” The author’s note acknowledges that while children need to be careful of strangers, they also need to know that most people are good, kind, and helpful. Our children don’t deserve to be overly fearful of the world despite what they may see in the media."

11 Books That Model Empathy and Compassion for Young Readers - Brightly - Charnaie Gordon

"There is a significant volume of children's literature dedicated to creating awareness of the possible dangers of strangers. While this is a very important lesson for children, a story that highlights the goodness in people is a welcome change. This story would fit very well into a study of communities."

Teacher

"Most People, we are told, love to smile and laugh. Most people want to help other people. Most people love the sunshine. Most people are good. There are some people who aren’t good, of course, but if you could line up all the good people and all the bad ones, the line of good people would be much, much longer. That simple reasoning is perfectly pitched for its young audience, who will enjoy piecing together the story-within-a-story of the two main characters as they illustrate the messages of the text within the context of their own lives. MOST PEOPLE works especially well because it doesn’t just tell children to “be” good. It shows them how to “do” good.

 "

You Can’t Teach Kids Empathy, but These Picture Books Inspire It - NYT Book Review - R. J. PALACIO

"This is a gem, and one I love having on my shelves to turn to during tough times. "

happily ever elephants - Have No Fear! The Best Books for Kids With Anxiety: Fear of Strangers or Bad Things Happening