Today is Kindness Day; inspired by the bestselling book Wonder by R J Palacio and run in conjunction with The Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying Campaign, Kindness Day is one day every year that asks people to perform a random act of kindness – whether that’s to friends, family, school mates or strangers!
So here’s ours to you, a list of the tenderest, sweetest and kindest characters in all of children’s fiction. We all love the good guy in a book, but the people who help the good guy are often the goodest of the good, so they might not be the people you were expecting…
Grandpa Joe - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Grandpa Joe is the epitome of the kind old grandfather that every child wants. He gives Charlie the last of his money to buy another Wonka bar, in search of a golden ticket. When Charlie wins, he accompanies his grandson to the Wonka factory, and he and Charlie are the only pair that survive the magical tour, due to their good hearts and kindness. The Bucket family are all incredibly kind, but Grandpa Joe is the patriarch who sets an example for everyone else.
Albus Dumbledore - The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
Perhaps not as obviously kind as Grandpa Joe, Professor Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts while Harry is a student there, and he frequently puts himself in danger to try to find a way to destroy Lord Voldemort and the dark forces which threaten the lives of witches and wizards everywhere. Dumbledore places Harry in the care of his aunt and uncle at the start of the series, and watches over him from afar for his entire childhood before he starts at Hogwarts.
Lucy Pevensie - The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
The youngest and, some would say, the most naive of the Pevensie siblings in CS Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy is also proven to be the kindest. This is through her unstoppable belief in the creatures of Narnia, in particular Mr Tumnus and Aslan. Forget “Lucy the Valiant”, her title should be “Lucy the Kind”!
Boo Radley - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Arthur “Boo” Radley is the next door neighbour of the Finch family in Harper Lee’s 1960 classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Although Boo is believed to be a deranged man who is dangerous and therefore house-bound, he (*spoiler-alert*) comes to the rescue of Jem and Scout at the end of the novel, and it is revealed that he has been looking after them all along.
Dorothy Gale - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
Dorothy could be forgiven for being quite self-absorbed after the awful trip to the Emerald City inside a twister, but she is still incredibly kind to the people and creatures that she meets. Apart from accidentally squishing the Wicked Witch of the East (oops), Dorothy is willing to help everyone, including the Scarecrow, the Tin-Man and the Cowardly Lion. She welcomes her new friends on her trip down the Yellow Brick Road, and takes them to have their wishes granted by the Whiz of a Wiz.
Mary Poppins - Mary Poppins by PL Travers
Everyone’s favourite nanny only stays with children for as long as she is needed, and sets them on the right track. She is self-styled as being “practically perfect in every way”, and this isn’t actually far from the truth! She looks after the Banks children and teaches them to be kind and polite, just like she is.
Roberta Waterbury - The Railway Children by E Nesbit
Roberta “Bobby” Waterbury shows kindness through her relationships with her family, with Perks, and with Mr Szczepansky, the Russian exile that her family take in. A highlight of her kindness is when she and her siblings take a birthday feast to Perks and his family to show how grateful they are to know him, or when Bobby stands in front of an oncoming steam train to stop it from crashing and injuring people on board.
Hans Hubermann - The Book Thief by Markuz Zusak
Hans and Rosa Hubermann take in Liesel Meminger, a young girl whose parents have fled Germany during the second world war. Hans welcomes Liesel with open arms, and helps her learn how to read so she can fit in at school. He has also made a promise to a friend of his who had fought in the first world war, that if his family ever needed help, they could come to him. This means that Hans and Rosa also take in Max Vandenburg, Hans’ friend’s son and a Jew. Hans does this despite knowing that if he was found to be harbouring a Jew he would be killed, which proves that Hans is always willing to help other people, regardless of the consequences for him.
Bruno - The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Another book set during the second world war, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas tells the story of Bruno, a German boy whose father is a Nazi officer and who is forced to leave Berlin to live in a remote Nazi-occupied area. A keen adventurer, Bruno explores the area around his new home, and stumbles across a concentration camp, which his father has been put in charge of. Bruno is unaware of what he’s found, and makes friends with Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence. Bruno isn’t interested in the fact that he is supposed to hate Shmuel, he is simply interested in being his friend. John Boyne shows the kindness of children in this book, as Bruno simply sees the person Shmuel is, no labels.
Your suggestions:
@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks The Water Rat. He does the right thing by the Toad, and rescues Mole from the Wild Wood.
— Caitlin Adams (@CAdams145) June 12, 2015
Elaine, on email
Why, of course it’s Charlotte A. Cavatica, the spider-heroine of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web!
@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks Great list but I might have put Snape over Dumbledore in the tradition of Boo Radley.
— SallyAnneHuang (@SallyAnneHuang) June 12, 2015
Penny, on email
I think Sara from A Little Princess has to be the kindest child in a book. She gave to those with even less than herself. A beautiful book.
@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks It has to be Mole! The way he puts up with Toad, Badger, and Rat - he's a saint! http://t.co/zVHugoBPFB
— PM Hansen (@PMHansenAuthor) June 12, 2015
Virginia, on email
How could you leave out Heidi, Pollyanna, Beth (from Little Women) and Miss Honey (from Matilda)?
@EmilyDrabs @GdnChildrensBks ATTICUS FINCH! (Is that children's fiction? I'm never sure.)
— Holly Smale ☀️ (@HolSmale) June 12, 2015
E and B Scott, on email
How about young Dickon Sowerby and his sister Martha in the classic children’s book The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett? They are just KIND children who go out of their way to comfort and tend to the wellbeing of grouchy young Mary Lennox and her cousin Colin Craven, and to very good effect indeed! The whole book is about kindness, and how it can transform young lives.
@GdnChildrensBks Daisy is the person I wanted to be - and changed my life when I created her in The Waterhouse Girl. http://t.co/X4fBvEYVe0
— Sue Hampton (@SueAuthor) June 12, 2015
@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks Mary Poppins; Pollyanna (Not certain of Pollyanna is from a book)
— Renee Wheeler (@Renee4Earth) June 12, 2015
@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks Hazel Wong!
— Charlotte Morris (@charlieinabook) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks Miss Jennifer Honey in Matilda https://t.co/5ksIDJ7phy
— Elizabeth Smith (@lizsmith_2013) June 12, 2015
@guardianbooks @gdnchildrensbks surely the BFG has to be up there? Giving all those people happy dreams? #kindnessday
— Matt Owen (@ClimateMatt) June 12, 2015
@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks Winnie the Pooh is the kindest, sweetest bear!
— Jane Scholey (@scholey_jane) June 12, 2015
@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks Atticus Finch, Remus Lupin and Miss Honey
— Jen (@Crystal__Queer) June 12, 2015
@EmilyDrabs @GdnChildrensBks Minerva McGonagall and Molly Weasley
— Hannah Kaye Tindale (@HannahLoveBook) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks How about Samwise Gamgee in LOTR? Irritating in the films but unquestionably kind! #KindnessDay
— Mark Swinhoe (@MarkPeteSwin) June 12, 2015
Charlotte in Charlotte's Web is one of the kindest, most generous kid's fiction characters @GdnChildrensBks
— Angela Crocombe (@angelacrocombe) June 12, 2015
@EmilyDrabs @GdnChildrensBks The swallow in Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince *weeps uncontrollably* #KindnessDay
— Clare Furniss (@ClareFurniss) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks Charlotte the spider. Hands down (all 8 of them) #KindnessDay
— Sarah Yeatman (@sarah_yeatman) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks Matthew Cuthbert, a kind and kindred spirit. #KindnessDay
— Heidi Murphy (@HeidiNiMhurchu) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks #kindnessday Also, I think Hazel from Watership Down deserves a mention. He's the leader, but shows such benevolent wisdom.
— Ben Stephens (@stephens_ben) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks #kindnessday Second one I thought of, weirdly, is Polly from Mr Gum. So pure and sweet-natured and openhearted.
— Ben Stephens (@stephens_ben) June 12, 2015
@ClareFurniss @GdnChildrensBks @EmilyDrabs The little boy's sister in Shirley Hughes' 'Dogger'. #CryEveryTime
— Liza Stevens (@Arty_Liza) June 12, 2015
@booksinkbanbury @GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks I nominate Bella in 'dogger' by Shirley Hughes 😊 pic.twitter.com/V6vlMZL4xZ
— Jacqui (@pinkgerbera1) June 12, 2015
@EmilyDrabs @GdnChildrensBks The Mum from The Railway Children! And Beth from Little Women. Oh Beth.....!
— LH 'Daisy' Johnson (@chaletfan) June 12, 2015
The Kindest Character is definitely Rubeus Hagrid. @GdnChildrensBks @lancspublib pic.twitter.com/A0A7VBqZj5
— Holly BB (@holly_ukolc) June 12, 2015
@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks The Water Rat. He does the right thing by the Toad, and rescues Mole from the Wild Wood.
— Caitlin Adams (@CAdams145) June 12, 2015
Happy #KindnessDay! Who are the kindest characters in children's fiction? http://t.co/vzTzHdwtyf tell us yours! pic.twitter.com/m3M4hQQ5gD
— GdnChildrensBooks (@GdnChildrensBks) June 12, 2015
@KidsBloomsbury @GdnChildrensBks Mr. Thomas "Tom" Oakley, in Michelle Magorian's 'Goodnight Mr Tom'. Horton in Dr Seuss ' Horton Hears a Who
— Mary Roche (@marygtroche) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks #KindnessDay Mister Tom from Goodnight, Mister Tom
— Nikki (@NJBKent) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks Charles Maxim in @kdbrundell 's Rooftoppers
— Andy Shepherd (@andyjshepherd) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks Nancy from Oliver Twist. She was only fourteen, and was abused for all of her short life but only ever showed kindness.
— Zohra Nabi (@Zohra3Nabi) June 12, 2015
@KidsBloomsbury @GdnChildrensBks I'd say that Mamie Rose is pretty hard to beat in Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt's Oscar and the Lady in Pink
— Mathew Tobin (@Mat_at_Brookes) June 12, 2015
@BeautLiesBSU what do you think? Severus Snape - breaks my heart when I think of his sacrifice :( @GdnChildrensBks https://t.co/nbyEdzjYvS
— Jak Harrison (@jak_harrison) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks #KindnessDay Matthew Cuthbert in Anne Of Green Gable ...so kind, I want to cry thinking about him! pic.twitter.com/gHFMMma1Lh
— Laura (@272BookFaith) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks @EmilyDrabs #kindnessday the Animals of Farthing Wood - they show great kindness to each other
— Laura Creyke (@LauraCreyke) June 12, 2015
@PenguinSchools @GdnChildrensBks hands down kindness character is Miss Honey from Matilda. She's the reason I became a teacher. #kindnessday
— Anjuli Clayden (@VintageAnjuli) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks I'd put two of Burnett's characters on that list: Sara from A Little Princess and Dickon from The Secret Garden. :)
— Rebecca Morris (@xBecki_Morrisx) June 12, 2015
@PuffinBooks @GdnChildrensBks The Smartest Giant in The Smartest Giant - Julia Donaldson Axel Scheffler @MacKidsBooks
— Caroline Sheldon (@CarolineAgent) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks @EmilyDrabs If patience is a kindness, Charlie, always so patient with Lola, has to be one of the kindest. #KindnessDay
— Hannah Wilson (@IamHannahWilson) June 12, 2015
It has to be Minty in Journey to the River Sea! #KindnessDay @EmilyDrabs @GdnChildrensBks
— Rebecca Bedding (@PostfromRebecca) June 12, 2015
@GdnChildrensBks @EmilyDrabs Joe from Summer of the Swans. What a hero.
— Aoife Walsh (@AoifeMPWalsh) June 12, 2015
