Punch! A Story about Kindness
Punch! A Story about Kindness by Michael Hall is a picture book published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2025. This engaging 40-page book is designed for children and explores themes of empathy, kindness, and forgiveness through the story of Badger and his friends. When Badger struggles with overwhelming emotions following a personal loss, he inadvertently takes his frustrations out on Frog, Moose, Elephant, and Bear. In response, his friends devise a plan to teach him a valuable lesson about handling emotions and the importance of kindness.
Readers will find that Punch! combines humor with rich social and emotional content, making it an ideal read-aloud choice for families. The narrative follows Badger’s journey as he learns to navigate his feelings and the unexpected support from his friends. Illustrated with Michael Hall’s distinctive cut-paper collages, the book features inventive wordplay and rhythm, enhancing the storytelling experience. This edition is perfect for children exploring big emotions and the significance of friendship in overcoming challenges.
Official synopsis Publisher
In a world where it’s easy to punch back, Badger’s friends choose to patch things up. Perfect for kids navigating big emotions!
When Badger bullies his friends Frog, Moose, Elephant, and Bear, they teach him an unforgettable lesson about empathy, kindness, and forgiveness in this funny and thematically rich social and emotional read-aloud from the acclaimed creator of Red: A Crayon’s Story.
Badger, Frog, Moose, Elephant, and Bear are best friends. But when Badger experiences a personal loss and his emotions are too big to contain, he goes looking for trouble and takes his sadness out on his friends. He trips Frog, shoves Moose, kicks Elephant, and pokes Bear with a shovel. So Bear gathers the others, and they come up with a plan to teach Badger a lesson. Only that lesson is not what Badger–or readers–expect. In fact, Badger’s friends treat Badger with kindness, offering him what he needs the most to sooth his raw emotions–a surprising turn of events that Badger takes to heart when Bear needs a little comfort in return.
Illustrated in Michael Hall’s signature cut-paper collages, Punch! sparkles with inventive wordplay, rhythm, repetition, homonyms, and plenty of suspense and action. Rich with social and emotional hooks, this picture book is a terrific choice for story time and family sharing.
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