Bay Area 4th graders publish children’s book ‘Thank You: A Story About Kindness and Transformation’

ALAMEDA, Calif. (KGO) — Ryan Brazil’s 4th grade class has accomplished a task that many have only dreamed of. The hard-working group of students wrote, illustrated and published a children’s book: “Thank You: A Story About Kindness and Transformation.”

“Always wanted to, like, publish a book, so this might be the only chance I would ever publish a book,” said 4th grader Harper.

“I never thought that I would be an author,” fellow student and author Alexander said. “I always wanted to write a book.”

“They brought the idea to me, so they asked, ‘Can we publish a book?'” Brazil said. “I had an idea, but their ideas were way better. So my idea went away pretty quickly.”

“We all drew our pictures, and then we had a writing team come in, figure out how to write the words. Lastly, we put it into a book,” 4th grader Jesse said.

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The book tells the story of Bob, a grumpy man who is lost in his own world, missing many chances to be kind to the people around him.

“Bob didn’t really care about helping anyone, but some things started to change,” student author Harper read aloud from the book.

After accidently doing kind things for people, Bob realizes that he likes the way it makes him feel.

“He starts helping everybody and becomes a better person,” student Alexander said.

To celebrate the release of their book, students attended a book signing event at Books, Inc. in Alameda, California.

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“That was really exciting — a physical thing that they can hold, that they can find in their local bookstore, which is pretty cool. And on Amazon, that’s like a big deal for them that it’s out in the world and on the Internet,” Brazil said.

“Stay positive, persist through it, and the whole experience is just really fun, and you’ll definitely like it, even though there will be some hard things,” student McKenna said.

“This book just shows how much we can learn from kids, right? They can teach us a lot, and they have a lot to offer,” Brazil said.

“This book is dedicated to everyone who’s brave enough to choose kindness, even when it’s not the easy thing to do,” 4th grade student Audrey said.

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“I would be happy if someone thought that this book inspired them, inspired them to be kind, like holding the door for someone older,” student Jesse said.

“No one’s like too old or too young to change and be kind,” student Nixon said.

“If everybody was kind, then the world would become a better place,” Harper said.

The book can be purchased on Amazon.