New picture book · September 1, 2026
Spreading Kindness with Dandelion Dust
A shy little bee named Humble flies past every crowded flower to sing to two forgotten buds — and discovers how far one small kindness can travel.
♫
“I want to be kind to every bud,
For that is right, you see.
So I say to you, flower,
Remember this,
kindness begins with this bee.”
The story
Kindness begins with me
In a bustling hive, a shy bee named Humble chooses to journey to a lonely field to sing to two tiny yellow buds that the other bees have forgotten. Though she is warned there is no sweet nectar to find, Humble follows her heart, proving that everyone deserves a little kindness.
When her new friends suddenly transform and scatter into the wind, Humble discovers the magical way that love can take root and multiply. This heartwarming adventure shows how one small bee can change the world.
Look inside
Painted by hand, page by page
Every illustration in the book was created in acrylic paint — 36 pages of meadows, hives, and one very small bee.
Living Kindly
Kindness that multiplies
With each sale, a portion of the proceeds goes to charitable donations aimed at promoting goodness in the world.
“Kindness is free and should be shared often. It’s a priceless gift that multiplies.”
— Crystal Rose Hirschi
Meet the author
Crystal Rose Hirschi
When her children were young, Crystal wanted to teach them valuable lessons through creativity and imagination. She originally wrote about Humble the Bee and her gift of kindness as part of a first-day-of-school lesson — encouraging her kids to broaden their circle of friends and to look out for anyone sitting alone, eating alone, or in need of a friendly face.
Although making friends can be challenging, she believed that with effort, kindness becomes contagious and spreads to others.
From the hive
Stories & notes
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Reading kindness aloud: five questions to ask on the last page
A picture book does its best work in the conversation that follows it. Here are five questions that turn Humble’s story into…
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Painting Humble: how 36 pages come to life in acrylic
Every illustration in Spreading Kindness with Dandelion Dust was painted by hand. Illustrator Michelle Clayton on hives, hairline antennae, and why a…
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Why dandelions?
Most people call them weeds. They are also the first food many bees find in spring, and the only flower that turns…
Plant a seed of kindness
Bring Humble’s story home, and share it with a child who needs to hear it.