New children's book "Be Kind I'm Me" teaches respect and diversity

Denise Caraballo has authored a children’s book she hopes teaches children to be respectful and kind while embracing different cultures and customs of those around them.

Denise Caraballo wants to teach children to respect one other in her new book entitled Be Kind I’m Me.

Three years in the making, the book follows the life of Lulu, a young girl of Puerto Rican and African-American descent, as she navigates the change of a new home life, new school, and new friends.

Lulu befriends classmates of different nationalities. A crucial part of the story for Caraballo is when Lulu stands up for herself when met with a bully who picks on her and her friends. Shouting kids should only play with people who look like they do, the bully spurs the group to overcome their differences by learning what they have in common.

In this case, it was their love of ice cream. 

“This world is diverse, and I just wanted people to respect each other’s differences and different cultures,” Caraballo said. 

Caraballo is bicultural herself, coming from both European and Spanish descent. 

Lulu befriends Priya from India, who wears a lungi; Liam from Israel, who wears a kippah; and eventually Joe from Ireland. At the end of the book, the children and their parents share cultural foods and friendship.

Including the parents in the story was important to Caraballo because she felt, while kindness and respect should start with adults, children are more capable of teaching adults than they are given credit for being able to do.

Caraballo said food brings people together, both in her book and in real life. She spends plenty of time cooking, and being close with her big family means plenty of meals shared together. 

She began writing Be Kind I’m Me in 2021, but let it sit for some time, unsure if she wanted to proceed with publishing. Caraballo said she’d always wanted to write a book, especially one that could help children learn to respect one another. 

Caraballo has lived in Riverdale for the last eight years and has worked in Riverdale public schools for the last 13 years. She said the children she sees in the schools in which she’s worked inspire her, but her biggest inspiration is her daughter, Nastasia. Growing up, Caraballo gave her daughter the nickname Little Lulu Slate, referring to her as her little rock. 

Outside of writing her children’s book, Caraballo spends her time volunteering, dedicated to her friends, and spending time with family. 

“I’m always helping someone. I feel like I’m not placed on this earth for myself,” she said. 

As the youngest of eight siblings, Carballo has a big family she still spends plenty of time with, but, she joked, despite being the youngest she feels like the oldest because she’s the one everybody calls for help. And if it isn’t her family calling, it’s a friend. She says she’s always ready and willing to help assist someone. 

Caraballo’s volunteer work has included the Riverdale Y as a counselor in the after-school program and Eric Dinowitz’s campaign while running for City Council. She also spent time volunteering and advocating for women affected by domestic violence. As an advocate, she would attend court proceedings and show up for the women involved. 

Caraballo said she leads her life displaying kindness and respect and wants the same for others because there’s so much hate and disharmony in the world. Throwing a little kindness out into the world, she said,  is her job. 

“I feel like I accomplished something positive for the kids and that’s what I wanted to do,” Caraballo said. 

She said she’s excited to see what is to come from the release of her book.