Chicken Soup for the Little Souls

CHICKEN SOUP
FOR THE
LITTLE SOULS

3 Colorful Stories to
Warm the Hearts
of Children

Story Adaptations by Lisa McCourt

Illustrated by Pat Grant Porter, Bert Dodson
and Mary O'Keefe Young

Backlist, LLC, a unit of

Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC

Cos Cob, CT

www.chickensoup.com

The Goodness Gorillas:

For the real Jessica Docksteader and her mother, Christina,
whose acts of love and kindness make the world a nicer place.
—Lisa McCourt

For my Jessica Porter Hays.
—Pat Grant Porter

The Best Night Out with Dad:

For Mike McCourt, a dad who knows how to make the
best nights.
—Lisa McCourt

For Sydney, Riley and Emily.
—Bert Dodson

In memory of S. Wayne Clark. “Any male can be
a father, but it takes a special man to be a dad.”
I miss you, Dad.
—Dan Clark

The Never-Forgotten Doll:

For Bettye McCourt and Polly and Robert Hogan, with all
the love in a once-little girl's heart.
—Lisa McCourt

For Ora and Dana, for allowing me to share their beauty
with the world.
—Mary O'Keefe Young

Contents

The Goodness Gorillas

The Best Night Out with Dad

The Never-Forgotten Doll

The
Goodness
Gorillas

Story Adapted from
“Practice Random Acts of
Kindness
and Senseless Acts
of Beauty”
by Adair Lara

Story Adaptation by
Lisa McCourt

Illustrated by
Pat Grant Porter

It started the day Jessica Docket brought cupcakes to school for the whole class.

“Jessica!” said Ms. King. “I didn't know it was your birthday.”

“It's not. My mom made cupcakes because she's a gorilla.”

Jessica handed Ms. King a note.

Ms. King wrote these words on the chalkboard: guerrilla goodness.

She told the class, “We all know what a gorilla is. But this word, guerrilla, means something else. It's a word that people use when they are part of a group that is trying to change something.”

“Like a secret club?” asked Patricia.

“Sort of like that. Guerrilla goodness means practicing random acts of kindness. That's what Ms. Docket and lots of other people all over the world are doing right now. They're trying to make the world a nicer place just by finding new ways to be extra kind and good to people— even to strangers.”

“You mean Ms. Docket makes cupcakes for strangers, too?” asked Stuart.

“She might. Or she might let someone in front of her in line at the grocery store . . .