KiNDness for All: Teaching Lessons

Through Literature
Link to article: https://scholastic.nd.edu/issues/kindness-for-all-teaching-lessons-through-
literature/

At first glance, the two figures do not seem to have much in common. She is petite and
chipper. He is big with an overwhelming stoic presence. The weekend of the Michigan
game was just her third trip to campus, while he spent years here as a student-athlete.
An unlikely duo, Marie Unanue and Justin Tuck have the same life mission: promoting
kindness and giving back.

The two, who became friends through Notre Dame’s Cavanaugh Council, appeared at
many events together over the weekend while promoting Unanue’s new children’s
book: “The Adventures of Phatty & Payaso.” The book is a heartwarming ode to
friendship in the face of bullying. What makes it unique? The main characters are cats!
The feline protagonists mirror the real life inspiration for Unanue. Her own overweight
shelter cat, Phatty, developed a friendship with her neighbor’s sophisticated cat, Payaso,
and Unanue felt the story would make a teaching tool for children.

Besides the cast of animal characters, the book also includes a human protagonist who is
on the autism spectrum. She wanted her book to promote inclusivity to children along
with other social skills such as empathy, grit, curiosity and social intelligence.

For Tuck, a long-time supporter of children’s literacy through his foundation Tuck’s
Read, Understand, Succeed, Hope (R.U.S.H.) for Literacy, the story’s ideals were a cause
he could get behind. For him, literacy is personal. As a child, his family did not have the
means to travel, but his mother told him that he could go to any destination he sought
simply by picking up a book. This idea stuck with him his whole life, and when he and
his wife started the foundation, he knew he wanted it to be education-based. “In the
house that is education,” Tuck said, “the foundation is literacy ... If you don’t have that
base, you lose a lot of kids.”

In the importance of literacy, Unanue and Tuck find common ground. Unlike other
authors, she had not dreamt of writing a book her whole life. Her own mother could not
read or write. Without at-home reinforcement, she struggled with reading and school,
despite greatly enjoying both. Writing her own book was a personal triumph, especially
because the road to publication was anything but easy.

The Adventures of Phatty and Payaso was a three-year labor of love. Unanue described
the arduous process of meeting with several editors and literary agents, all of whom had
different visions for the final product. She was told to rewrite — to change her story — to
remove her autistic character because children would not be able to relate. After an
estimated 70 drafts, Unanue ultimately went with her gut and wrote the book that she
wanted to write.

The hardest part of the whole process? Putting herself out there. Unanue faced a lot of
scrutiny because she is not a parent, and editors did not believe consumers would want
to buy a children’s book from someone without them. Though it took her a long time to
work up the courage, she asserted, “Well, I know kindness.”

Unanue’s advocacy for kindness takes center stage; alongside her book, she is promoting
the #LetsAllBeKind social media campaign. Unanue encourages children to perform
acts of kindness, take a photo with the “Be a Kindness AdvoCATe” sign found on her
website and post that photo online. As a victim of bullying herself, Unanue wants to
accentuate the adage: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” The hope is to
bolster kindness as a way of living and inspire children to do good in their communities.

Tuck, who has taken part in other anti-bullying campaigns, emphasized the need to
create dialogue around the importance of kindness, especially on social media which is
rife with negativity and bullying. Of his participation in Unanue’s campaign he said,
“Hopefully it’s a rallying cry for [people] to feel welcome and loved.”

Both Tuck and Unanue recognize the importance of using their platforms to set
examples for and provide hope to others, and never take their eyes off the path ahead.

Unanue has already written a second book about — and titled for — Payaso’s sister,
Milagro. Milagro focuses on the theme of female empowerment, with a female
protagonist added to her colorful array of characters.

Tuck, who enjoys a new professional path at Goldman Sachs, mentioned his inclination
to pen an autobiography — although he made clear that he was in no rush. He hopes to
convey all of the transitions in his life: from living in Kellyton, Alabama, to attending
Notre Dame, to playing football with the Giants and, finally, to his career in finance.
Much like Unanue, Tuck strives to “utilize [his] story as a beacon of light” to assure
those who feel disadvantaged that “they are just as qualified to do great things in life” as
anybody else.