Ms. Swirly's Compliment Machine. This item is unavailable.Ms. Swirly's Compliment Machine

When the Compliment Machine goes haywire, kids see firsthand how words can hurt or heal―and learn they have the power to choose to be kind. It’s a silly story with a serious heart that empowers children to use their voices for good.

Jett loves everything about Ms. Swirly’s wacky classroom―from alphabetics to the four-legged teaching assistant. Though above all, he loves the compliment machine. But he and the class love the compliment machine a little too much, and when a kerfuffle causes the machine to malfunction, it spouts off insults instead. The most shocking, ridiculous, silly insults―which can’t possibly be mentioned here! After all attempts to repair it fail, Jett must find a way to cheer up the class before they are doomed to be one big gaggle of grumps all year.

MS. SWIRLY’S COMPLIMENT MACHINE is a silly-but-sweet story about the power of a kind word. It empowers young readers to use their voice for good. The SEL component makes it a wonderful choice to read in the classroom, the library, or at home. 

Jana Mattern is passionate about writing picture books that delight children, stir their imagination, and encourage a lifelong love of reading. She especially loves writing (and reading) humorous stories with heart, as well as stories where a character might get eaten. She is a member of SCBWI and was a 2-year member of Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 Picture Book Challenge. She regularly participates in writing contests and has placed in Vivian Kirkfield’s 50 Precious Words contest as well as Ciara O’Neal and Kaitlyn Sanchez’s Spring Fling Contest.

Jana graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Marketing. She lives near Houston, Texas with her husband and four children. When she’s not hanging out with her family, she is volunteering with children and teens at her church. She is an aspiring pickleball player, an overly-competitive board-game player, and a mediocre plant mom. 

Judit Orosz is a Hungarian illustrator and paper engineer known for the Ruth Bader Ginsburg volume of the Little People, Big Dreams series. With a background in animation, she brings a unique sense of world-building to her storytelling. In recent years, her work has evolved from digital roots into a tactile, paper-based style featuring magical pop-ups.

A mother of five inspired by nature and nostalgia, Judit blends traditional craft with digital soul, recharging through music and hiking.