This book list of picture books to teach empathy was inspired by one of you! A reader emailed me and asked for a list of books which would help her child to think a little bit less about worldly goods, and a little more about the importance of appreciating non-tangible values like generosity, humility, compassion and kindness. In other words, these are books which help teach children to reject a sense of privileged entitlement.
I've included titles that cover a range of topics, such as poverty, acts of kindness, looking for the beauty in the world around us, and charity. They are books which I hope will help you start a conversation with your children about how much they have or don't have and what that means in the larger world, as well as what actions they can take. Think of it as a companion list to my list of books to inspire kids to change the world. (There is some cross-over of books.)
I'd love to hear from you if you have further suggestions. As always, I encourage you to leave your favorite books to teach empathy in the comments. (Note: book covers and titles are affiliate links.)
Last Stop on Market Street. A boy and his grandma catch the bus. We don't yet know where they are headed, but along the way the boy asks questions about why they don't have certain luxuries. He wants to know why they don't have a car or an ipod. The grandma has a ready answer about the advantages of what they do have and encourages him to think of positive aspects of lacking material goods. When they reach their destination... well... it will be even more inspiring. A must read.
Tight Times. A boy wants a dog, but his parents tell him "times are tight." The young narrator explains that tight times means they have soup for dinner instead of roast beef, that they eat bulk cereal instead of the kind in small boxes, and go to the sprinklers in the park instead of the lake. One day his father loses his job and the boy heads out to the stoop while his parents talk. Outside he finds a cat. It's not a dog, but his parents let him keep it. I like that there is no tidy solution to the story. Their troubles are not solved, the father does not miraculously get a new job. Instead, the life in the loving family goes on and we are left with a realistic picture that not everything a swift resolution.
The Spiffiest Giant in Town. George is a very scruffy giant! He decides to get a haircut and a new set of clothes and... voilà! He becomes the spiffiest giant in town. However, as he travels through the area singing a little ditty about his spiffy-ness he encounters a few creatures who need his help. He makes a present of his tie to a giraffe with a cold neck, offers his sock to a fox who needs a sleeping bag and before you know it, he's gifted away all his new clothes. His kindness does not go unnoticed and soon he receives a gift more precious than the clothes he gave away.
Sam and the Lucky Money. Sam is excited to be able to spend his lucky New Year money. He has four dollars and his mom has told him he can buy anything he wants. On their trip through the neighborhood Sam notices a homeless man with bare feet. As he contemplates how to spend his money he gets frustrated that the four dollars is never enough to buy what he wants. His mother reminds him to appreciate what he has. During a second encounter with the homeless man, Sam understands how he can best spend his money.
A Chair for My Mother is a gorgeous book about familial love. The narrator, a young girl, describes how her family lost everything in a fire. They found a new home and their neighbors donated furniture but what they lacked was a comfortable chair for her mother to rest in after her days of work as a waitress. The family saves their change in a jar and when the coins finally reach the top, they set off to buy the perfect chair. The story is quietly appealing and shares a valuable lesson not just about perseverance and love, but about recognizing that for many families, having a good chair is a luxury.
Those Shoes. This book deals well with the topic of poverty and the importance of putting others' needs ahead of our own wants. Jeremy wants the latest pair of trendy shoes. All his friends have them but his grandmother can't afford to buy him a pair. I like that she never shamed him for wanting what he couldn't have. Jeremy finds a pair at a thrift store and buys them even though they are too small. When he makes friend with a kid at school who needs them more than he does, he gives them to him. I love how this book is honest about the struggles Jeremy has about giving the shoes away. He really wants to keep them for himself but in the end does the right thing on his own. Jeremy feels embarrassed about the shoes he does have to wear and that doesn't disappear, making the act of kindness even more powerful.
Each Kindness. New girl, Maya, finds herself alone at school. Her obvious poverty sets her apart and the other children reject her overtures of friendship. Another girl, Chloe, narrates the action and the way the other children reject Maya, including her own admission, “She’s not my friend.” One day, their teacher drops a stone into a bowl of water to demonstrate how powerful the ripples from a single act of kindness can be. “Even small things count,” she says. Chloe decides that the next day she will be kind to Maya, but Maya never returns to school and Chloe doesn’t get her chance. This book could so easily sink into the depressing and didactic, but Woodson’s beautiful text elevates the story into a moving reminder to show kindness every chance we get.
Zen Ties. I am eagerly awaiting Muth's upcoming Zen Socks. I am a big fan of all of his books! This book is less about worldly goods and more about getting past our mistaken impressions of others. The ever-tranquil panda, Stillwater introduces his three friends, Michael, Karl and Addy to the elderly Miss Whitaker. The children have thus far thought of Miss Whitaker as a crabby old lady but as she helps Michael prepare for the spelling bee, the group comes to a better understanding of each other.
How Dalia Put a Big Yellow Comforter Inside a Tiny Blue Box: And Other Wonders of Tzedakah. At the community center, Dalia learns about tzedakah and she makes her own tzedakah box. Back at home she explains to her younger brother, as she drops money into the box, that the box holds her wishes, kisses, hugs as well as a big yellow comforter, a butterfly bush and a banana cream pie. Her brother doesn't quite understand so Dalia brings him to the community center where the children share their money and take the promised items to the elderly Miss Ross. Although the tzedakah box is a Jewish tradition, people of all faiths can (and should!) practice tzedakah.
Rude Cakes is a quirky book about a cake with no manners. The cake in question never says please, never shares, never waits its turn -- you get the idea. One day a giant cyclops comes along and turns the rude cake into a cute hat. (Yes, I know.) This is the important catalyst that turns Rude Cake around, and it learns that perhaps it should think about others before itself. (Note: Chronicle Books sent me a no-strings-attached review copy.)
More lists like this:
- Chapter books that teach empathy
- Books to inspire kids to change the world
- Books to help kids combat racism
- Children's books that teach empathy (Homegrown Friends)
- Books about acts of kindness (Coffee Cups and Crayons)
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Nancy says
Thanks for gathering this list. I'm going to use it to order books to read to my grandsons.
Erica MomandKiddo says
Enjoy and happy reading!
Rachel says
Thank you Erica - this list is exactly what I had in mind with my request! We have read a couple of these titles in the past but there are some great looking books here that we will add to our library queue. You are the best!
Erica MomandKiddo says
You're welcome, Rachel. I'm glad it will be useful for you and thanks so much for the suggestion, it was a great idea.
Anya says
Wonderful list! Thank you for sharing it.
Erica MomandKiddo says
I hope you enjoy reading the books!
Jill says
Another great choice would be Maddi's Fridge by Lois Brandt. It's about a girl, Maddi, who doesn't have enough to eat. Maddi doesn't want anyone to know, so when her friend finds out, she asks Sofia to keep it a secret. In the end, Sofia does tell, though, because, as Sofia says, Maddi is more important than a secret. This is a beautiful book about love and trust.
Erica MomandKiddo says
I hadn't heard of that one, thanks so much for the recommendation. I'm going to see if our library has a copy.
Erica MomandKiddo says
I just put it on hold! It looks great and I will add it to the list after I've read it.
Ana says
Thanks for they list! I can't wait to read Last Stop On Market Street!
Michelle says
I've read two of these - especially loved How Dalia put a big Yellow Comforter in a Tiny Blue Box. I love the list! I have to go find all of them and then some. What a marvelous collection!
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thanks, Michelle! I hope you enjoy the books.
Jan says
Hi Erica. This is a great list. I'm looking for picture books that teach about differences–specifically facial or special needs differences similar to Wonder. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Erica MomandKiddo says
Good question! I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with any. I hope you can find something!
Mary Lynne Foster says
There is an excellent picture book called Be Good to Eddie Lee by Virginia Flemming. I'll quote the amazon synopsis:
"Christy's mother always tells her to be good to Eddie Lee, a neighborhood child with Down's Syndrome. But Christy wants to run and play -- and not worry about Eddie Lee tagging along. One hot summer day, though, Eddie Lee takes Christy to a secret place in the woods and teaches her that beautiful things can be found in unexpected places.
--"What makes Fleming's first book so effective are the carefully selected details and authentic portrayal of the children's attitudes -- as well as Cooper's luminous art, summoning up all the enchantment of a lovely summer day and presenting Eddie Lee as believably endearing". -- Kirkus Reviews, pointer review
"(A book) that can lead children away from harmful stereotypes and labels". -- Book Links"
I highly agree with the reviews quoted. I read it to my second grade class and they were enthralled. What was very interesting to me was that they saw JimBud, the neighbor boy who wants to play with Christy and is out and out mean to Eddie Lee, as a 'mean' character, but kept saying that Christy was really nice to him and wanted to play but JimBud didn't want to. The story makes it clear that Christy does not really want to play with Eddie Lee because he looks different, is a sloppy eater, and seems slow and uninteresting. They sort of refused to pick up on this. Christy is a nuanced character who knows the right thing to do but doesn't really want to do it. She does, in the end, see the value of Eddie Lee's friendship. We did a lot of character study on each of the characters and they finally started to see her struggle. The pictures are beautiful and represent Eddie Lee realistically and thoughtfully. My class loved it and I can't recommend it highly enough. Actually, our whole school (K-5) read it in March as our all-school social justice read aloud and it was very successful. It also made me realize how so many of the great books the children read have 'good' and 'bad' characters, pretty clearly marked and how muchthey will try to fit a character into one of these boxes.
Diana says
Butterflies by Susanne Gervay
Jen Alexander says
Crow Boy is a great book set in Japan that teaches about empathy / appreciation for someone who is different.
The main character Chibi is a poor boy from the countryside who exhibits some unusual behaviors. After being left out for most of his his school years, in the end, he is appreciated by a kind teacher, and then by his classmates, for his uniqueness.
Erica MomandKiddo says
That is a great book, I wish I had thought of it when I was making this list, thanks for recommending it!
Mary Lynne Foster says
This year, as part of our social justice movement, our school decided to read a set of books focused on Kindness, Justice, Courage in every grade. Our first book was a chapter book called "My Name is Maria Isabel", by Alma Flor Ada.
"For María Isabel Salazar López, the hardest thing about being the new girl in school is that the teacher doesn't call her by her real name. "We already have two Marías in this class," says her teacher. "Why don't we call you Mary instead?"
But María Isabel has been named for her Papá's mother and for Chabela, her beloved Puerto Rican grandmother. Can she find a way to make her teacher see that if she loses her name, she's lost the most important part of herself"
My class found it easy to empathize, since they've all had the experience of having a name mispronounced, or being called by the wrong name in class (27 students! Sometimes the wrong one just comes out!. It also is a good start for talking about how our names are important to us and the problem with making fun of someone else's name or teasing them about it. I think it's a good reminder for teachers and other adults who make no attempt to pronounce foreign or difficult names correctly. Although we probably won't get it exactly right, I think it's important to make the attempt and to apologize and explain to the child that will continue to try. An ESL child might also be heartened to see that sometimes even the teacher has difficulty with a foreign name or language. This is a chapter book that was read successfully in all grade levels. We also did class work around it, which was displayed in the hallway for the month of September so people could see we were all reading the same book. We hoped this would stimulate conversations at home as siblings had the book in common. We did this with each of the remaining books.
In October we read Each Kindness, which you mentioned above. I thought it was interesting that my children understood the other girls were being mean to Maya, but assumed that the main character, Chloe, was being her friend. They picked up on her ambivalence, and forced it into the 'good character' box. After some discussion they realized that Chloe knew the right thing to do and had not done it. Her regret at the end, and the fact that this problem doesn't get resolved really helped them grow in their thinking. Another excellent book on the same lines is The Hundred Dresses, which I highly recommend. Again, they had a hard time picking up on the fact that the main character was conflicted and ambivalent, not just 'good'.
We also read or will read, Fly Away Home by Eave Bunting about a boy and his dad living in the airport because they have lost their home. A nice book to follow up with iw The Lady in the Box.
Let Them Play by Margot Theis Raven, a true story of a black Little League time in South Carolina in 1955. The other teams resigned from the league rather than play them so they defaulted into the Little League World Series. Will the officials allow them to play? I thought it was very easy to relate to since so many children are involved in sports teams.
Red: a Crayon's Story by Michael Hall, which deals with gender identity in a very appropriate way. Red is a blue crayon that has been mislabeled as red. His friends, teachers, and parents, all try to help him color red. In the end the point is that no matter what your wrapping, friends, teachers or parents say, it's okay to be yourself. Very subtle and effective and could also be interpreted in a more general way.
Be Good to Eddie Lee. Eddie Lee is a boy with Down's Syndrome. Christy is his neighbor who's mother is always telling her to be good to Eddie Lee. She is reluctant because he looks different, eats sloppily and seems slow. Another boy, JimBud wants to play with her but not with Eddie Lee and is very mean to him. Christy knows the right thing to do but is reluctant to do it. She is nicer to Eddie, but still turns him away. She is another ambivalent main character. Again my student tried to classify her as "good". I think these types of characters are really important in building empathy because they reflect our struggles to do the right thing when it is hard. We have to make choices that may turn other friends away or bring some social consequence on us.
I think all these books are great for building empathy with our kids, but as well as reading them, we have to engage our children in the issues involved even if it's uncomfortable.
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Erica MomandKiddo says
Excellent books!
Mary Lynne Foster says
I love your list and want to buy them all, however I am retiring at the end of the year and it would be stupid to spend that much on books for class, Right? Right???
After several moments thought, I decided to go ahead and buy them (what a surprise) and at the end of the year I will donate them to the class library1 WIN WIN!
I have enjoyed your lists and have used your suggestions frequently. Coming here may be a habit I can't kick after retirement!
Erica MomandKiddo says
Thank you! And happy reading! I'm sure the class library will be delighted.
Diana Hardt says
I am a retired teacher too, contact me for more information about sharing literacy.
stephanie says
any books you recommend for 2s and 3s that deal with empathy and kindness
any that are board books are a plus as well thanks
Erica says
How Kind by Mary Murphy is a great board book. Let's Be Kind by P K Hallinan is another board book. Also, Baby Be Kind by Jane Cowen-Fletcher is a board book. The Spiffiest Giant in Town is appropriate for 3 year olds. Also try Be Nice by David Ezra Stein for 2-3 year olds. Elephant and Piggie, My Friend is Sad is also good for 3 year olds. Hope this helps!
Katy Burke says
Love this post!- I look forward to reading them to the child I nanny. <3
It is so important to expose kids to books like this because compassionate kids become compassionate adults who can change the world.
Ruth says
For the reader that inspired this list and "asked for a list of books which would help her child to think a little bit less about worldly goods, and a little more about the importance of appreciating non-tangible values," I have this suggestion: Hush Little Baby by Sylvia Long. It is based on the traditional lullaby, but instead of buying things for the child, the singer shows the baby wonders of the world. Here is a description from Amazon.com:
"Hush little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to show you a hummingbird.
If that hummingbird should fly,
Mama's going to show you the evening sky."
Sylvia Long's award-winning (Child Magazine's Best of 1997) ode to mother-child love takes a favorite lullaby and makes it--is it possible?--even better. Troubled by the buy-buy-buy mentality of the original ("Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird/diamond ring/a dog named Rover..."), Long adapts the song to her--and our--liking. Mama now shows her baby the comforting wonders of the world: crickets, shooting stars, warm bedspreads. Long's gorgeous ink and watercolor paintings are reminiscent of Clement Hurd's illustrations in Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon. And now, with this gift set, fans of this sweet lullaby can have a "little baby" bunny all their own, along with a small board book edition of their sing-along favorite! The unbelievably soft plush rabbit rattle is curved into a shape and size just right for tiny hands. Wrap the cuddly pajama-clad bunny around a crib railing so your baby can always reach it. What a perfect gift for the new mother or mother-to-be! (Baby to preschool) --Emilie Coulter
Dennis says
Nice list. For a newer empathy book, you might want to check out "Start With Sorry" by P.T. Finch.