Empathy Day: 13 Kids' Books That Help Children Develop Compassion

'Children learn through identifying with book characters.' 📚

People are sharing their recommendations for books that help children  to develop empathy, as part of a campaign to highlight the power of storytelling.

To mark Empathy Day on Tuesday 13 June, (run by EmpathyLab, an organisation that works with schools, libraries and authors), many people took to Twitter to share a wide variety of books they believe to be “empathy boosting”. 

Miranda McKearney chair of EmpathyLab told HuffPost UK: “Empathy is best learned young, and research shows that reading stories helps children develop it.

“Children learn through identifying with book characters to see things from someone else’s point of view, so as you read with your child, you can build their empathy skills at the same time.”

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Twitter

We’ve rounded up some of the books people have recommended on Twitter using the hashtag #ReadForEmpathy. 

1. Dog Ears by Anne Booth. 

2. My Name Is Not Refugee by Kate Milner.

3. The Journey by Francesca Sanna.

4. Smart by Kim Slater.

 

5. Cloud Busting by Malorie Blackman.

 

6. Joey Pigza Swallowed The Key by Jack Gantos.

7. Migrant by Maxine Trottier.

8. King Of The Sky by Nicola Davies.

9. Thank Goodness For Bob by Matthew Morgan.

10. They All Saw A Cat by Brendan Wenzel. 

11. Frog And The Stranger by Max Velthuijs.

12. Oi! Get Off Our Train by John Burningham. 

13. The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson.