WOW Dozen: Picturebooks to Encourage Empathy and Helping
Our world is intrigued and distracted by the Internet and social media, which may desensitize children towards their peers. This list focuses on empathy because in the real world, plenty of us seem to lack, provide or teach it. Empathy here is expressed in multiple ways depending on the person and situation. Common topics that come up in this set are communication and play with people of varying abilities, community supporting one another using different helping methods and acknowledging and accommodating a character's mental health. This booklist also includes stories of people working towards empathy through policy, societal change and inclusion of communities of people who have been historically oppressed. Additionally, this WOW Dozen allows readers to consider how empathy can be extended to the natural world and how we can protect it while enjoying its beauty. Children who engage with books that feature empathy may be better able to perceive real-life experiences and react to those with a more empathetic understanding of and helping attitude towards their peers.
This book encourages empathetic behavior around attending to different communication styles such as Braille, object cues, picture symbol cues & ASL.
A girl finds a way that Ben can participate in an apartment routine from his bed, showing empathy through inclusion.
This book asks us to reflect on how we would react if we met someone who was just like us.
Each page of this book focuses on a different principle of the Black Lives Matters movement, helping readers understand the values and feelings from the perspective of the Black community.
When Annabelle brings home a bone from the woods, she begins to feel sad & wants to put it back.
A boy helps his grandfather with his farm stand & the community begins chipping in by making dishes from the grandfather’s produce to give to the family.
Janie moves empathy to action as she learns about recycling with her classmates at the same time Mrs. Tolen needs an accessible home, highlighting traditional Traveller virtues.
Maya gains a better understanding of the Indian custom of namaste by asking people what they hold between their hands as they bow.
Rivka misses out on school to take care of her father & sister while her mother works, but her community trades chores for lessons.
When Estrella’s dad is deported, she shares with her classmates how she feels & everyone connects through experiences and empathy.
A young girl is envious of the children her parents welcome into their apartment with special privileges until she puts herself in their place.
All Authur wants is a balloon & to have fun, but soon realizes that hugs, not balloons, are what Papa needs as they visit Mama in the hospital.
WOW Dozen features a list of 12 global books for children and adolescents around a theme, topic, issue or personal favorites. Each Dozen consists of ten newly-published titles with two older "must have" books. Please share or recommend additional books that fit the theme in the comments section or on social media using #WOWDozen. Use the printer icon in the upper left corner of this post to print or save this list as a PDF.
