Empathy is not a feeling you can hand a child. It is a guess — what is it like to be that person right now — and guessing well takes practice on people who are not you. Books are unreasonably good at this, because a reader gets the one thing real life never provides: the inside of somebody else’s head. A mouse who loved her name until the first day of school. A boy on a bus who wants to know why his family doesn’t have a car. An ant, mid-argument, making the case for its own life. None of these are lessons. They are simply thirty-two pages spent being somebody else, which turns out to be the whole skill.
Bookroo’s collection of 209 children’s books about empathy runs from board books to novels that carry a class for a month, and our editors picked the 13 below for the moment each one hands to a reader: a rabbit who says nothing at all to a friend whose tower is in ruins, a grandfather who shows his grandson how to see a morning without using his eyes, and a classmate whose hundred dresses turn out to be drawings. Start with the shortlist, then browse by age — first books for the youngest listeners, read-alouds built for a whole group, and chapter books for readers ready to spend a few hundred pages as someone else.
Taylor’s block tower is in ruins, and every animal arrives certain it knows what Taylor needs.
Adrian says he owns a magnificent horse. Chloe knows he does not, and cannot let it go.
Wanda wears the same faded blue dress every day and says she has a hundred dresses at home.
A boy raises his shoe over an ant. The ant, reasonably, would like to discuss this.
Chrysanthemum thought her name was absolutely perfect until the first day of school.
Jeremy wants the black high-tops everyone at school is wearing. His grandma is counting what they need instead.
CJ wants to know why his family has no car, why he has no music player, and why they always get off at this stop.
John spends a morning learning how his blind grandfather sees the day.
Amos visits five friends at the zoo every day. The morning he wakes up sick, five animals catch the bus to his house.
Bat’s mom brings home an orphaned baby skunk, and Bat has one month to prove it should stay.
Cece loses her hearing at four, gets a Phonic Ear strapped to her chest, and discovers it lets her hear the teacher everywhere in the building.
Auggie Pullman starts fifth grade with a facial difference and a school year’s worth of people deciding how to treat him.
Melody remembers everything she has ever heard and has never been able to say a single word out loud.
Sturdy first books about noticing faces, naming feelings, and figuring out what a friend needs — ages 0–4.
Discover simple acts of kindness that even a baby can do.
Can you stop an elephant from sneezing and spreading the sniffles?
Little Critter learns the value of putting others first after his selfishness causes trouble.
Two strangers meet on a street, sparking an unexpected friendship.
Discover emotions and build vocabulary with playful exploration.
Will Bear share her ice cream cone or keep it all to herself?
A monster's scare tactics fail when a child finds it huggable.
A child learns various ways to show kindness to others and themselves.
Discover the heart of school communities and their role in nurturing empathy and compassion.
Discover the power of community and empathy across the globe.
Llama Llama navigates new friendships and learns about acceptance.
Discover how Daniel Tiger manages his anger with a simple technique.
Read-alouds about the kid nobody sits with, the friend whose day went wrong, and what the world looks like from somebody else’s seat — ages 4–8.
A group of books disappear at night in the town of Burrow Down, leading to a mysterious figure being discovered,
Can four friends soothe a cranky bear's sleep troubles?
A girl finds unexpected inspiration from a mysterious organ grinder at Christmas.
A man carves a mountain path, transforming his village's future.
A grumpy cat's bad day turns into an unexpected adventure with balloons and new friends.
A child who feels like they don't fit in embarks on an imaginative journey to explore their identity.
A young girl suspects a mysterious hotel guest is a supervillain. Is she right, or is there more to the story?
A girl discovers a magical wish and seeks the perfect selfless choice.
A young girl dreams of playing the lead role in her school play despite others doubting her.
A blind horse and a gruff goat forge an unlikely friendship tested by life's storms.
Grace and her classmates navigate school politics, learning the complexities of serving diverse needs.
A young girl tries to be kind to her classmate after she spills grape juice on her new dress.
Longer stories that hand the narration to a character a reader would never otherwise get to be — for independent readers ages 6–12.
A captive gorilla's world shifts when a baby elephant arrives, challenging his view of home and art.
A young girl finds her voice amidst the echoes of Jim Crow and Civil Rights awakening.
A teacher's accident tests if his students can uphold the lessons he taught them.
A young boy's journey from a carefree childhood in rural Poland to surviving the Holocaust through resilience, family, and the unlikely protection of Oskar Schindler.
A girl hides her reading struggles until a teacher helps her embrace her unique mind.
A boy must trade up from a keychain to reclaim his grandfather's stolen instrument.
Two boys unite against a school bully, discovering unexpected friendship.
A young girl flees war-torn Vietnam, seeking hope in America.
A boy's stutter challenges him during a life-changing summer paper route in the segregated South.
A young girl navigates the challenges of school and friendships while trying to help her neighbor who is struggling with a broken leg and a scared cat.
A mysterious newcomer challenges friendships and reveals life-changing truths.
Discover the power of consent and autonomy in a playful guide for kids.
