Picture books about empathy, for ages 2 to 8

Empathy is noticing how someone else feels and caring about it. The picture books that help most don’t lecture. They show a character who stops and notices, and they leave room for you to ask, “How do you think she felt?” For toddlers, start with Kindness Makes Us Strong. For preschoolers, try The Rabbit Listened, and for ages 5 to 8, Each Kindness or The Invisible Boy. Every book below was checked on its publisher’s page in November 2026, and the ages are the publisher’s.

Books for toddlers

Kindness Makes Us Strong by Sophie Beer (Dial). Board book, ages 0 to 3.
Children are kind to each other in small ways and big ones: on the playground, at lunchtime, out on the street. Point to a face and ask, “Is he sad? Who’s helping?”

Books for ages 3 to 5

The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld (Dial). Ages 3 to 5.
Something sad happens to Taylor, and one animal after another rushes in with advice. None of it helps, until a rabbit comes along and simply listens. Afterward, ask, “What did Taylor need?”

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, illustrated by Christian Robinson (G.P. Putnam’s Sons). Ages 3 to 5. Newbery Medal and Caldecott Honor.
CJ rides the bus across town with his nana every Sunday and complains: about the rain, and about not having a car like his friends. Nana helps him notice the people around them. Ask, “Who did CJ notice by the end?”

Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose, illustrated by Debbie Tilley (Tricycle Press). Ages 3 to 7.
A kid is about to step on an ant, and the ant looks up and argues back. It began as a song by a father and his daughter, and it leaves the big question, to squish or not to squish, to your child.

Books for ages 4 to 8

The Kindness Book by Todd Parr (Little, Brown). Ages 4 to 6.
Bright, simple pages about ways to be kind, and the idea that you can choose kindness any time. Ask, “What’s one kind thing we could do today?”

A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love by Michelle Edwards, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Anne Schwartz Books). Ages 4 to 8.
Mrs. Goldman knits hats for all her neighbors, and Sophia makes the pom-poms. When winter comes and Mrs. Goldman has no hat of her own, Sophia tries to knit her one, and it comes out lumpy and full of holes. It’s about noticing what someone needs, even when they haven’t said so.

Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora (Little, Brown). Ages 4 to 8. Caldecott Honor.
Omu cooks a big pot of stew, and one neighbor after another follows the smell to her door. She shares with each of them until the pot is empty. Before the last pages, ask, “What do you think the neighbors should do?”

The Lion & the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown). Ages 4 to 8. Caldecott Medal.
Aesop’s fable with no words: a lion lets a mouse go, and later the mouse frees him from a trap. With no text, your child tells the story, and the animals’ faces do the work.

I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoët (Random House Studio). Ages 4 to 8.
Another wordless one, inspired by real events. A girl sees a classmate treated badly and feels helpless about it, until one small act of kindness brings everyone along. Ask, “What would you do if you saw that?”

Books for ages 5 to 9

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E. B. Lewis (Nancy Paulsen Books). Ages 5 to 8.
Chloe and her friends won’t play with Maya, the new girl, and then one day Maya stops coming to school. It ends with Chloe wishing she had been kinder, not with a fix, so leave time to talk afterward.

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig, illustrated by Patrice Barton (Knopf). Ages 6 to 9.
Nobody seems to notice Brian, a quiet boy who’s never picked for games or invited to parties. When a new boy, Justin, arrives, Brian is the first to make him feel welcome. Ask, “Is there someone in your class who might feel like Brian?”

How do you read a book for empathy?

• Stop on a face. The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) suggests pausing on a page where a character is showing a feeling and asking, “What do you think he is feeling?” or “Look at her face. How can you tell?” Once or twice a book is plenty.
• Notice who noticed. Making Caring Common, at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, suggests pointing out when someone shows empathy, in real life or in a story. After the last page, ask, “Who noticed how someone else was feeling? What did they do?”
• Wordless books are good for this. In The Lion & the Mouse and I Walk with Vanessa, your child has to read the faces to tell the story.

There are more ideas like these in empathy activities for kids.

My own book

A Light for Tavi by Jonathan Seal. Ages 2 to 8.
This one is mine: Book One of The Adventures of Niko and Lira. Niko and Lira are looking after their baby brother Tavi, who can’t tell them why he’s crying. Lira says, “We keep guessing. Let’s watch him instead,” and that’s empathy in a form a 3-year-old can try. Its questions and activities include a “Watch, don’t guess” game.