Blog Post

#ReadforEmpathy books exploring feelings

  • By EmpathyLab
  • 01 Oct, 2020

What will you be reading on #WorldMentalHealth Day?

Reading for empathy helps us understand why people might feel the way they do. Not only that, but reading can also open up conversations around mental health safely. 


#WorldMentalHealthDay takes place on 10 October and, as part of that, we want to share books from our #ReadforEmpathy collections that deal with understanding  emotions and mental health. The list below includes books for children between 4-16 years old, from picture books right up to YA novels. 


Please note that  an asterisk (*) denotes books which are demanding, often emotional reads, suitable for emotionally mature readers. Please read them in order to decide which children they are appropriate for.   

Picture books & poetry (4-11 years)

When Sadness Comes to Call by Eva Eland

Being able to recognise, name and share emotions is a key empathy skill. This lovely book personifies sadness, and gently walks the reader through how it feels. A reminder that sadness is not to be feared.


All About Feelings by Felicity Brooks & Frankie Allen, illustrated by Mar Ferrero

A great starting point to talk about feelings, why we have them and how we express them. Informative, well-illustrated non-fiction book with useful prompts for activities and reflection. Especially useful for supporting children finding it difficult to understand emotions.

 

Mum’s Jumper by Jayde Perkin

A wonderful, tear-jerking book about grief and eventual recovery, with a message that lingers. Helps both adults and children understand the experience of any child who has lost a parent.

 

Joy by Corrinne Averiss, illustrated by Isabelle Follath

Fern is troubled by how sad her granny seems and is working out how to capture and pass on ‘joy’. Great for talking about emotions and really grasping what someone else needs.

 

Sweep by Louise Greig, illustrated by Júlia Sardà

Ed is swept up in a very angry mood and just can’t let it go. A creative, playful story encouraging the recognition and processing of emotions.

 

Me and My Fear by Francesca Sanna*

A thought-provoking visual personification of a girl’s feeling of fear, which magnifies when she’s in a strange country. Helps children understand how profoundly fear can lead to isolation and anger.


Ruby’s Worry by Tom Percival

Sensitively illustrated book about untamed worries taking on monstrous proportions. Gives children a language and metaphor to talk about their own and other people’s anxieties.

Novels and graphic novels (7-11 years)

Charlie Changes Into A Chicken by Sam Copeland, illustrated by Sarah Horne

Every time Charlie is stressed or worried, he changes into an animal, with hugely inconvenient consequences. Highly enjoyable, laugh-out-loud read – an easy way to open up an exploration of what anxiety feels like.

 

The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan

11-year-old Stevie is deeply confused by the emotions she feels towards a girl in her class. We feel great empathy for her anxiety and cheer on the sensitive librarian who listens and understands. A short, magnificently written verse story for young teenagers.

 

The Light Jar by Lisa Thompson*

Nate and his mum escape domestic abuse but then she disappears. Exciting story which builds understanding of human psychology as Nate’s imaginary friend comes to his aid.

Novels for older readers (11-16 years)

Furious Thing by Jenny Downham*

A daughter is nearly destroyed by her father’s emotional abuse, but she finds the strength to challenge him, and saves herself and her mother. Powerfully builds insight into the experience of survival, and recovery.

 

Indigo Donut by Patrice Lawrence*

Indigo lives with a kind foster mum, but carries almost unbearable emotional pain. Gritty, powerful read – helps us understand how overwhelming emotions can lead us to reject the very people who care most.

 

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green*

Told from the perspective of an older teenager battling anxiety but not letting this define her. A fascinating mystery story is woven into Aza’s journey as she deals with issues of love and friendship. Great insight into debilitating mental-health issues.

By EmpathyLab 29 Feb, 2024
Ofsted have recently said that inspectors need to have more empathy. Journalists have asked politicians where their empathy is when talking about refugees or homeless people. These adults were obviously not at school when EmpathyLab started Empathy Day. But what we hope for children today is that even if they’re not seeing empathy being modelled at home, they are exposed to books in school which promote the consideration of others. The publication of the annual Read for Empathy lists supports schools aiming to develop this crucial life skill.
The collection consists of 65 books for 3-16 year olds, each chosen for its unique contribution in building young people’s empathy.

The primary collection for 3-11 year has 40 books; the secondary collection features 25 books for 12-16 year olds.
By EmpathyLab 29 Feb, 2024

I am very fortunate to have been on the Read for Empathy booklist judging panel over the past few years.

I’m also a practising classroom teacher so I would like to consider how the books on the list can influence what happens in a school.

Firstly, along with many other schools, reading aloud is an important part of our school day, every day, almost without fail. All the teachers at my school are aware of the EmpathyLab booklist, and often use it as a basis for choosing their next class read. Knowing that the books touch on important aspects of our children’s lives is key; we all understand how important representation is in stories. These are books that make a difference, that lead to passionate discussions in the classroom and can actually influence children’s behaviour .

The booklists become increasingly valuable. We have a couple of hundred empathy texts at our school – they are there on merit. Staff often refer to previous lists if there as a particular aspect of empathy that they want to include or share with the children.

Our Year 6 Reading Champions often seek out picture books from the  list to take in to KS1 and Reception when they read stories, so we already have the next generation educating each other about the importance of empathy. I love the fact they often meet beforehand (they tend to work in twos) to discuss what questions they might want to ask the children once the story has been read. After each booklist is released, they also spend several of their Friday recommendation slots in assembly talking about a couple of the books. We have parents in on our Friday assembly so it’s a great way to share the texts with them and help raise their awareness of our work.

We often use the books as our teaching texts for English, partly because they encourage excellent writing but also because they provide a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to develop their empathy skills.  The Wild Robot by Peter Brown, Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, Freedom by Catherine Johnson, Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and A Street Dog Named Pup by Gill Lewis are all books that have made in into our English curriculum as a result of being on one of the Read for Empathy booklists. Well, that’s not strictly true - Edward Tulane was there before that as it’s one of my favourite ever books, but you hopefully take my point.

Reflecting on our empathy journey over the past few years, I’ve also found that the more books children read that address empathy, where they can relate to the characters and their choices, the more books they want to read. It’s almost a virtuous circle. Many begin to realise that such books can  empower them to think about situations.

For example, as soon as we finished A Street Dog Named Pup last year, several of them immediately wanted to read other books by Gill Lewis. Because empathy is a thread that runs through much of her work ( Gorilla Dawn , Moon Bear , The Closest Thing to Flying and so on). Thanks to EmpathyLab's lists, I was able to point them in the direction of several other books, by her and others.

I think we agree that teaching children about empathy and providing them with opportunities to develop it is one of the most important gifts we can give them as adults. The fact that empathy has gone from being something that schools sort of understood a few years ago to being something that has got an increasingly solid evidence base is crucial.

There’s always been anecdotal evidence that reading stories is important for children and that it can change how they think but now that’s backed up with research. The empathy revolution (and it is a revolution) is only going to pick up more momentum over the next few years as the need for it becomes ever more apparent. Working in schools and in the world of children’s books means that we’re in the front line. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. 
By EmpathyLab 11 Apr, 2023
Teachers we work with say that children are finding it hard to communicate about their feelings, and have raised anxiety levels and emotional turbulence. We’re taking two steps to help.
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