Recommendations
Children's titles for Empathy Day 2023
by Sophie GreenEmpathyLab's annual book collection is specially selected by an expert panel to help children and teens develop an understanding of different life experiences and issues, and help build empathy. Empathy Day 2023 is held on Thursday 8 June.
Take a look at these titles for young children, available to borrow from our catalogue.
Understanding and sharing emotions
- Sometimes I'm a Baby Bear, Sometimes I'm a Snail by Moira Butterfield and Gwen Millward
- What If, Pig?, by Linzie Hunter
- Sometimes I Am Furious, by Timothy Knapman and Joe Berger
- The River, by Tom Percival
- Storm Goliath, by James Sellick and Craig Shuttlewood
- Everybody Has Feelings, by Jon Burgerman
- The Stompysaurus, by Rachel Bright and Chris Chatterson
Picture books
- I Am the Subway, by Kim Hyo-Eun
- Our Tower, by Joseph Coelho and Richard Johnson Frances
- Saving the Butterfly, by Helen Cooper
- That's Nice Love, by Owen Gent
- The Can Caravan, by Richard O'Neill and Cindy Kang
- The Comet, by Joe Todd-Standon
- The Queen on Our Corner, by Lucy Christopher and Nia Tudor
- Valentine's Guest House, by Sam Sharland
- Yes You Can, Cow!, by Rashmi Sirpeshpande and Rikin Parekh
- What Do You See When You Look at a Tree?, by Emma Carlisle
Early readers
- All to Play For, by Eve Ainsworth
- Sidney Makes a Wish, by Lisa Thompson
- Nikhil and Jay: The Star Birthday, by Chitra Soundar
- The Boy Who Grew a Tree, by Polly Ho-Yen and Sojung Kim-McCarthy
Non-fiction
- What is Racism?, by Katie Daynes and Jordan Akpojaro
- Who Are You?, by Smitri Halls and Ali Pye
Novels
- The Tide Singer, by Eloise Williams
- Call Me Lion, by Camilla Chester
- Can You Feel the Noise?, by Stewart Foster
- Children of the Benin Kingdom, by Dinah Orji
- Cuckoo Summer, by Jonathan Tulloch
- Has Anyone Seen Archie Ebbs?, by Simon Packham
- Keep Dancing, Lizzie Chu, by Maisie Chan
- Rosie Raja: Churchill's Spy, by Sufiya Ahmed
- The Boy Who Lied, by Kim Slater
- The Good Turn, by Sharna Jackson
- The Last Firefox, by Lee Newbery
Graphic novels
- Frankie's World, by Aoife Dooley
- Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear, by Trang Nguyen and Jeet Zdung
- The Awakening Storm, by Jaimal Yogis and Vivian Truong
Poetry
- >Cloud Soup, by Kate Wakeling and Elina Braslina
- Courage in a Poem
- Here Be Monsters, by Jay Hulme and Sahar Haghoo
- This is How the Change Begins, by Nicola Davies