I love wordless picture books, but that hasn’t always been true. When I first picked up a wordless picture book, I immediately dismissed it. At the time, I was searching for read alouds for kindergarten and first grade classes, so of course that genre wouldn’t be appropriate, because how in the world would I share a book with no words? Granted, wordless picture books almost always have amazing illustrations, but… That all changed when my son gave me A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka for Mother’s Day in 2011. It had recently received the Caldecott Award for 2010. and I had read amazing things about the illustrations, the story and the author, so I was excited to add it to my collection, even though I was disappointed not to be able to share it with my classes. But then I began to think… I couldn’t just leave a gift from my son on display on the coffee table. I wanted to share it and that’s exactly what I did. I shared it with my first grade classes and we had the best time!! We first looked at the cover and made predictions about the story. Who are the main characters? What is the setting? What is the problem? Then we proceeded to “read” the story. I asked for volunteers to tell the story of each page and oh, did the hands go up! They noticed almost every detail in every illustration and if the “reader” missed something, his neighbor was quick to help! You might think we flew through that book and we were left with nothing to read at the end of our thirty minute session, but that was not the case. In fact, the teacher ended up waiting for us to finish! It was so much fun for all of us, and extra fun for me to see the kids who might not always answer questions or join in, raise their hands and beg for a turn. Everyone was sure they could see the details and tell the story, because they didn’t feel like there were any “wrong answers”, which often inhibits the quiet, less confident kids from raising their hand. From that week forward, the kids begged for wordless picture books. Through the years I shared many wordless picture books, but I’ll never forget my first experience when I learned about their true magic.

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Here are some favorites. Some titles I’ve shared in the past, and some are new. I hope you’ll find many new wordless picture books you’ll want to share with your little ones.

A Boy and a House

By Maja Kastelic

This wordless picture book follows a curious little boy as he wanders down a city street filled with tall, old houses. He follows a friendly cat through a door and into the lobby of an apartment building where he finds a drawing on the floor. As he trails after his new friend, he spots another drawing and another and another as he climbs the dark stairs. Along the way he passes through intriguing rooms filled with curious objects and walls covered with mysterious pictures, but he doesn’t pause to look. His curiosity gets the best of him so he just keeps climbing. What he finds at the top is a delightful surprise.

The soft, muted colors of the story made me think it was dusk as the boy set off on his adventure. They lent a mysterious tone to the story, but it wasn’t at all scary. All of the characters faces were full of gentle, friendly expressions and led me to believe the little boy was surrounded by kind and caring neighbors, although he was by himself.

This book will lead to lots of discussions with your little ones as you take turns telling the story. I love the opportunity for children to both use their imaginations and to express themselves as they tell their version of a wordless picture book. This is available now.

Friendship, imagination

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Journey

by Aaron Beckman

This tells the story of a lonely girl and the magical world she creates with a red marker. It is a wordless picture book that was the Caldecott winner in 2014. It’s the first of a trilogy, Journey, Quest and Return. You’ll want to read all three!

Mystery, imagination, courage, kindness, wordless picture books

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How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham. This book is great for a read aloud and gives the kids the opportunity to create a conversation for each page. The story describes a little boy’s kindness and his parents support as he helps a bird with a broken wing. Read aloud, wordless picture book, kindness.

Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley. This is a wordless picture book which will help an adult to initiate a conversation with a child about kindness. Wordless picture book, kindness.

Little Bird by Germano Zullo. This is another wordless picture book that is a very unusual story about generosity and kindness. It gives lots of opportunities for discussion due to the minimal amount of text and wonderful, expressive illustrations. Wordless picture book, kindness.

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THAT NEIGHBOR KID

By Daniel Miyares

This is a heartwarming wordless picture book about a friendship that develops between a boy and a girl when she moves in next door. They are both a little lonely until they collaborate on building a tree house together. The drawings are black and white in the beginning, but as their friendship blossoms and each of them contributes to building their playhouse, colorful leaves begin to appear. The illustrations show us the sweet expressions on the friends’ faces as they dream and relax together in their new hideaway. It’s definitely one you’ll want to add to your family library.

Kindness, empathy, friendship, school

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I WALK WITH VANESSA: A STORY ABOUT A SIMPLE ACT OF KINDNESS 

By Kerascoet

This charming wordless picture book won my heart when I saw the cover and after “reading” the story I knew I needed a copy of my own. It tells the story of a young girl who has just moved into the neighborhood and is new at school, a boy who isn’t very kind, and a teacher and classmates who show little empathy to the girl’s plight. No one asks her to join the class basketball game or sit with them. After school she’s left to walk home alone, ignored by all except one little boy who says some unkind things. Since it’s a wordless book, we don’t know what was said, but the colorful and expressive illustrations – especially the interaction of the two children which is contained within a bright red cloud of color, leave us no doubt as to what unkind words might have been said. We quickly realize no one has noticed the altercation, except for one little girl. She is obviously bothered by what she saw and shares her concern with her friends. Overnight she isn’t able to forget, and the sadness lingers during her happy family breakfast. But then she suddenly has an idea about how to help the little girl.

Your little ones will be able to find so many details in this book as you all retell the story over and over again.  The vivid illustrations of the characters’ expressions will leave no doubt in children’s minds about what they are thinking and feeling.They will recognize the familiar situation of a moving truck arriving and a new family moving in, whether they have moved themselves or they have a new neighbor. They will be able to imagine how a new girl feels, and they can theorize why someone might choose to bully a newcomer. The story will provide you with the perfect introduction to talk about what they can do to welcome newcomers to their neighborhood and school, about teasing, about name-calling and about being an ally, and especially about how one small act of kindness can mean so much.

The book offers a useful guide with suggestions about helping someone who is being bullied, as well as some helpful words to use during your discussions. And finally, don’t forget to notice the difference in the end papers from the beginning of the story to the end. Those alone are a wonderful thing to discuss with your children! I recommend this book be added to your home library, as well as to every public and school library for ages 4 – 7.

Kindness, empathy, friendship, school

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Professional Crocodile

By Giovanna Zoboli and Mariachiara De Giorgio

This delightful wordless picture book is one you’ll thoroughly enjoy with your little ones. There are several panels on each page, which will lead to lots of conversation. You’ll both love finding the many, many details every time you experience the book. It’s so much fun to share wordless picture books and to let the kids create their own dialogue. The story is different every time! And you’ll love the surprise ending, too! This is definitely one to add to your collection.

Comfort, humor, wordless picture book

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Sidewalk Flowers 

By Jon Arno Lawson and Sydney Smith

In this wordless picture book, a  little girl walks through a gray city with her distracted father and picks flowers along the way. The flowers become gifts to those she encounters, and in the process transforms the city and it’s inhabitants. May your children find beauty in their world and share it with others.

Kindness, beauty, wordless picture books

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Do you have some favorite wordless picture books? How do you share them with your children? Be sure and let us know in the comments!

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It’s been a rough week and a rough year in our country. No matter, which side you are on, you can’t help but be concerned about what has been said during the past year and how our kids have been exposed to it. Even if we do our best to protect them from the media, they go to school or to sports or to art classes and they hear things we wish they hadn’t. They ask questions, just as we are, about what happens now? If they are older, they may even be anxious. You may be asking, as I am, how can we help them? How can we help our country?

Then I remembered one of my favorite quotes from Fred Rogers.

 “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 

‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” – Fred Rogers

After much thought, I realized that the answer, for me, is that I can continue doing what I’ve been doing. I can help you find some children’s books about compassion, kindness and caring to share with your kiddos that might answer their questions, and will definitely lead to some discussions about how they can become helpers. I can assist you in finding some books that will help to instill the values in our children that the world needs to create change, such as the values of kindness, respect, acceptance of differences, compassion and empathy. By doing this, I will try to be one of the helpers, just as Fred Rogers said.

 We don’t know what will happen next, which is always a little scary, but I have faith in the American people, that we will “choose kind”. By working together, we can help our children grow up to be one of the helpers.

I have compiled a list of some childrens books about compassion and caring that I think might be just right for now. Many thanks to Pernille Rip for sharing some of the titles on Instagram, and for inspiring not only the kids in her classroom, but the readers of her blog. She inspired me to write this post about children’s stories about compassion.

Helping Books for Now

 

Seeds of Freedom, The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama, by Hester Bass, illustrated by E.B. Lewis.

We can work together peacefully to make big changes. “It starts with one person; that could be you.”

Good People Everywhere, by Lynea Gillen and illustrated by Kristina Swarner.

“Today millions and millions of people will do very good things. And so will you. I wonder what you will do?”

Courage by Bernard Waber

“Courage is what we give to each other.” Something we all need to become a helper.

Guess How Much I love You by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram

To help reassure our little ones, even if they are sensing our anxiety, that they are loved “right up to the moon – and back.”

Arthur’s Perfect Christmas by Marc Brown

Arthur learns that his friends may celebrate the holidays differently, but they all find joy.

Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

This charming story will help your little ones understand about apologies and how important they are in a caring world.

 

What a Wonderful World by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele, illustrated by Ashley Bryan

This beautifully illustrated version of the song made famous by Louis Armstrong, reassures children that there is beauty and kindness in our world.

Love Will See You Through by Angela Farris Watkins, PhD, illustrated by Sally Were Comport

This is Martin Luther King Jr.’s six guiding beliefs, as told by his niece. “Uncle Martin was a man of peace. Love was his way of life. … His life was proof that love will see you through.”

Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo

This little boy and his elephant show everyone the true meaning of friendship. Friends “help each other, lift each other over cracks, brave the scary things with you, and never leave anyone behind.” May our kiddos find friends, as well as be one.

 

My Heart Will Not Sit Down by Mara Rockliff and illustrated by Ann Tanksley

Kedi, although she and everyone else in her African village have very little, is inspired to help the children of New York City during the depression, because her heart “will not sit down.” Perhaps Kedi’s story will inspire your little ones’ hearts “to not sit down”, so that they will want to help those around them in a way that they can.

Sidewalk Flowers by Jon Arno Lawson and Sydney Smith

A little girl walks through a gray city with her distracted father and picks flowers along the way. The flowers become gifts to those she encounters, and in the process transforms the city and it’s inhabitants. May your children find beauty in their world and share it with others.

Abe Lincoln’s Dream by Lane Smith

Abraham Lincoln is restless. He wasn’t finished with everything he dreamed of doing for the country in 1865. A little girl takes his ghost on a tour of the country to reassure him that the country is united, however the people of the country still “fuss’n fight with his fellow man. We’re still working on that one,” she replies. This illustrates the fact that our leaders want to do their very best for our country.

Be a Friend by Salina Yoon

The story of Dennis and Joy, how they express themselves and the friendship that follows will encourage your children to reach out to others and to “be a friend.”

Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian and illustrated by Mike Curato

This delightful story celebrates love even though “we’ll change how it’s done”, says worm. It will help your children understand that love is love!

It’s now been a few days since the election and everyone is relaxing a bit. I hope, as questions arise in your families in the days and weeks to come, these “helping books” will lead you to some answers. I also hope you’ll share your ideas about helping books in the comments below. What are your favorites? I’d love to hear about them!

For more books about kindness and compassion, please link to my previous post:

Kindness Picture Books for Kids

 

When I was an LMC Director, I would have orientations for all of the classes at the beginning of the year. We would go over the behavior expectations for the library, as well as the “how-tos” of finding and checking out books. When it came to my expectations of the kids, I always emphasized the most important of those was kindness. The kindness principles included sharing with one another, being helpful to other kids and being respectful of each other’s feelings. The kids knew that I would tolerate many things in the library, but if I saw an unkind act, that was when there would be a consequence! I stressed that the most important thing they could do each day was to be kind to those around you. The kids who had been at Patterson since kindergarten or first grade (most of them) knew about my feelings, because they had heard and discussed many kindness picture books with me during their storytimes.

During those storytimes, I included a series of kindness picture books. I would often begin the series with Because Amelia Smiled, Lexile 760; AR 3.5. It’s a delightful story about the magic of a little girl’s smile and how that magic traveled the world. Another book with a similar theme is One Smile, AR 3.7. This is an enchanting story which describes how one little girl’s act of kindness can change lives. I would challenge the kids to try smiling at lots of people during the next week and then reporting back during the next storytime about the difference it made with others. Read aloud, kindness, circle story.

Then a few years ago a friend told me about a local author and her new book, A Girl with a Cape, by Amy Logan. Amy was inspired to write this book after becoming very concerned about adults lack of kindness and courtesy toward others. She is a big believer that children model adult behavior, so this was very distressing to her. She was also concerned about the bullying that was occurring in schools and increasing every year. Out of this concern, came the idea for her book. A Girl with a Cape is now one of my favorite examples of kindness picture books. It explains how a child’s little acts of caring and kind words, and an adult’s response and praise for those acts can add up to make a real difference. It’s also an excellent example of cause and effect. Kindness, cause and effect, read aloud.       

 

Kindness picture books

I have compiled a list of kindness picture books that are great read alouds for all ages for home or for the classroom. Therefore, this list is directed at both parents and teachers.  These books can prompt many discussions about kindness in the world, kindness at school and kindness at home and how it can begin with them, as well as discussions about bullying. I have included categories for each book in italics at the end of the summary to help you find the books that support your needs. Also, Lexile and AR levels, are listed, if available, but please remember these don’t apply to wordless picture books. Finally, I found all of these books in my public library and I hope you can do the same. However, I’ve included links for purchasing the books, if you would like to do that. 

A Home for Bird, Lexile 360; AR 2.2, by Philip C. Stead. Vernon, the toad, finds a silent bird while foraging in the forest. The bird is sad and Vernon is determined to help him find his home. They travel great distances and visit many places before finding Bird’s home. Because Bird never speaks, there are lots of opportunities during the story to discuss what Bird is thinking and feeling. Feelings, read aloud, kindness. 

How Kind by Mary Murphy, AR 1.1. A kind deed in the barnyard inspires a chain of kindness among the animals. pre-K, circle story, kindness. 

The Kindness Quilt by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, Lexile 540; AR 3.1. The story begins with the retelling of the fable of The Lion and the Mouse, which leads to the class making an acts of kindness quilt after realizing what they do every day can be an act of kindness.

The Monster’s Monster by Patrick McDonnell, Lexile 610; AR 3.5. The giant monster teaches the three little monsters by example about gratitude.  Read aloud, bullying, kindness, gratitude.

Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, Lexile 640; AR 3.4. This book is a beautiful illustration of the impact that kindness can make in the world when a little girl learns that “each kindness makes the world a little bit better.” Read aloud, kindness, bullying.

How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham. This book is great for a read aloud and gives the kids the opportunity to create a conversation for each page. The story describes a little boy’s kindness and his parents support as he helps a bird with a broken wing. Read aloud, wordless picture book, kindness.

Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley. This is a wordless picture book which will help an adult to initiate a conversation with a child about kindness. Wordless picture book, kindness.

Little Bird by Germano Zullo. This is another wordless picture book that is a very unusual story about generosity and kindness. It gives lots of opportunities for discussion due to the minimal amount of text and wonderful, expressive illustrations. Wordless picture book, kindness.

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson, Lexile 330; AR 3.2. In this story a little boy learns how to turn a “best enemy” into a best friend with his dad’s help. Read aloud, kindness, bullying.

Ben Rides On by Matt Davies, Lexile 730; AR 3.6. Ben’s act of kindness to a bully brings big rewards. This also includes a good bike safety message. Read aloud, bullying, kindness, bike safety.

Finally, a book I recently found while researching for this post, is Good People Everywhere by Lynea Gillen. This is a very simple, beautifully illustrated picture book with a soothing message to children that there are truly good people everywhere in their lives. Pre-K, kindness, read aloud, gratitude.

These are just a few of the wonderful kindness picture books. What are your favorites? What can I add to the list? Please let me know in the comments below.

On the blog: 14 Books to Help Your Child Be More Compassionate