Recently on the television show SuperSoul Sunday, Oprah Winfrey and Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, discussed the importance of teaching compassion in schools. They both stressed that compassion should be part of a schools’ curriculum, saying it’s more important than math or reading.
Why? Because compassionate behaviours promote greater well-being for students and will create a more peaceful world.
Since compassion is not yet a standard subject in schools, we can each do our part to teach the children of our world about compassion. One way to introduce compassion to children of all ages is through books.
Here are eight books that can help you teach compassion to the children and teenagers in your life. I’ve included some discussion questions to help prompt meaningful conversations about the books.
1. The Invisible Boy by Trudy LudwigA beautifully written and illustrated story of a boy who is often ignored in school, this book fosters empathy within the reader. A compassionate child comes to the rescue, showing us the importance of inclusion. Buy The Invisible Boy
Discussion questions:
- How did the boy feel?
- Who was compassionate in this story, and what did he do that was compassionate?
Discussion questions:
- Why was the tree happy even when it was a stump?
- How can you be more like the tree?
- How did the boy feel?
Discussion questions:
- Why were the star-bellied Sneetches mean?
- How did the plain-bellied Sneetches feel when they were left out?
- What did all of the Sneetches learn by the end of the book?
A famous line by one of the main characters, Atticus Finch: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." Buy To Kill a Mockingbird
Discussion questions:
- What did Scout learn from her father?
- How did Atticus exemplify compassion?
- How did this book make you feel?
Discussion questions:
- Was Yertle a compassionate king? If so, how? If not, why not?
- How did Mack feel and why?
- What would you do differently if you were Yertle?
Discussion questions:
- What did Katie do, and how did it make Monica feel?
- What did Monica say to Katie to stop the bullying?
- Who was compassionate in this story?
Discussion questions:
- How did August feel in the beginning of the book compared to the end? What changed?
- Who showed compassion?
- What could you do to offer kindness when someone like August joins your class?
Discussion questions:
- Who was compassionate in this story?
- What did Koo and his friends do to include the neighbour?
- How was Michael rewarded?