When we talk about raising kind, compassionate kids, one word comes up again and again: empathy. We all want to raise empathetic kids. The problem is, empathy doesn’t just appear. It’s something we teach. Something we have to learn.

One of the most powerful ways to teach empathy is through stories. When a child connects with a character who is different from them, but still feels like them… a seed is planted. That seed is empathy. Reading the right books and asking thought provoking questions is the key to teaching empathy through literature, at home and in the classroom.

What Is Empathy? (Really)

Empathy isn’t just feeling sorry for someone. It’s truly understanding what someone else might be feeling, even if you’ve never been through the same struggle. Empathy helps us imagine other people’s feelings and perspectives. It’s the ability to “put yourself in someone else’s shoes”. That skill, that perspective shift, is the foundation of kindness, compassion, and justice.

Empathy is essential for human connection. It helps us recognize the beauty of humanity and use that lens to guide our interactions. Empathy shows us that we are all more alike than we are different.

As parents or educators, we can cultivate empathy with kids every single day. First, we can build nurturing relationships where children feel seen, heard, and understood. We can also create opportunities for kids to practice empathy. That could be through reflective listening, acts of kindness, or even reading together and talking about the story. We want to help kids put their empathic skills to work, to truly learn to care deeply and respond compassionately to others.

Empathy Is Prevention

Teaching empathy isn’t just about helping your child be nice. It’s also a powerful preventative tool against bullying, violence, and isolation.

Empathetic kids are more likely to:

Speak up for othersMake inclusive choicesForm stronger relationshipsReach out instead of withdraw

When children feel understood—and learn how to understand others—they’re better equipped to cope with life’s big emotions. Empathy makes us better people and helps us build a better world.

Planting the Seed of Empathy Through Stories

We have to teach kids empathy. It’s not optional. We should use real life experiences and materials like books and stories for teaching empathy as much as possible. When people read about someone else’s perspective, they begin to understand what it might feel like to be that person. They learn to feel with instead of just feel for—and that difference is everything.

Books let kids:

See themselvesSee othersStep into someone else’s experience

Kids feel empathy when they connect with someone else—whether that is a real person or fictional characters. Every book, from a non-fiction, real-life narrative to fiction, or even a short story, literature is an easy first step into someone else’s world. Books have the power to challenge our beliefs and ideas without us even realizing it.

To build a library that builds empathy, choose books that:

Feature a variety of races, cultures, and family typesInclude characters with different abilities, economic backgrounds, or emotionsShow kindness in action—not just in theory

For great books that model empathy, check out the Make A Way Media collection and these other great book recommendations full of empathy.

After the Story: Questions That Build Empathy

To effectively use reading as a tool for building empathy, you have to take the story off the pages. You can’t just read and then sit it back on the shelf. Take the time to talk about the story and figure out how to really apply it to life.

Use these questions after reading a book with your child to plant seeds of empathy, self-awareness, and emotional growth. They will work for almost any story—especially ones with emotional moments, diverse characters, or moral choices.

Want a beautiful, printable copy of the questions to hang in your classroom or next to your bookshelf? It’s waiting for you in our printable shop!

FEELING WHAT OTHERS FEEL

These questions will help kids tune into the emotions they saw playing out in the lives of the characters. When they are able to recognize emotions, in real life and in stories, they are better able to respond to them.

How do you think the main character felt at the beginning?
Did their feelings change by the end? What caused that change?

SEEING YOURSELF IN THE STORY

These questions will help kids put themselves in someone else’s shoes. These perspective taking questions help kids imagine what it might feel like to live the main character’s life or experience the emotions someone in the story felt.

Have you ever felt like the character did? When?
Would you have made the same choices they made? Why or why not?

TAKING ACTION

A key piece of empathy is letting it guide our actions. We aren’t just observing how someone else feels, we are using that perspective to motivate us to act.

What would you say to the character if you were their friend?
If that happened to someone in your class or family, what would you do?

LEARNING FROM THE STORY

This is where we identify what we can truly take away from the story and use in our daily lives.

What do you think this story wants us to learn?
Did anything in this book surprise you or make you think differently about something?

What does kindness look like in this story?
Is there something we can do today that shows what we learned from this book?

To foster even deeper conversations, let your child or students ask you some of the same questions!
Kids grow even more when they hear how adults think through feelings and choices, too.

A Story That Shows the Power of Empathy

This fall, Hope In the Nick of Time will show readers everywhere the power of empathy and hoping skills. A young boy named Nick learns that hope is something we grow and it grows even faster when we help others.

He is having one of those days where everything feels like its going wrong. While traveling in New York City, he’s dealing with problems left and right. An unexpected encounter reminds him that small acts of kindness can change everything.

Preorder your copy today to get a beautiful story that sparks hope, empathy, and great conversations with kids of all ages.

The truth is, its never too late to learn, or to teach, empathy. You can start today—with one story, one question, and one quiet moment that says: “I see you.” That’s how empathy grows, with one small seed. One small moment. One small step toward into someone else’s world.

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