We love picture books and use them all the time in our classroom as mentor texts or to illustrate writer’s craft. We love books that highlight kindness and use them all year with our students. We’re always on the search for new books, but here are some of the best kindness books we’ve found and use all year.
We want to point out that we use these books mostly with our fourth and fifth graders, but they would be great with any age. Don’t forget that older students love pictures books too (and they enjoy being read to). You can demonstrate or model so many reading skills and strategies simply by reading aloud to your students.
We can’t afford to keep every book in stock in our classroom (Mr. Ninja has put a book ban on), so take these titles to your school librarian or look them up at your local public library to keep your costs down!
Check out these great kindness books!
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Wilson: This is a powerful story great for all ages (but older students resonate with the message). What happens when no one is nice to the new girl? What happens when the new girl stops coming to school?
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller: A picture that book that shows children tangible examples of kindness they can share each and every day.
Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson: Highlights how one simple act of kindness can snowball around the world.
If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson: A fictional story about animals planting seeds of kindness and compassion, until rabbit plants a seed of selfishness.
Listening With My Heart by Gabi Garcia: This one was a little young for our fifth graders, but it is a wonderful story about mindfulness and kindness, listening to your inner voice and doing what is best.
I Am a Wolf by Kelly Leigh Miller: This one was a pleasant surprise (and just plain fun!) A dog finds herself in an animal shelter and insists she’s a wolf, but finds kindness from others allows her to be herself.
We Are All Wonders by R. J. Palacio: A picture book based on the novel Wonder (and movie with the same name) that shows respecting differences and choosing kind is always best.
Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry: A quick read about how sticking it out with a friend even when times get tough can get you through anything.
A World of Kindness by Ann Featherstone: This book is great for getting students to start thinking about how children can influence the world around them.
The Jelly Donut Difference: Sharing Kindness With the World by Maria Dismondy: Do you have students who are constantly nipicking at each other? This is the perfect book for that! Leah and Dexter are brother and sister and drive each other crazy (on purpose). This one gives students the chance to see how kindness can be paid forward.
The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig: Another amazing read by Trudy Ludwig who truly understands children and how they respond to each other. My students loved this story of an introvert boy who makes friends with the new kid.
Try a Little Kindness by Henry Cole: This one is really cute and my fifth graders loved the illustrations. Animals try to demonstrate acts of kindness.
Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler by Margery Cuyler: This one was a little young for my fifth graders, but it was a great one for them to read to their kindergarten buddies. Mrs. Ruler’s class starts filling up a bulletin board with kind deeds. This is a great one to lead into a schoolwide kindness bulletin board.
I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët: This is a wordless picture book (perfect to use with your English language learners) about how a simple act of kindness can change a person’s life.
Shh! We Have a Plan! by Chris Haughton: When a group of friends goes for a walk and discovers a bird high in a tree. They want to keep it for themselves, so they devise a plan. But, one member of the group surprises everyone with an act of kindness. This one is quite cute and lots of fun!
Super Buns!: Kindness is Her Superpower by Diane Krendensor: Superbuns has kindness as her superpower, but no one (especially Superbuns’s sister) thinks it’s really a superpower. You decide!
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell– Molly Lou stands out a bit and when she moves to a new school a bully takes her on. Find out what she does in return.
Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev and Taeeun Yoo– This is a great read all about including others.
Nerdy Birdy by Aaron Reynolds and Matt Davies– Because everyone deserves to be treated with kindness.
The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts and Christian Robinson– This is a great story about how just one person speaking up can make all the difference in the world.
The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates– This is a great story about how there is always room for everyone in the world.
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead– This is a wonderful story about how looking after your friends and returning kindness is important.
The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld– This is a great example of how listening to others is more important than trying to solve their problems.
A World of Kindness by Ann Featherstone– This is a thought-provoking book that asks children to think about how they show kindness to others.
Rock On, Kindness! Pass It On! by Stepheni Curran and Samantha Williams- This book follows a girl painting rocks for her friends. She find similarities and differences with all of them, but still includes everyone.
The Girl and the Bicycle by Mark Pett– We love this story. A girl works hard to earn money to purchase a bicycle of her own-then the story takes an unexpected turn toward kindness.
A Hat for Mrs. Goldman: A Story About Knitting and Love by Michelle Edwards– This is an adorable story to talk about doing things for others and it talks about perseverance too (always a bonus).
Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems– This is an amazing story about including others. And it’s Mo Willems-so it’s super cute.
Do you have a great book about kindness we’ve missed? We’d love to add it to our list. Please share it in the comments below or send us a link or message!