Grades
PreK - 6
The Best Books About Caring and Helping Others
Support students' growing social-emotional skills with these classroom books.
Kindness, generosity, and empathy: characters who exhibit these qualities model positive behavior for young readers who are still learning to manage their emotions and form healthy relationships. When readers see characters sharing, helping others in need, and spreading kindness in their communities, students can walk away with valuable lessons about how to be a good friend, classmate, and citizen of the world.
For instance, Try a Little Kindness is a sweet picture book with adorable animal illustrations that teaches kids how to practice manners and share with others.
And in The Three Questions, Nikolai wants to be the best person he can be, but he needs a little help. Nikolai turns to Leo, the wise turtle, and learns universal truths through a series of events. Young readers will marvel at this timeless fable! Meanwhile, book packs like Tolerance & Acceptance Grades K-2 will further enhance your classroom read-aloud time and lesson plans.
Reading stories about caring and helping others is compelling way to foster a community of kindness in your classroom.
Shop books about caring and helping others below! You can find more books about Social-Emotional Learning and more at The Teacher Store.
It is vital that students learn social emotional skills like confidence, compassion, resilience, and responsibility. This collection from Scholastic features titles that teach empathy and compassion to children.
It is vital that students learn social emotional skills like confidence, compassion, resilience, and responsibility. This collection from Scholastic features titles that teach sharing to children.
It is vital that students learn social emotional skills like confidence, compassion, resilience, and responsibility. This collection from Scholastic features titles that teach kindness to children.
It is vital that students learn social emotional skills like confidence, compassion, resilience, and responsibility. This collection from Scholastic features titles that teach tolerance and acceptance to children.
It is vital that students learn social emotional skills like confidence, compassion, resilience, and responsibility. This collection from Scholastic features titles that teach kindness to children.
It is vital that students learn social emotional skills like confidence, compassion, resilience, and responsibility. This collection from Scholastic features titles that teach empathy and compassion to children.
It is vital that students learn social emotional skills like confidence, compassion, resilience, and responsibility. This collection from Scholastic features titles that teach compassion and caring to children.
Every day holds lots of opportunities to be kind. And kindness can mean all sorts of things! Maybe you include someone and make a new friend, or encourage someone who is struggling.
Joing this beloved characters as Peppa spreads kindness by doing nice things for her friends and family.
This story about the loveable llama is for any child who needs a little encouragement in sharing.
Do you like to help? How do you help?
When Bear feels sick, his loyal friends scamper about Bear's cave to help him feel as comfortable as possible.
Cubby can't wait for Monkey to come over—but will he have to share his toys?
A funny, realistic, and reassuring look at a child's struggle to give up (however temporarily) "my stuff."
Each page features a different way to be a good person, like using proper manners, telling someone they are special, or sharing a treat! The text is accompanied by two or three related vignettes of different animals giving examples of ways to be good.
Being kind can be a little difficult, even for dinosaurs. But with a little practice and some heartfelt humor, our prehistoric pals can develop empathy and compassion for others.
This is a warm, funny, and beautifully illustrated story of friendship, with boisterous RIBBIT!s throughout—perfect for reading aloud.
The Pet Club doesn't understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, and now it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend.
Gerald the elephant has a big decision to make, but will he make it in time?
A joyful celebration of kindness and its potential to change the world from Rachel Bright, the bestselling author of The Lion Inside and Love Monster. Chris Chatterton's charming illustrations will draw readers. The Hugasaurus is sure to become a storytime favorite!
A little girl romps through a busy day with family and friends, always remembering to be kind. She shares smiles, hugs, loving words, and warm greetings. A simple story with simple suggestions—that make a big difference!
A girl's kindness spreads, until her whole community experiences the magical shift that happens when people understand what it means to be kind.
From “Ask someone to play with you," to “Zip a younger child's jacket,” this instructional volume frames 26 ways to demonstrate kindness.
This beautiful friendship story, inspired by the Fibonacci sequence and cleverly constructed using its mathematical pattern, celebrates our differences, as well as how math connects us to one another.
In a story brimming with love and light, Jon J Muth shows how we can all heal the world a little bit at a time -- just the right message for now -- and always!
When My Friend Is Sad addresses mental health with unflinching candor and compassion and shows how sadness is a normal part of life, something to be allowed rather than fixed.
Henry Cole masterfully weaves together two tender storylines that result in a hearttugging wordless picture book that celebrates love, kindness, and compassion for animals.
Clifford sets out with Emily Elizabeth and their friend Tim to offer a helping paw to people in need.
When she takes a chance and stands up to the bullies, little Sally finds that one small girl can change the world.
Accompanied by charming illustrations, this sweet story serves up a helpful lesson in the unexpected rewards of meeting a challenge head on.
Join these happy boys and girls to see how you can make others happy and fill your bucket, too!
A grandson's questions are met with encouraging answers from Grandma, who helps him see the beauty and fun in their routine and the world around them.
A young girl and her waitress mother save coins in a big jar in hopes that they can someday buy a big, new, comfortable chair for their apartment.
The true story of activist Kate Sessions, who helped San Diego grow from a dry desert town into a lush, leafy city known for its gorgeous parks and gardens.
Nikolai knows that he wants to be the best person he can be, but often he is unsure if he is doing the right thing. So he goes to ask Leo, the wise turtle.
All Jeremy wants is a pair of those shoes like the ones everyone at school seems to be wearing, but his grandma says they don't have room for "want," just "need."
This Newbery Award-winning classic is a powerful tale of friendship and self-worth which has warmed the hearts of millions for over half a century.
Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: school.
In this Newbery Honor Book, a young girl comes to terms with the effect that the teasing of her friends has had on a shy classmate.
A heartwarming story of how a group of multicultural friends reconnect as they work together to help neighbors in need during the pandemic.
