Must Read Monday- Books About Compassion

 

 

 

 

Thanks to The Kindergarten Planet and The Kindergarten Connection for hosting this weekly summer link up!  I'm jumping in today for week 5's topic: book about compassion! 

Compassion is such an important idea to introduce to our kindergarteners.  Some students are naturally further advanced in this than others, and most are just beginning to grasp the idea of feeling empathy for another person. 

 

 

 

1.  I love having a chapter book on hand to read aloud to my students when we come in from recess.  It helps calm everyone and focus us for the afternoon.  I usually try to keep our chapter books short, but I took a leap of faith this spring and chose to read them Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, partly because our media specialist had introduced them to the story.  I own the Garth William's illustrated version...I love his sweet and charming pictures!  It took us several weeks (month?) to get through it, but they were so into it!  They really developed a connection with Charlotte and Wilbur.  Death is a hard topic for kindergartners to grapple with, but the book depicts it gently and lovingly, and follows up with Wilbur in turn caring for Charlotte's children, having had her model of care and compassion.  And Templeton the rat lightens things up by adding humor throughout the story, which my students loved!

 

 



 



 

2.  A new baby in the family is something that several of my kiddoes experienced this year.  If they have been the baby up until this point, it is sometimes hard to understand that there is a new little one that will require some of Mom and Dad's attention, too.  Peter's Chair by Ezra Jack Keats recognizes the fear and even anger that some little "olders" might experience at first, but ends by Peter realizing that his younger sibling needs him and can use his outgrown baby furniture.  I read it to my class and it provided an opportunity to talk about new siblings and how big siblings can help during this new, happy, but sometimes difficult, time. 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

3.  We were HUGE Bear book fans in my classroom this past year!  Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson is one of the many Bear books I read to my students throughout the year.  Most kiddoes can relate to the idea of having someone take care of them when they are sick.  This book provided a great age-appropriate way to talk about little things we can do to make someone feel more comfortable when they are not feeling well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.  How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague is a good way to introduce (or reintroduce) kindergartners to the concept of not hurting their friends' feelings, and playing nicely with others.  I own several of the "How Do Dinosaurs" books, and I love to pull them out when a particular behavior starts cropping up in my classroom.  It shows children, in a gentle, humorous way, what not to do.  Of course, we would NEVER act like THOSE dinosaurs!  Never, ever!  :)

 

 

 

Check out other teacher recommendations for books that teach compassion at The Kindergarten Planet's post this week!