This is a guest post from Media Specialist Jenny McNew at Talahi Community School. Need a Mini Grant to purchase materials or try an interesting new program at your library? Apply today! 

As I watch the students I work with each day interact with each other it became clear to me that something was different and there seemed to be something missing since our students weren’t being very nice to each other. I pondered this feeling daily and it became clear to me as I watched their interactions that what was missing was kindness and empathy.  

I began to do a little research and found that empathy can and should be taught. As I thought about adding one more thing to the plates of our teachers, it was clear that a great way to teach these topics with an attentive audience was through books. Through a classroom mini-grant from CMLE I have been able to purchase some beautiful books that emulate these topics in an entertaining and engaging way. I purchased, “UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World” by Michele Borba as a professional read for staff to help them help students take on the skills of empathy and kindness. For student discussion I purchased 35 fabulous titles, some which come with great discussion questions to help facilitate conversations with kids.

What I loved about these books is the characters were a mirror of the students we teach. “Listening with My Heart: A Story of Kindness and Self-Compassion” by Gabi Garcia; “I Am Enough” by Grace Byers; “You, Me, and Empathy: Teaching children about empathy, feelings, kindness, compassion, tolerance, and recognizing bullying behaviors” by Jayneen Sanders. As I read to first graders I heard comments like, “Jade’s like Quinn” and “We are all more than enough!” Thank you CMLE for this wonderful addition to our library!