Children's books to encourage understanding, kindness and inclusion.
These recommended reads are great tools for instilling empathy and helping kids to understand different perspectives and learn about their feelings.
Stepping Up David Hill
An affirming, empathy-building medical drama from beloved author David Hill. This powerfully told novel sensitively explores disability, identity and resilience in the wake of a teen's life-changing mountain accident.
Recommended reading age: 10 - 14 years old
Wonder R J Palacio
Born with a facial difference that has prevented him from going to a mainstream school until now, this wonderful tale charts the journey of Auggie as he navigates his first year at school. An upbeat, life-affirming story that deserves to be read and one that reminds us all to choose to be kind instead of cruel.
Recommended reading age: 9 - 11 years old
Brown Bird Jane Arthur
A gorgeous middle-grade novel set in a provincial town in Aotearoa, about a lonely girl with crippling social anxiety, who always feels like an outsider. This is a gentle, warm-hearted novel about leaving the comfort of your shell and making friends.
Recommended reading age: 8 - 12 years old
The Umbrella Niki Foreman, Binny Talib
Not everyone finds their place under the same umbrella. So what happens when you want to fit, but can’t? From an author and parent with intimate experience of neurodivergence The Umbrella is a story of one child’s journey to find their place in the world.
Out 3 March, 2026.
Recommended reading age: 2 - 7 years old
My Elephant Is Blue Melinda Szymanik, Vasanti Unka
Warm, empathetic, hopeful and often funny, with the ability to be read on different levels, My Elephant is Blue is the perfect story to help children explore and understand the experience of living under the weight of a big sadness.
Recommended reading age: 2 - 7 years old
Hairy Maclary and Friends How Do I Feel? Lynley Dodd
This very special first concepts board book is designed to help babies and toddlers learn the words to express how they are feeling with Lynley Dodd’s delightful and funny animal characters leading the way.
Recommended reading age: 0 - 3 years old
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