From Mockery to Compassion

Using picture books to teach about compassion is one of the most profound things I do. All my students, including the very youngest, express vehement feelings about a character who has been treated unfairly, mocked, or excluded. What a wealth of stories we have in our library! Reading them aloud gives teachers and parents the chance to talk about how to stick up for a friend and to learn how to be an ally for someone who is hurting. They give us the chance to remember our own shameful moments when we were unkind, and to seek the better angels of our nature. I remember one earnest, chubby-cheeked 7 year old boy who confessed, "I think I've been like that [mean character] sometimes. I feel bad about it." Of course, he was one of the gentlest kids ever.

Stories allow children (and adults) to see these human moments from a variety of perspectives, reducing our defensiveness and pushing us to examine our own lives. It's true even when the protagonist is a pig or a mouse. Of course the best ones are not the didactic pedantic junk with explicit morals or instructions (see my Celebrities post); children appreciate subtlety and nuance. Please: add this to the list of reasons to postpone the rush to read chapter books exclusively among anxious parents of 4-7 year olds.

A few of my favorites:







Pup in School by Elaine Clayton.






Jamaica's Blue Marker by Juanita Havill.





The Sissy Duckling by Harvey Fierstein.





Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.





Weslandia by Paul Fleischman.






Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester.





Horace and Morris But Mostly Dolores by James Howe.





Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco.



I would love to hear other people's favorites--please comment.


Has everybody fantasized at some point of demolishing the mockery? Of pretending to be ignorant or foolish and then suddenly showing up those who are laughing at you? (Some version of the ad line, "They laughed when I sat down at the piano...") Here's a short video of a skater who shows the laughing audience a few things. The music alone brings me to tears. (From our friends at Improv Everywhere; if the embed doesn't work, click here.)