When tragedy happens, I turn to books. When huge nationwide news story tragedies happen, I turn to books. When local tragedies happen in my town, I turn to books. When personal tragedies happen in the lives of my students, I turn to books. When I don’t know what to say, but can only cry inside and out for what has happened that has hurt people, I turn to books because they can speak for me. When students are hurting, I instinctively turn to books and search high and low for just the right book for that moment in their lives that might help them through. Books have the power to heal, to inspire, to provide escape, to gain understanding, to show kids they’re not alone in the world, to change people’s opinions, to create community, to develop empathy.

We have the opportunity in our classrooms to create safe spaces for kids, and communities where all are accepted. One of the best ways I know to do that is by sharing stories, all kinds of stories, so students better understand the world around them, and the people in it. This is why I turn to books, and am ever so grateful for the authors who write those stories that help kids see the world in a different way.

Books I have read that I recommend to kids to help build empathy for, and understanding of, those around us.

Young Adult

The Great American Whatever by Tim Federle

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

The Inside of Out by Jenn Marie Thorne

All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely

Winger by Andrew Smith

The Secret Sky by Atia Abawi

How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

Shine by Lauren Myracle

October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard by Lesléa Newman (poetry)

Non-Fiction Choice

Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History…and Our Future! by Kate Schatz

Middle Grades

The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan

The Best Man by Richard Peck (September release)

Pieces of Why by K.L.Going

The Fall by James Preller

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed

See You At Harry’s by Jo Knowles

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

What are some of the books you share with students to help build empathy and tolerance?

For me, teaching mostly kids with different backgrounds than I come from, these books were a window into other lives. I was not from the same culture or neighborhood as most of my students, or where many of these incidents are happening. In seeking ways to better relate to the reality of my students’ lives and communities, I turned to books. How could I get to know them? How could they trust me? I’m not sure if I ever did it as best as I could, but books were one big way I could try. Books were an entry into conversations. They were a window for me to try to better understand where my students might be coming from. They were a way for me to gain perspective. They were a way for me to look at my own biases and privilege. They were the window I needed to be able to open the door. And these three books seared deep into my heart. 

For some of my students, these books would be windows also, in a different way, into the lives of their classmates. But for many of my students, these books would be mirrors – and how often do they really have that? Reading about kids that talk like them, react like them, think like them, have the same concerns they do? Seeing kids who look like them, have friends like them, are surrounded by families like theirs, live like them in neighborhoods like theirs? Not very often. Seeing themselves on the cover of a book? Rarely. And that is why books like these, and initiatives like We Need Diverse Books so we can get more books like these, are important – because kids need both those windows and mirrors. They need to be able to see themselves in books, that kids like them can be the main character, that they have value, the validation for their thoughts, that they are loved, that their lives matter. When I shared All American Boys as a read aloud with my 8th graders, I could see it in their faces and hear it in their comments each day – what this book meant to them, how they could relate to it, how real it felt to them, what it made them think. I had that same class of students in mind when I was reading The Hate U Give and Dear Martin.

I have often heard reference to books being mirrors and windows, but it wasn’t until last fall when I became aware of the source, and the deeper explanation. Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop originated the idea that many now reference. She talks about windows as “offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange.” And about mirrors, “…we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience.” But she also talks about sliding glass doors which “readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author.” The thing is, it’s the third part of it, the sliding glass door that seems to often be left out, but is perhaps the most important part – it’s the part that, in my interpretation, allows us to step into those other worlds and become part of them for the time we are in that book – and isn’t that the power of reading? Being able to develop empathy, understanding, new perspectives by living in someone else’s shoes for a short time. Especially for books as powerful as the ones being written about these real issues that are affecting kids in their lives today, this mirror, window, sliding door access becomes even more important for them to see they have a place in our society, no matter what perspective they may bring. 

And that’s the thing about the windows, they’re different for everyone because background knowledge and experiences are what you bring to any circumstance and they impact how you see things. What Jason, Brendan, Angie, & Nic have done with their books is create incredibly readable books providing windows and mirrors, and hopefully opening these sliding doors for teens, and adults, in our society. My students were living with these fears, and through the characters these authors created, I was able to see through their windows and was better able to have a sense of what many of my students were living with. Without these books, I wouldn’t have had that perspective or been able to walk through that door. So read their books. Think about them. Share them. Talk about them. Put them in your classrooms and on your shelves for teens to find themselves, their friends, or new perspectives and understanding in.