Growing up in what can so often feel like an increasingly divided world, empathy is something all children need now more than ever. It’s the bridge that connects us as humans. Fortunately, as I discovered when I was working with EmpathyLab UK to write We’ve Got This: Six Steps To Build Your Empathy Superpower (illustrated by Juliana Eigner), empathy is a learnable skill. And it’s one that touches every single aspect of a child’s life, from their relationships to their future success.
Research shows that reading books can boost empathy. It’s easy to see how this is true of fictional stories that invite young readers to imagine and understand feelings, emotions, perspectives, and situations that they may not have experienced themselves. But the same is true of high-quality factual books. I always remember the importance of empathy when I’m writing these books. I think about the reader and how the themes we explore might make them feel, the emotional journey they’ll be taken on, and the new perspectives that might be opened up. I love taking the reader around the world, shining a light on incredible true stories we don’t hear enough about, because it’s amazing, isn’t it, how we can travel across the planet through the pages of a book! Amazing how much we can widen our understanding just by reading.
