bringing people together through books and conversation
For Children and Youth
One way to build children’s empathy, understanding, and awareness is for them to read books that feature characters with diverse life experiences, including those who may live within a range of financial circumstances. Although no single book could possibly demonstrate the many ways people experience and respond to poverty, one story can spark a young reader's understanding that the world is a bigger place than what they might have imagined, a place where accessible resources can be widely disparate. Reading has the potential to build compassionate curiosity, the type that is needed to inspire our future advocates and changemakers. We hope these books listed below encourage your children to start asking questions and seeking out ways they might contribute to creating a world where no child is hungry or without a home.
“It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act.” -Dalai Lama
Early Elementary (K-3)
Tight Times by Barbara Shook Hazen
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Enough is… by Jessica Whipple
The Bright Side by Chad Otis
Middle Grades (3-5)
Too Small Tola and the Three Fine Girls by Atinuke
A Sickness You Can’t See by Laura Washington (Read-aloud)
Middle School (5-8)
Eb & Flow by Kelly J. Baptist
Moon Pie by Simon Mason
Hey, Kiddo by Jarret J. Krosoczka (National Book Award Finalist)
Hooked: When Addiction Hits Home ed. by CHLOE SHANTZ-HILKES
Books for Older Teens
Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park