Note from the Editor:

The world needs more empathy. One of the most noble acts a teacher can do is to teach empathy
and cultural awareness in their classrooms. Through the use of children’s picture books on a wide variety
of social issues and topics, this collection aims to assist in this endeavor. This was a semester-long project
during the spring of 2019 in which my students at Dakota State University selected a children’s picture
book on a certain social issue and crafted discussion questions and extension projects to go along with
their chosen book. This book is a rich collection of ready-to-use activities that any classroom teacher can
use to build and teach empathy with their students. It is our hope that this collection would not be limited
to young children but used with older students as well. The stories and illustrations in these books can and
will generate great discussion and thought-provoking topics for any age. Through these stories and the
questions that were generated, we can build empathy and become a more culturally aware society.

The power of education and learning is that we can change the world. I firmly believe that. We
want our students to leave our classrooms as kind, respectful, and empathetic people ready to make a
positive impact on the world. We believe reading these books and having discussions about the stories
contained in these pages can do just that. We thank you for picking up this collection and doing your part
to make the world a better place.

We want to see things through the eys of others and put ourselves in their shoes because only then
will we be able to start down the path towards empathy.

Sincerely,

Dan Klumper
Instructor
Dakota State University
Twitter: @danklumper