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Compassion means exhibiting care and concern for each other and gratitude reflects feeling and expressing thanks for kindnesses shown to you. Below is a collection of activities and books that reflect compassion and/or kindness.
The Jar of KindnessThe Jar of Kindness helps children to reflect on kindness by giving them opportunities to think about how kindness has affected them and how others’ acts of kindness have made them feel. |  | ||
The Gratitude ChainThe Gratitude Chain gives children a chance to thank those they feel gratitude towards. Parents/guardians can write the messages for younger children, or children can complete the writing task themselves after discussion |  | ||
The Bear CaveParents/guardians and children are encouraged to watch a short film together which highlights compassion to provide inspiration for the child’s own story and to start discussing virtues. The John Lewis 2013 advert, The Bear and the Hare, and talking through what the story might be about and the range of virtues it highlights. Parents/guardians can then help children plan their stories using the bear cave story planner. |
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Compassion Word CloudTo help give the stories life, two compassion related word clouds are provided. Some of these words are very challenging; children love extending their vocabulary. It may be necessary to discuss them with your child using a dictionary. |  | ||
Wanted! Ralphy Rabbit, Book BurglarWanted! Ralphy Rabbit, Book Burglar is a book about a rabbit who steals books. A little boy called Arthur notices his books are going missing and so catches Ralphy and hands him to the police. Arthur then realises Ralphy only steals books because he loves them so much and shows compassion and understanding of Ralphy, defending him to the police and introducing him to the library, where he can borrow books! |  |
The Orange HouseThe Orange House by Nahid Kazemi is a book about kindness and compassion, in particular when others are in need. The orange house is an old house, surrounded by new modern-built houses. In the beginning, the newer houses are very self-congratulatory and point out the differences between themselves and the older orange house. When they realise that this kind of behaviour might have devastating consequence for the orange house, they start to understand the importance of kindness. Ultimately, the orange house, and its neighbours find a way of living together happily. | |
Room on the BroomRoom on the Broom is a story about a witch and her Cat who fly around on the witch’s broom. On their travels they meet a dog, a bird and a frog who ask to join the witch and the cat on her broom. The witch shows compassion and acceptance to the animals by welcoming them on her broom (even when there is no room!) and the animals show gratitude to the witch for her kindness by protecting her against the dragon. |  |
Grrrrr!Grrrrr! tells the story of Fred the bear who competes in a bear competition each year. A rival bear steals Fred’s ‘grrrrr’ and the animals of the wood come together to help him. When they find his ‘grrrrr’ Fred shows compassion to the rival bear, listening to his explanation and forgiving him for taking his ‘grrrrr’. Both the rival bear and Fred show gratitude to the animals of the wood for helping them. |  |
LOVEThe Jubilee Centre loves LOVE by Matt de la Pena and Loren Long. It is a picture book that uses free verse to unpack the complexity of love. The word that describes LOVE best is ‘beautiful’; the text is beautiful and the illustrations are also beautiful. Before reading LOVE, it is important to be aware that the verse is challenging. Even the oldest of readers (Jubilee members included) will have different interpretations of the text. In fact, we think this is a real advantage of this book, and it is part of the reason we have chosen to use LOVE as inspiration for some of our writing resources. Like love itself, the book is complex and open to interpretation. Nevertheless, we believe that every age can take something from this book. Younger readers can use the pictures to help them understand the verse, while older readers can discuss, with parents/guardians, the meaning of the verse and how it makes them feel (happy or sad) about love. |  |
Once Upon a CloudFor those readers who loved Frozen and Tangled, we can heartily recommend Once Upon a Cloud, by Claire Keane. Similar to her work on Frozen and Tangled, Keane has produced a visually stunning book. The topic of Once Upon a Cloud is that of gratitude and compassion. Celeste wants the perfect gift to celebrate her mother. Celeste finds a magical way to give thanks to her mother and show her how much she cares. |  |
Courage means having the strength and will to know what you should do even though you may be afraid. Below is a collection of books that contain characters that have shown courage as well as stories which acknowledge how difficult it can be to show courage when something scares or frightens you.
The Courage ShieldThe Courage Shield gives children an opportunity to think about what courage is and the ways in which courage can be shown. |
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Ladder of BraveryThe Ladder of Bravery helps children talk about the things they may be scared of and how, with support, they can identity steps to overcome those fears. Similarly to the compassion activities, parents/guardians can write for the children, or children can complete the writing themselves after discussion. |
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Eliot Jones, Midnight SuperheroEliot Jones, Midnight Superhero tells the story of a young boy who by day seems quiet and unassuming, yet by night turns into a superhero. After midnight Eliot flies about saving people, is called on by the Queen to help catch a jewel thief and saves the Earth from a giant meteor! Readers will be engaged by Eliot’s adventures and any superhero fans will enjoy the comic style illustrations. Courage is evident throughout this story with Eliot risking his own life to saves others. While these are extraordinary acts of bravery, the book demonstrates how courage can be shown by all people and encourages readers to look beyond stereotypes and first impressions. |
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I am Rosa ParksI am Rosa Parks makes the story of Rosa Parks, best known for her influential role in the civil rights movement in America, accessible and understandable for younger children. The book shows how Rosa dared to stand up for herself in a society in which this was very difficult to do and provides a means to talk about inequality. The book is clear and easy to follow for younger readers with engaging illustrations and text presentation. As well as being able to talk about how Rosa showed courage in her actions and beliefs, the story lends itself to talking about respect and civility too. |
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Lost and FoundThis beautifully illustrated book tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a lost penguin and a young boy. One day, a young boy finds a penguin on his doorstep and decides to help him return home. The boy shows great courage and resourcefulness on his quest to return the penguin to the South Pole, facing danger head-on in his rowing boat. However, although he succeeds on his mission, he discovers that both he and the penguin are sadder than ever. What they really needed all along was each other. The beautiful illustrations and limited text mean that this book is suitable for younger readers but could lead to rich discussions about both friendship and courage with older readers. |
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The Fox and the StarThe Fox and the Star is a touching story about a Fox and the loss of his friend star. Star gives fox courage to explore the deep dark forest and when she disappears Fox must find the strength to face the forest alone. When Fox does, he realises there is a whole new world out there with beauty and adventure. This book is impeccably illustrated, with each page beautifully designed to reflect foxes fears and feelings. This book explores love and loss and how courage can be the vehicle to hope and new beginnings. Younger children will love the pictures in this book which is why we have put it in the 0-7 years category, however, the book also uses wonderfully descriptive language which would make it suitable for an older reader too. |
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The Snail and the WhaleThe Snail and the Whale is a story about an unlikely pair of friends who travel the world together. Snail wants to be adventurous but feels small compared to the big wide world and when he is faced with helping his friend whale (when he gets beached on the coast) he doesn’t think he will be able to. However, the little snail demonstrates huge courage and uses his skills to help the whale get rescued. This is a heart-warming story which uses detailed pictures and rhymes to show how courage can be shown in all shapes and sizes. |
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Edgar and his Special FriendshipThe little girl, Ava, and her excitable friend, Edgar, clearly have a special friendship. Throughout the advert, they demonstrate their friendship on several occasions. Ask your child to order the events and explain how the pair show friendship towards one another. |
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Edgar and the Virtue of GenerosityEdgar struggles with breathing fire. On a few occasions, during the clip, Edgar’s problem causes damage as he struggles to contain his excitement. Edgar’s friend, Ava, recognises Edgar’s problem and is empathetic towards him. She bakes him a Christmas pudding to put his fire breathing to good use, showing how much she cares about Edgar. Discuss how people experience different problems. Explain that we can help people experiencing problems. Ask your child to identify a problem one of their friends or family members has and how they could help solve the problem through the gift of giving. |
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Thankful EdgarEdgar is clearly thankful when the little girl gives him a gift. Christmas is a time for giving, celebrating and sharing your time with your loved ones. With your child, ask them to design a ‘thank you’ card to give to somebody this Christmas. It could be thanking them for a gift or simply their friendship and kindness. |
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FifteensAn easy way to be generous is to make something and give it away. Cakes are always well received so here is a simple, no-oven recipe that you could make with your child to share with others. Fifteens are a traditional Northern Irish treat. |
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The Smartest Giant in TownThe dynamic duo of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler can be relied on to produce beautifully illustrated stories with a big heart. In The Smartest Giant in Town, a formerly scruffy giant has a bit of a make-over but, as he strolls through town, realises that there are lots of animals who could use some of his new clothes. A great story that could be used to talk about donating to others in need. |
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The Rainbow FishThis popular, classic children’s book tells the story of a beautiful fish with shiny, silver scales who has to learn to share with those around her in order to be happy. You could use this book to talk about both the benefits and the costs of being generous. |
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Finger PuppetsThis activity gives instructions on how to make simple finger puppets. Making finger puppets with children, and using them to act out familiar or new stories, is a great way to enable them to discuss feelings and develop empathy. |
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Honesty means being truthful and sincere to those around you as well as to yourself. Below is a collection of books that reflect honesty in different contexts and situations.
Question DiceChildren can make the die by themselves, or with an adult, and use the question ideas to write some questions on each face. Rolling the die and discussing the question on the face will allow you to explore the story you are reading, and the virtues in it, further. |  |
Don’t Tell Lies Lucy! A Cautionary TaleTelling the truth is important – lies lead to problems. This entertaining tale makes this clear and highlights how important it is for us to tell the truth, so that we can trust one another. Lucy loves telling lies and doesn’t take responsibility for her mistakes. Because of her behaviour, she doesn’t trust the word of others – a big mistake! | |