Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/compassion-classics/5019303/
Here are some of my favorite books, many of them already familiar and available in early childhood classrooms. They offer rich opportunities to further explore compassion themes.• Anaya, Rudolfo. Illustrated by David Diaz. Roadrunner’s Dance. Hyperion. 2000. This Southwestern tale about how the roadrunner was created to save people from the rattlesnake begs for discussion of beliefs and compassion.
• Andersen, Hans Christian. The Ugly Duckling. Retold by Jerry Pinckney. New York: Morrow Junior Books. 1999. A swan egg gets into the nest of a duck and when hatched, he does not fit with the others. Not knowing why, he struggles to adapt and then finally is enveloped by a flock of swans heading south. The opportunities for sensing his social and spiritual pain are evident.
• Bailey, Carolyn Sherwin. Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings. New York: Platt & Munk. 1945. The story is also retold by Betty Erickson. Elizabethtown, PA: Continental Press, Seedling Books Imprint. 2000. This is the story of a rabbit who wants to have something exciting happen comes to ...