8 Best Books to Nurture Social and Emotional Learning in Children

Books provide a great way to help children explore their emotions and learn how to interact, communicate, and collaborate with others. These skills are vital for their personal development as well as for forming healthy relationships with their family, friends and classmates throughout their lives. Many books can help teach these valuable skills to your children and empower them to face the complexities of the world with confidence. Here is a list of some fantastic books for children.

1. The Story of Ferdinand

Munro Leaf- an American writer, wrote The Story of Ferdinand in 1936. The book revolves around the story of a bull who wants to live a peaceful life. He doesn’t like fighting like other bulls. He likes sitting peacefully under a cork tree and enjoys smelling the flowers. One day, he accidentally sits on a bumblebee and, startled by the sting, he runs here and there. A few men see this and think he is an aggressive bull, so they take him away for bullfighting. But they can’t change peaceful Ferdinand into a fierce bull. The story teaches us that one should not change his/her true personality despite social pressures and provocation. An animated movie “Ferdinand” released in 2017, is loosely based on this book.

2. Each Kindness

Each Kindness is written by Jacqueline Woodson. The story begins with a new girl “Maya” who comes into the protagonist “Chloe” class. The new girl “Maya” wears rugged clothes and eats strange things. Maya tries to befriend Chloe and her friends, but they refuse to befriend her due to her appearance. But when the new girl leaves the school, Chloe realises her mistake, but it's too late. This story teaches the following lessons.

• One should not judge someone on their appearance.

• One should be kind towards the other.

3. The Invisible Boy

The Invisible Boy is a gentle story that revolves around a young boy, “Brian”, who feels invisible inside his class. No one notices him, neither his teachers nor his classmates. One day, a new boy comes into his class and his life changes. Do you know why? This new boy befriends him, and everybody in the class starts noticing him. This story teaches that we should take care of everyone around us and how kindness can change someone's life. Best CBSE schools in Baddi help children foster kindness and inclusiveness so that no one feels neglected, like in the tale of the invisible boy.

4. The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes

The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes is a fantastic story that teaches us mistakes are inevitable and that we should enjoy our life without thinking too much about messing things up. The main character is a girl, Beatrice Bottomwell, who does everything perfectly, from doing her homework to dressing up for school. But one day, she makes a mistake in front of everyone and realises that she should not put too much pressure on herself to be a perfectionist and should enjoy her life.

5. The Day You Begin

The Day You Begin is a New York bestseller book written by Jaqueline Woodson. The story begins with children sharing their vacation adventures and experiences at the start of school. But Angelina is feeling out of place because she has spent the whole vacation at home caring for her little sister. This story teaches us that we are all different, which can make us feel alone sometimes, but if we share our story with others, we can create a space in the world we deserve.

6. Gone Grandmother

Gone Grandmother is an emotional story written by Chatura Rao. A girl named “Nina” loses her “Nani” and does not stop asking her mother where she has gone. But, ultimately, she finds the answers in her precious memories and imagination. This story very gently touches on the sensitive topic of the loss of a loved one and can help parents who want to teach their children about this difficult subject.

7. Kittu’s Very Mad Day

Kittu’s Very Mad Day is another beautifully illustrated book written by Harshikaa Udasi. This book tells the story of a boy named Kittu who has one leg and walks on crutches but wants to learn to skateboard. This story will take your children on an emotional roller coaster and teach them courage and perseverance. This book won the FICCI award for the best children's books in English.

8. Bad Seed

Bad Seed revolves around the story of a little sunflower seed who has a very bad attitude. He never listens to others and does nasty things. Everyone hates him because of this bad behaviour, but no one knows why he does this. But one day, he decided to change himself and start taking simple steps. He starts saying thank you, sorry and please more often and does not remain bad anymore. This story teaches us that we should not judge someone without knowing their back story. It also emphasizes the importance of taking small steps for self-improvement.

Also Read: 10 Books All Kids Should Read Before They’re 14.

The key takeaways

This is a list of some top children's books that can help nurture social and emotional learning in children. Stock these books at home and keep your children engaged in these books. Have a happy reading!