I Am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde - ESSENTIAL

I Am Human: A Book of Empathy by Susan Verde, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. PICTURE BOOK. Abrams, 2018. $15. 9781419731655

BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K, EL (K-3) - ESSENTIAL. 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This meditation on what it means to be humans begins by listing some of bright parts about being alive. The book then moves to some of the hard parts of being human and the ways in which we make mistakes and are fallible. The final pages list the ways in which we improve and can make efforts to reach out to others on this journey.

This is a thoughtful and poetic book that would be a lovely addition to a unit on kindness or mindset. The illustrations depict a child of color as the main focus, although problematically his skin is lighter in the book than on the cover. I wasn’t especially moved by this book, but it does include important appeals for readers to be empathic with others.  

Jen Wecker, HS English Teacher