Children’s Books about Community

These children’s books about community will teach your kids about community building in their neighborhoods and the importance of kindness.

Children's Books about Community“Is everyone okay? Does anyone need anything?” said a message a parent wrote to my son’s classroom group. A fire had erupted nearby, just one of many that struck southern California in a series of unrelenting winds and dry conditions.

That simple question, those acts of kindness, can be all it takes to build a community, even among once strangers. We’re compelled to help when we see others in need, creating a sense of belonging and empathy, and that we’ll get through this… together.

Community doesn’t have to start with tragedy, either. It can be as simple as the very family you share your home with, or the community garden filled with neighborhood conversations. It’s celebrating your ethnic culture, from attending the annual Native American pow wow to baking grandma’s baklava.

Community also grows with generosity and sharing, like community helpers volunteering to clean up trash from your city’s local river to gathering for barbecue picnics with your neighbors.

We all band together in a community, in one way or another.

Children's Books about Empathy

Children’s books about community

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Reading children’s books about community building is a great introduction on the importance of belonging. They need to know that they are a part of something bigger than themselves and belong to a collective group of people.

Below, I list books and resources I’ve personally read with my kids and truly enjoyed.

These books show how even one person can make an impact, from planting gardens to extending neighborly kindness. They celebrate diversity and people of color, learning from each other’s traditions. They remind kids that they have a place, from neighborhoods to a group of people coming together for the same cause.

And they teach us that a community starts with learning how to act with thoughtfulness, civility, and inclusion, from a little boy growing a garden to a garbage collector changing his neighborhood. These simple gestures—no matter how big or small—can make a difference, even in the face of uncertainty.

Take a look at these children’s books about community with inspiring stories and vibrant illustrations:

Green City by Allan Drummond

Green City by Allan Drummond

Marley and the Family Band by Cedella Marley and Tracey Baptiste

Marley and the Family Band by Cedella Marley and Tracey Baptiste

What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris

What Can a Citizen Do? by Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris

Counting on Community by Innosanto Nagara

Counting on Community by Innosanto Nagara

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates

You Matter by Christian Robinson

You Matter by Christian Robinson

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown

Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell, and Rafael López

Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell, and Rafael López

The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul

The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul

Whose Hands Are These? by Miranda Paul and Luciana Navarro Powell

Whose Hands Are These? by Miranda Paul and Luciana Navarro Powell

Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea by Meena Harris and Ana Ramírez González

Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea by Meena Harris and Ana Ramírez González

Good People Everywhere by by Lynea Gillen and Kristina Swarner

Good People Everywhere by by Lynea Gillen and Kristina Swarner

Marvelous Cornelius by Phil Bildner

Marvelous Cornelius by Phil Bildner and John Parra

The Relatives Came by by Cynthia Rylant and Stephen Gammell

The Relatives Came by by Cynthia Rylant and Stephen Gammell

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold

All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman

The One Day House by Julia Durango and Bianca Diaz

The One Day House by Julia Durango and Bianca Diaz

A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards

A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards and G. Brian Karas

Look Where We Live! by Scot Ritchie

Look Where We Live! by Scot Ritchie

Maddi's Fridge by Lois Brandt

Maddi’s Fridge by Lois Brandt and Vin Vogel

Why We Live Where We Live by Kira Vermond and Julie McLaughlin

Why We Live Where We Live by Kira Vermond and Julie McLaughlin

Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson

Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson and Fumi Kosaka

Hey, Wall by Susan Verde and John Parra

Hey, Wall by Susan Verde and John Parra

Anywhere Farm

Anywhere Farm by Phyllis Root and G. Brian Karas

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña

Thank you, Omu by Oge Mora

Thank you, Omu by Oge Mora

Be Kind

Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller

A Chair for My Mother

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

Come with Me

Come with Me by Holly M. McGhee and Pascal Lemaître

The Extraordinary Gardener

The Extraordinary Gardener by Sam Boughton

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