Please welcome my guest author and dear friend today, Nancy Tupper Ling. In addition to being an award-winning children’s book author, Nancy is a librarian and book seller at Peter H. Reynolds and Paul Reynolds bookstore, The Blue Bunny Bookstore. You will find her in the center of KidLit in Massachusetts where she helps to create events in support of children’s book authors and illustrators.
She has a list of 8 Children’s Books with Heart. We are giving away 2 copies of Hearts in My Pocket to a teacher or librarian! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom.
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Empathy is certainly an emotion that can be fostered from a young age. With chaos in the world around us, now is as good a time as any to introduce young readers to books with a whole lot of heart. After all, we could all use a listening ear or extra hug.
Here is a list of eight books that invite readers into a variety of topics, from subjects like divorce, loneliness, and loss, as well as friendship and the power of music and a whale’s song. While some books are older titles, most are new. Hopefully, all tug at our heartstrings in some way.
8 Children’s Books with Heart (and Soul)
Lola’s Heart by Alexandra Boiger
This wordless book gently pulls readers into an imaginary world where Lola faces both loss and love. Sometimes dreams get lost along the way, and it takes the love of others to help discover them again. Told as an allegory, we witness a child’s resilience when facing various obstacles that come her way. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
My Heart Fills with Happiness by Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Julie Flett
This sweet book introduces to the concept of happiness at a very young age. Perhaps happiness is as simple as song or a barefoot walk in grass. Often the conversation begins with the words such as: “My heart fills with happiness when . . ..” With Flett’s colorful illustrations, babies will enjoy this exploration of delight. [board book, baby to 2 years]
Hearts in My Pocket by Nancy Tupper Ling, illustrated by Shirley Ng-Benitez
For fans of The Invisible String, here is an uplifting and lyrical story about a young girl who learns to navigate her family’s divorce.” While Leilah learns to move back and forth between two worlds after her parents’ separation, she wonders if her heart will ever feel whole again. Then one day she finds a heart etched on a train window, and then another that fits inside her pocket. When she stops to really look, it turns out love is still surrounding her. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Playing from the Heart by Peter H. Reynolds
If you’re a fan of a story with a tender father-son relationship, you’ll love this one. When Raj begins to play the piano for his family, he feels a deep joy in his soul. But with more and more exacting lessons and striving for perfection, his initial passion grows weary, and the piano grows silent. Only when his father becomes ill, does Raj discover the song of his heart again: “The song without a name.” [picture book, ages 4 and up]
I Carry Your Heart With Me by e.e. cummings, illustrated by Mati McDonough
This is a gorgeous rendition of e.e. cummings’ poem with the same title. Originally written about two lovers, this becomes a story of a mother and child through McDonough’s interpretation and mixed-media illustrations. Perhaps you’ll discover “the deepest secret nobody knows” when you share this story with a child [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Heart String by Brooke Boynton-Hughes
This is a book with a beautiful message about the things in life that join our hearts together. In this feel-good, we-have-more-in-common-than-we-think read, you’ll follow a heart thread to discover how “my heart is tied to yours.” (Chronicle Books, 2022) [picture book, age 4 and up]
We Sing from the Heart by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Victor Bizar Gomez
As the subtitle states, this is the story of “How The Slants Took their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court.” A fascinating history awaits readers when they pick up Wenjen’s well-researched non-fiction biography of Simon Tam, founder and bassist for The Slants. Bullied as a child for being an Asian-American with “slanted eyes,” Tam poured that hurt into his songs, creating a band that took ownership of the injustice with the naming of The Slants. Tam must prove the right to his band’s name all the way up to the highest court in the land [picture book, ages 4 and up]
The Heart of a Whale by Anna Pignataro
Last, but hardly least, is another author-illustrator book about a whale song that fills the ocean with beauty. Still, the very whale whose song echoes through the deep needs a bit of love himself. The question is: Can a lonely whale find friendship as well? Will his heavy sigh “drift [ed] away like a wish” be heard by another? [picture book, ages 4 and up]
GIVEAWAY: 2 copies of Hearts in My Pocket to a teacher or librarian!
We are giving away 2 copies of Hearts in My Pocket to a teacher or librarian! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below. We can only mail to U.S. and A.F.O. addresses.
Nancy Tupper Ling is a children’s author, poet, bookseller, and librarian. Basically, she surrounds herself with books! Occasionally, she creates a few books of her own, including her latest, One Perfect Plan: The Bible’s Big Story In Tiny Poems, The Story I’ll Tell, Double Happiness, The Yin-Yang Sisters, My Sister, Alicia May, and For Every Little Thing with co-author, June Cotner. To learn more, check out her website and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, GoodReads and Pinterest.
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Barbed Wire Between Us by Mia Wenjen, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación
- ⭐ Starred review from Kirkus
- ⭐ Starred review from Publishers Weekly
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal
- Kirkus: The Most Anticipated Children’s Books of Spring 2026
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Gold Award
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
The Traveling Taco:
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Silver Award
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- ALSC Notable Children’s Book
- 2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
- Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
- 2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
- Recommended Reading for the Social Justice Literature Award 2025 (International Literacy Association)
- Pennsylvania Mountain Laurel Book Award Nominee 2026-27
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Sunshine State Young Readers Award Orange Blossom List for Nonfiction
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Wow! What a fantastic list! I think now more than ever it is very important to share books about empathy and kindness!
My favorite book about hearts is probably Love You By Heart by Peter Reynolds