
41 of the Best Picture Books about Acceptance
These books about acceptance include scenarios of self-acceptance, acceptance of others, and acceptance of situations out of our control. They focus on the importance of being yourself, self-esteem and empathy for others.

Books about Acceptance
Teaching a culture of acceptance starts on the first day of the school year. Part of our role as educators is to foster an environment of acceptance. This involves creating a culture of daily acceptance of ourselves and others, building self-esteem and reducing bullying. No matter the makeup of your classroom, acceptance of appearance, culture and ideas is crucial for a welcoming environment.
In a world full of amazing people, we all encounter life differently. There is no ‘one size fits all’ experience. Feeling as if you don’t fit in is painful, especially for children. These books about acceptance illustrate:
- that it’s okay to be different and the importance of being yourself and focus on the self-esteem, confidence and courage to do this.
- characters modelling empathy, compassion and acceptance of themselves and others.
- characters accepting situations out of their control and learning how to cope during such events.
Recommended Picture Books about Acceptance
Questions to Use With Books about Acceptance
- How did [character] show acceptance for their situation?
- How did acceptance affect [character]? Why?
- Why was [character’s] reaction to [someone’s appearance, culture and choice] negative? How could they have reacted more positively?
- How did [character] go about achieving self-acceptance?
- Why did [character] find it hard to cope with [situation]? What coping strategies could they use?
- How did [character] show acceptance of others?
- Why did [character] think before they spoke?
- Why did [character] treat someone different because of how they looked/thought? What should they have done?
- Why did [character] choose not to help [character] What should they have done?
- How should we treat people different from us?
- Why do you think [character] excluded [character]? What would you have done in the same situation?
- How can racism, bullying, teasing, picking on others, being mean, etc affect others?
- Why is it important for us to show acceptance for others?
- How do we show acceptance for other people?
Further Reading
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Thanks for this great selection of books. Teaching kids acceptance is a really important task. I can also add my book to the list. It’s about acceptance of people with their differences, cultures, and backgrounds. You can check it out here https://childrenslibrarylady.com/acceptance-book-list/.