5 Picture Books That Give Me Hope While Parenting in a World That Feels Bleak

On Tuesday, Minneapolis had the second worst air quality in the entire world. We didn’t play outside at all, and even just walking to the car, the air was irritating, thick with smoke.

And then I learned about Google’s new Veo 3 model—technology that can generate fake videos—including newscasts—with startling realism. It’s deeply unsettling and its implications for the future are daunting. It feels like we’re living in a dystopia, and headlines just keep getting worse—political turmoil and polarization, attacks on our rights, war and genocide, global warming... the list goes on.

I just watched a YouTube video about how 2010s hipster millennials were living in this blissful little (naive?) bubble of hope and optimism, and it hit me hard. Pre-2016, pre-pandemic… it really felt like things were moving in the right direction.

Tonight I asked my mom if the world felt this dire—like it was burning to the ground—back in the ’90s, when she was raising me and my brother. I thought maybe it was just a matter of perspective. But she said no. Things didn’t feel like this. (Of course, I know that was just our experience—not everyone’s.)

I feel sad that these are the times we are all raising our kids in. I feel guilty that this is the world they’re growing up in, when it’s so different from my own childhood, which—at least in my little bubble—felt safe, soft, playful, and full of possibility.

Then I remember: I still get to shape my kids’ childhood. I can build something beautiful in our home—in the day-to-day moments—even with all this chaos in the world around us. And honestly, their everyday experiences aren’t so different from the ones I grew up with. They’re filled with books and crafts, giggles and family. Things can still feel good.

But then I think about the kids who don’t get that—who can’t get that—both in faraway places and right here at home. And I know that even as I try to give my girls a joyful childhood, I also have a responsibility to teach them how to live in a world that’s broken—and how to help make it better for everyone.

Here are five picture books that make me feel more hopeful and steady as a parent, even in the current climate we are living in.

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🕊️ One Small Spark: A Tikkun Olam Story
This book fills me with hope. I hadn’t been familiar with this Jewish concept before reading—it really is beautiful and empowering. We can repair the world into what we want it to be. Hope is not gone.

♿ All of Us: A First Conversation About Disability

It makes me feel so hopeful imagining today’s youth reading a book like this one. There are so many incredible books about disability—and conversations about disability—now that just didn’t exist when I was younger.

🌲 Together, a Forest
This incredible neurodiversity-affirming read draws connections between various ways of thinking and being and elements of nature. One example I love: it compares a child who misplaces things often with a squirrel who hides his acorns—although he forgets where most of them are, he hides more than he needs, and the ones he misses can grow into trees.

🦏 The Rhino Suit
This book reminds us that our sensitivity is a strength. When we shelter ourselves from all that’s difficult in the world, we also miss out on so much beauty and joy.

🙏 Kaylee Prays for the Children of the World
This book offers beautiful messaging for families raising their children in faith. It introduces the ways children and their grown-ups can channel their anxieties and fears into prayer for a hurting world.

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In the comments, let us know of any books, resources, or words of wisdom that have given you hope and direction as a parent in these strange and difficult days. Thank you!

With love,
Elizabeth