Seeing-Eye Willie

A parent might reach for this book when their child starts asking curious, sometimes blunt, questions about people they see who are experiencing homelessness. Instead of providing a direct, factual explanation, this story takes a gentler, more imaginative route. The narrator, a young girl, sees a man named Willie on the street and invents a fantastical backstory for him, imagining he was a king from a magical land who lost his way. Through her creative storytelling, she transforms someone who might seem scary or different into a person worthy of empathy and kindness. For children aged 5 to 8, this book is a beautiful tool for nurturing imagination as a pathway to compassion, opening a conversation about seeing the humanity in everyone, regardless of their circumstances.