Building Empathy -- by Jane Kelley

 "If only the butterflies could speak for themselves."

Alexa Núñez Magaña  in the Imagine U production. Photo by Justin Barbin, Wirtz Center

Grace, the hero of my MG novel and family musical Grace and the Butterfly Effect, has been scolding her friends and family. She wants them to take actions to protect the monarch butterflies' habitat. But no one is eager to give up eating meat or turn down the air conditioner or even plant more milkweed. 

Then Grace has an idea of how to get people to listen. She uses her dance recital as a platform to speak FOR the monarch butterflies. The magic of theater persuades the other characters, and also inspires audience members. 

Theater makes it very easy to identify with characters we see on stage right in front of us. But any story can have the same effect. In fact, novels have an advantage over theater because we can get inside our characters' heads. 

The more we empathize with our characters, the more we discover about them and their worlds. The easier it is for us to help others walk in someone else's shoes -- or fly with someone else's wings.  

JANE KELLEY is the author of many middle-grade novels, including the one that inspired the family musical GRACE AND THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT.