<p>Empathy is vital for fostering children’s social-emotional development, and picturebooks serve as a powerful medium for modelling empathetic behaviours. Beyond supporting individual growth, empathy can also be understood as a relational civic skill essential to democratic life, fostering connection, mutual understanding, and the ability to engage respectfully across differences. This study analysed all the national award-winning New Zealand (NZ) children’s picturebooks published from 1978 to 2022 (<i>n</i> = 230). Firstly, examine whether the picturebook depicted a character in distress; if so, whether that character received an empathetic response from another character. The analysis found that fewer than half (47%) of the demonstrations of stress received an empathetic response from another character. The findings also revealed only one example of empathy extended across ethnic backgrounds, and empathy was mostly demonstrated by an adult White male character, while females, elderly individuals, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) were notably underrepresented. Additionally, the study highlights the high number of picturebooks (15%) that demonstrated negative social behaviour. These findings underscore the need for greater diversity and balanced representation of empathy, guiding authors, illustrators, and publishers towards more inclusive literature that supports children’s emotional development. This study received no funding</p>