This study examines the impact of an intervention emphasizing emotion discourse during shared book-reading (SBR) on preschoolers’ empathy. Participants included 77 preschoolers (M = 54.95 months, SD = 23.19; 34 males, 43 females). Twenty novice preschool teachers learned and practiced conversations promoting empathy and emotions via narrative and didactic books. Each of the preschoolers randomly assigned to an intervention or a control group (four children per group). The intervention group engaged in six SBR sessions with emotion-focused discussions, while the control group had six book-reading sessions without discourse. Teachers assessed children’s empathy and expressive vocabulary before and after the intervention. Results showed significant improvement in empathy in both groups, with males initially scoring lower but making significant notable progress. The findings of this short-term intervention suggest the potential of shared book-reading to foster children’s empathy and emotional understanding in early educational contexts.