There comes a time in parenting when you realize that sometimes it is easier to teach your child some valuable lessons through story telling than through other methods. Helping your child establish a character worthy of respect and honor can be challenging. Here are 100+ character building books for kids to help!
Character Building Books for Kids
Honesty and Integrity
First up are 25 books about honesty, truth telling, and integrity. Some of these emphasize the importance of truth telling, while others illustrate the consequences of dishonesty.
Telling the Truth: A Book about Lying (Growing God’s Kids)Sam Tells Stories
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie
David Gets In Trouble
Tiddler
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
The Empty Pot (An Owlet Book)
Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big (Storyopolis Books)
The Berenstain Bears and the Truth
The Honest-to-Goodness Truth
Eli’s Lie-O-Meter: A Story about Telling the Truth
Max and the Big Fat Lie: A Book About Telling the Truth (Building Christian Character)
The Boy Who Cried Ninja
Honesty Counts (Character Counts)
Tell the Truth, B.B. Wolf
Harriet and the Garden (Nancy Carlson’s Neighborhood)
The Big Lie (Katie Woo)
On the Road to . . . Honesty!: But Why Should I Tell the Truth?!?
Howard B. Wigglebottom and the Monkey on His Back: A Tale About Telling the Truth
I Didn’t Do It!: A book about telling the truth (Our Emotions and Behavior)
The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot!
Being Frank
Little Rose’s Big Lie (Children’s Books with Good Values)
Lying Up a Storm
Kindness, Empathy,and Compassion
The following 35 books teach about kindness, empathy, and compassion for others. From treating others with kindness to putting the needs of others before our own wants, these books illustrate what it means to treat others as we want to be treated.
The Berenstain Bears: Kindness Counts (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights)The Kindness Pledge: A Kindness Kids Adventure (Kindness Kids Adventures)
Plant a Kiss Board Book
Good People Everywhere
If You Plant a Seed
Pay It Forward: Young Readers Edition
Kindness Is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler
Random Acts of Kindness
The Invisible Boy
The Giving Tree
Hey, Little Ant
Fly Free!
Because Amelia Smiled
Enemy Pie (Reading Rainbow book)
Fill a Bucket: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Young Children
I See Kindness Everywhere
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Little Bird
Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed
A Home for Bird
How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends?
Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch (paperback)
Stand in My Shoes: Kids Learning About Empathy
Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners
We All Sing With the Same Voice
South
The Teddy Bear
The Three Questions [Based on a story by Leo Tolstoy]
How to Heal a Broken Wing
Angelo
The Lady in the Box
The Hundred Dresses
Loser
The Can Man
A Chair for My Mother 25th Anniversary Edition (Reading Rainbow Books)
Accepting Others (and Yourself)
It isn’t always easy for kids to accept (or celebrate) the differences in others or themselves. Here are 30 books that deal with diversity, friendship, and acceptance.
Giraffes Can’t DanceLooking after Louis
Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie
The Cow That Laid an Egg
Frederick
Freckleface Strawberry
Red: A Crayon’s Story
Stellaluna
The Thunder Egg (Wisdom Tales)
Exclamation Mark
Not Your Typical Dragon
Chrysanthemum
Elmer (Elmer Books)
Wonder
Can I Play Too? (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
The Brand New Kid
Janine.
Stick and Stone
Jack and Jim: Picture Book
The Sandwich Swap
I’m Like You, You’re Like Me: A Book About Understanding and Appreciating Each Other
Whoever You Are (Reading Rainbow Books)
Cloudette
Little Sweet Potato
No Hugs for Porcupine
Rot, the Cutest in the World!
A Bad Case of Stripes (Scholastic Bookshelf)
The Crayon Box that Talked
Woolbur
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon
Responsibility and Accountability
The next 27 books teach lessons about being responsible and accountable for your own actions. Responsibility is a hard lesson learned, and may require several revisits.
Do I Have To?: Kids Talk About ResponsibilityThe Paperboy
I Just Forgot (A Little Critter Book)
What If Everybody Did That?
Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday
Pigsty (Scholastic Bookshelf)
The Way I Act
Stanley and the Class Pet
Kid President’s Guide to Being Awesome
What If? (Talking with Trees) (Volume 3)
But It’s Not My Fault! (Responsible Me!)
It’s Not My Fault! (Nancy Carlson’s Neighborhood)
Respect and Take Care of Things (Learning to Get Along®)
If You Had to Choose, What Would You Do?
I Just Want to Do It My Way! My Story about Staying on Task and Asking for Help
What Were You Thinking?: Learning to Control Your Impulses (Executive Function)
The Berenstain Bears and the Blame Game
Blame it on the Monsters!
Planting My Values
William and the Guinea-pig (Thinkers)
Responsibility (Learn about Values)
Saving Shadow (Read-It! Readers: Character Education)
My Choices Make Me Who I Am
If You Made a Million
Arthur’s Pet Business (An Arthur Adventure)
Rules
If I Never Forever Endeavor
Of course, peppering in your OWN stories of how you learned different character traits will make these stories even more impacting and memorable for your children.
This post is part of the iHomeschool Network collection of 100 Things posts, coming Monday 11/6/17. Be sure to check them all out! Just click on the image below!