I sometimes find myself looking for a book to read to my class that will serve as an example of good character or act as a literary pep talk. It might be a book on fairness after an especially tough recess, a book on honesty after someone’s eraser collection goes missing, or maybe a book on perseverance to let a student who is feeling challenged know that it will all work out.
I often couldn't remember which book might be the best for the situation at hand, so, I went through my collection and organize it into categories using Scholastic’s Book Wizard. If you have read some of these books, you'll understand that many of the titles fit equally well in more than one category and it was tough for me to choose just one.
Below you will find books about:
| Caring and Compassion | Anti-bullying |
| Courage | Responsibility |
| Tolerance | Be Yourself |
| Perseverance | Honesty |
| Respect | Fairness |
|
Corduroy by Don Freeman |
|
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams |
|
Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco |
|
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni |
|
Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe
|
|
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
|
|
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney |
|
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe |
|
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco |
|
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead |
|
Bucket Filling from A to Z by Carol McCloud
|
|
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts |
|
Three Questions by Jon J. Muth
|
|
|
|
Kindness and Generosity: It Starts With Me! by Jodie Shepherd
|
|
Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
|
|
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox |
 |
Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Muñoz Ryan
|
|
Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart
|
|
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
|
|
Geronimo Stilton: I'm Not a Supermouse! by Geronimo Stilton
|
|
The Dandelion Seed by Joseph A. Anthony |
|
Brave Little Owl by Penny Little |
|
Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue |
|
Sheila Rae, the Brave by Kevin Henkes |
|
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles |
|
Stuart's Cape by Sara Pennypacker |
|
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco |
 |
When Marian Sang by Pam Muñoz Ryan |
 |
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman |
 |
The Cow that Went Oink by Bernard Most |
 |
The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane Derolf
|
|
If the World Were a Village by David J. Smith |
 |
Little Blue, Little Yellow by Leo Lionni |
 |
It's Okay to Make Mistakes by Todd Parr |
|
Mister and Me by Kimberly Willis Holt |
|
|
 |
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell |
|
Swimmy by Leo Lionni |
|
The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett |
|
Whoever You Are by Mem Fox |
|
Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushikin |
|
|
 |
Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson
|
 |
Brave Irene by William Steig |
 |
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
|
 |
Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
|
 |
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper |
 |
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges |
 |
Unstoppable Me! by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer |
 |
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle |
 |
Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull |
 |
|
 |
David Goes to School by David Shannon |
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle |
|
 |
The Jacket by Andrew Clements |
Lily's Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes |
|
Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard |
|
Herbie Jones and the Second Grade Slippers by Suzy Kline |
|
The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill |
|
HipKidHop: And the Winner Is... by LL Cool J |
|
Yoko by Rosemary Wells |
|
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak |
|
 |
|
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes |
|
Don't Sit on My Lunch by Abby Klein |
|
Roadrunner's Dance by Rudolfo Anaya |
|
Don't Call Me Pruneface! by Janet Reed Ahearn |
|
 |
Bunny vs. Money — Book Two by Jamie Smart |
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco |
|
 |
Words are Not for Hurting by Elizabeth Verdick |
|
|
 |
Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst |
I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer |
|
The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey |
|
Nicki by Ann Howard Creel |
|
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater |
|
Pigsty by Mark Teague |
|
Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola |
|
|
|
|
 |
A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon |
Girl Wonder by Deborah Hopkinson |
|
 |
Exclamation Mark by Tom Lichtenheld & Amy Krouse Rosenthal |
The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns and Sydney Hoff |
|
 |
Red by Michael Hall |
Ish by Peter H. Reynolds |
|
Not Your Typical Dragon by Dan Bar-el |
|
Olivia by Ian Falconer |
|
Purplicious by Elizabeth Kann and Victoria Kann |
|
Ruby the Copycat by Peggy Rathmann |
|
Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal |
|
Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon |
|
|
|
|
The Boy Who Cried Wolf by B.G.Hennessy |
|
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo |
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema |
|
Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes |
|
 |
Boris Gets a Lizard by Andrew Joyner |
|
Undercover Tailback by Matt Christopher |
|
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto |
|
|
|
A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban |
|
Ruby's Wish by Shrin Yim Bridges |
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor |
|
Pinkie Promise by Victoria Kann |
|
 |
The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philemon Sturges |
Stone Soup by Ann McGovern |
|
Little did I realize when I started this task, I'd have trouble narrowing my list down to only 100 books! There are many wonderful books out there that illustrate valuable lessons. What are some of your favorite picture books for teaching about character in the classroom? I'd love to read about them in the comment section below!
I sometimes find myself looking for a book to read to my class that will serve as an example of good character or act as a literary pep talk. It might be a book on fairness after an especially tough recess, a book on honesty after someone’s eraser collection goes missing, or maybe a book on perseverance to let a student who is feeling challenged know that it will all work out.
I often couldn't remember which book might be the best for the situation at hand, so, I went through my collection and organize it into categories using Scholastic’s Book Wizard. If you have read some of these books, you'll understand that many of the titles fit equally well in more than one category and it was tough for me to choose just one.
Below you will find books about:
| Caring and Compassion | Anti-bullying |
| Courage | Responsibility |
| Tolerance | Be Yourself |
| Perseverance | Honesty |
| Respect | Fairness |
|
Corduroy by Don Freeman |
|
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams |
|
Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco |
|
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni |
|
Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe
|
|
Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
|
|
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney |
|
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe |
|
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco |
|
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead |
|
Bucket Filling from A to Z by Carol McCloud
|
|
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts |
|
Three Questions by Jon J. Muth
|
|
|
|
Kindness and Generosity: It Starts With Me! by Jodie Shepherd
|
|
Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
|
|
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox |
|
Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Muñoz Ryan
|
|
Some Kind of Courage by Dan Gemeinhart
|
|
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
|
|
Geronimo Stilton: I'm Not a Supermouse! by Geronimo Stilton
|
|
The Dandelion Seed by Joseph A. Anthony |
|
Brave Little Owl by Penny Little |
|
Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue |
|
Sheila Rae, the Brave by Kevin Henkes |
|
The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles |
|
Stuart's Cape by Sara Pennypacker |
|
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco |
|
When Marian Sang by Pam Muñoz Ryan |
|
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman |
|
The Cow that Went Oink by Bernard Most |
|
The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane Derolf
|
|
If the World Were a Village by David J. Smith |
|
Little Blue, Little Yellow by Leo Lionni |
|
It's Okay to Make Mistakes by Todd Parr |
|
Mister and Me by Kimberly Willis Holt |
|
|
|
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell |
|
Swimmy by Leo Lionni |
|
The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett |
|
Whoever You Are by Mem Fox |
|
Happy in Our Skin by Fran Manushikin |
|
|
|
Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson
|
|
Brave Irene by William Steig |
|
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
|
|
Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
|
|
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper |
|
Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges |
|
Unstoppable Me! by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer |
|
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle |
|
Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull |
|
|
|
David Goes to School by David Shannon |
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle |
|
|
The Jacket by Andrew Clements |
Lily's Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes |
|
Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard |
|
Herbie Jones and the Second Grade Slippers by Suzy Kline |
|
The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill |
|
HipKidHop: And the Winner Is... by LL Cool J |
|
Yoko by Rosemary Wells |
|
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak |
|
|
|
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes |
|
Don't Sit on My Lunch by Abby Klein |
|
Roadrunner's Dance by Rudolfo Anaya |
|
Don't Call Me Pruneface! by Janet Reed Ahearn |
|
|
Bunny vs. Money — Book Two by Jamie Smart |
Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco |
|
|
Words are Not for Hurting by Elizabeth Verdick |
|
|
|
Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst |
I Just Forgot by Mercer Mayer |
|
The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey |
|
Nicki by Ann Howard Creel |
|
Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater |
|
Pigsty by Mark Teague |
|
Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola |
|
|
|
|
|
A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon |
Girl Wonder by Deborah Hopkinson |
|
|
Exclamation Mark by Tom Lichtenheld & Amy Krouse Rosenthal |
The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns and Sydney Hoff |
|
|
Red by Michael Hall |
Ish by Peter H. Reynolds |
|
Not Your Typical Dragon by Dan Bar-el |
|
Olivia by Ian Falconer |
|
Purplicious by Elizabeth Kann and Victoria Kann |
|
Ruby the Copycat by Peggy Rathmann |
|
Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal |
|
Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon |
|
|
|
|
The Boy Who Cried Wolf by B.G.Hennessy |
|
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo |
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears by Verna Aardema |
|
Penny and Her Marble by Kevin Henkes |
|
|
Boris Gets a Lizard by Andrew Joyner |
|
Undercover Tailback by Matt Christopher |
|
Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto |
|
|
|
A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban |
|
Ruby's Wish by Shrin Yim Bridges |
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor |
|
Pinkie Promise by Victoria Kann |
|
|
The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) by Philemon Sturges |
Stone Soup by Ann McGovern |
|
Little did I realize when I started this task, I'd have trouble narrowing my list down to only 100 books! There are many wonderful books out there that illustrate valuable lessons. What are some of your favorite picture books for teaching about character in the classroom? I'd love to read about them in the comment section below!
Use this end-of-year checklist to make the start of next year your easiest, most organized one yet.
Put your reference books to help students power-up their vocabulary with games and activities that make the most of dictionary skills, idioms, antonyms, and synonyms.
