Books are a lovely way to introduce concepts to kids in a fun, memorable, and non-threatening way. Whether you are trying to introduce a new character trait – such as kindness or responsibility – or trying to correct a behaviour – such as lying or hitting – here are some of my favourite character education books for kids.
Amazon Affiliate links are included for your convenience.
Excuse Me!: A Little Book of Manners
Words Are Not for Hurting is an introduction to how words can be used for good and bad. With an aim to help kids empathise with who they are talking to and learn appropriate behaviour, it offers an easy avenue to discuss why we say “sorry” and why we should focus on being kind. Great for toddlers and preschoolers. Other books in the Best Behaviour board book series are aimed at correcting undesirable behaviours and offering children a better choice. They include: Hands Are Not for Hitting ; Teeth Are Not for Biting ; Feet Are Not for Kicking
Calm-Down Time shows a young child techniques for calming down even when they feel upset inside. More books in the Toddler Tools board book series include: Sharing Time ; Manners Time ; Listening Time. These books are wonderful to read one on one or in a group of children, as they feature interactions between kids, sometimes in a classroom setting.
Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids
Bucket Filling from A to Z: The Key to Being Happy
The Way I Act
We Can Get Along: A Child’s Book of Choices
The Learning to Get Along series is an amazing collection of books covering topics such as honesty, generosity, being afraid, taking turns, following the rules and more. Bright descriptive pictures engage kids and really get the concepts across. Great for classrooms as well as families. These books are recommended for children ages 4-8 however quite a few were appropriate for my oldest son when he was three, and he absolutely adored them. You can really cover a lot of questions with this series.
Be Honest and Tell the Truth
Accept and Value Each Person
Respect and Take Care of Things
Share and Take Turns
Be Polite and Kind
Cool Down and Work Through Anger
Know and Follow Rules
Talk and Work It Out
Join In and Play
Understand and Care
Try and Stick with It
Listen and Learn
When I Feel Afraid
Be Careful and Stay Safe
Character Building Day by Day: 180 Quick Read-Alouds for Elementary School and Home
There are also some gorgeous personalised books by I See Me – at least two of which focus on character building themes:
M is for Me goes through the ABCs listing character traits such as friendly, generous, patient, and wise. Not only does your child’s name appear on the cover and in several places throughout the book but you can also have a note and photograph printed on the inside AND choose a colour scheme! The book offers a great starting point to discuss positive qualities and boost self esteem, and would make a gorgeous gift. Find out more here.
I Can Change the World puts your child into a story about offering acts of kindness to others! What a lovely and empowering book for children to enjoy. Find out more here.
Giveaway! Now Ended
I See Me has kindly offered one Moments A Day reader the opportunity to personalise a copy of I Can Change the World for their child. The competition is open to residents of all countries (shipping will be included) and closes on 5 December 2014.
To enter the competition to win a copy of I Can Change the World simply answer the following question:
What was your favourite or most memorable gift as a child and why?
Good luck!
Terms and Conditions:
The giveaway is for one personalised copy of “I Can Change the World” RRP $29.95 including delivery anywhere in the world.
You must leave a name and email address when making a comment.
The winner will be deemed most creative/interesting response as chosen by the supplier. This is a game of skill, not chance.
Entries close on December 5. Judges decision is final. Winner must respond within 48 hours or prize will be awarded to the runner up.
Thanks to I See Me for sending me a copy of Me is for Me to review. All opinions are my own. To find out more about advertisement and reviews on my website please click here.
My most memorable gift as a child was a red microscope that I pleaded for. I vividly remember opening it in awe and the hours of exploration thereafter!
We would love to win a copy of I Can Change the World 🙂
P.S. What a brilliant list of resources!
What a lot of lovely book suggestions, thank you. The gifts that come to mind for me as childhood favourites are my grandmothers packages that she sent us every Christmas. They were always filled with little handmade goodies that she bought from the local craft markets, and she would store them away over the year and then send them to us all at once as a gift. They included things like crocheted bookmarks, washcloth bunnies with a soap, hand-sewn handbags etc. and we always loved them.
Whenever I was unwell, my Mum would make me a bed on the couch. She would go out and get me my favourite food and a book to read while I recovered. These are my my most memorable gifts.
Thank you for the great book recommendations Chelsea! We already own a few like ” Have you filled your bucket , ” The way I act and a couple more from the Learning to get along series and we have a great time reading it…best books we have invested into ever!! we would be honored to win this one:)
My favorite memory/ gift as a child were visits from my grandma and relatives during holidays since we lived in a small pioneering town in India and pretty isolated from all our family! It would be an amazing treat to see my grandparents come all the way from Iran or our aunt uncle and my aunt, uncle and cousins drive all the way from a another town and surprise us in the middle of the night! and we would play and have fun until morning! 🙂 Material/physical gifts were lovely when we received them and made us happy but nothing trumped this!
My most memorable gift from my childhood was when we got a trampoline. All that day, I wasn’t allowed to go into or even see the backyard. My older brothers and Dad were putting together what I was told was a swing set. When they finished, my brother blindfolded me, picked me up “to go down the slide,” and then threw me through the air to land on the trampoline! Talk about shock!! 🙂 But that’s definitely the most memorable gift I and our family received!
My most memorable gift was a wee orange care bear teddy that i got given during a hospital stay for being so brave. It made me feel so proud and reminded me of what I could do. It was well loved!
My Grandpa was a librarian and stories just rippled from him. Also a keen gardener his gift to me was time and repeated opportunities to explore the natural world with his beautiful voice offering the backdrop of a soundscape to each of our adventures. Heaven. Thank you for your thoughtful, mindful, inspired take Chelsea. Fingers crossed we might be lucky enough to win a copy of I Can Change the World.
My most memorable gift received was Ted. Ted E. Bear. I was 8. Much too old for a teddy bear I told myself, while secretly longing for him. Many a night before Christmas my prayers were consumed by this conflicting desire. By Christmas Eve, convinced I could not possibly receive a teddy bear at the whopping age of 8, I had resolved stoicly that I would not cry. I was and would be grateful for the gifts I would receive. We opened our gifts Christmas Eve… Christmas morning Ted sat under the tree with my name on him. And I did cry. And cry and cry. For real joy is knowing in your core that God wants the desires in your heart and will provide what you need, when you need it. I learned to humble myself and trust. And this was the greatest gift.
I grew up in a farming family where shopping in town was a day trip and time was the most valuable thing one could give. My most memorable gift was my parents coming to school events to see me in plays or accepting awards. My mom passed away last year and I just received a books of my school things. She had saved photos, merit certificates, crafts and others. She never told me she had them and looking at them brought up memories that after 30+ years you forgets. My answer is the gift of your time and attention.
My most memorable gift was my purple bike I received at Christmas time. I have many fond memories going on bike rides with my sister through the neighborhood on that bike : )
Thank you for sharing this amazing selection of books! My infancy was spent in quite remarkable material and emotional poverty compared to other families around us (more for an selfish choice of my parents than for real necessity). So I usually received a white underwear t-shirt or a pair of thick scratching socks for Christmas (and I always wondered why since I tried soooo hard to be good).
So well, the really most amazing Christmas was when, I was like 4-5, my 10 years older sister (that usually refused to play with me) prepared a home made gift for everyone. For me was a dress for my doll, hand sewed with a white-red little flower fabric from a old shirt of her…You remind me I should thank her for that wonderful warming surprise!
I was a preschooler when I received a spherical map of the world-a globe. I was excited, I could travel to anywhere with just a move of my hand, I had the world on my hands. What is more was that it had a light inside, therefore I could use it as a night light…My fear of darkness went away and I had the whole world mine. There was nothing else to ask for..!
My most memorable gift was my cabbage patch doll. She was my favorite for years!
My most memorable gifts were all books! I especially remember a beautiful copy of Little Women that I received as a birthday present from a friend. It was a gorgeous edition, and I was so pleased to have to have such a beautiful copy, and that she had remembered how much I loved the book.