Picture Books for Character Traits - Courtesy

Welcome to the SECOND installment of the blog series - Picture Books that Inspire Good Character Traits!

At our school, we call them the Pillars of Virtue, and we have six of them:

1. Honesty
2. Courtesy
3. Courage
4. Perseverance
5. Self-Government
6. Service

Since last year was my first year, I decided to try and find a bunch of books to read throughout the year to attach to these pillars. Most of these books can be used for multiple character traits, so use these posts as a guide. 

Each pillar will be in a separate post, but in each post, I will link all of the posts so you can easily find the ones you are looking for!

Today's Character Trait is Courtesy.

My Mouth is a Volcano - Oh, the tale as old as time... interrupting while someone is talking...or teaching. ha! I remember when my youngest heard this story. She would come home and say, "Mommy, I'm going to try and not let my mouth be a volcano today."  haha! Kids are so precious. 

Mind Your Manner, B.B. Wolf - I usually read this book during my Three Little Pigs unit. It ties in so well with the story line. Then, inevitably, as we read different versions of the books, the students start to have conversations about the characters' character traits, and evidence as to why they think that. I mean, how perfect of a reading lesson (with meeting your standards) is that?!

Mary Louise Loses Her Manners -  Mary Louise realizes one morning, that she has lost her manners. She spend the day trying to find them, only to be causing trouble wherever she goes.  

The Recess Queen - Mean Jean, the Recess Queen was ruler of the playground, and mean to everyone. Until a new girl came to town, and didn't know. How things turned on the playground when the new girl befriended Jean.

Do Onto Otters - This one has been in my classroom library since I started teaching, 20 years ago. It's such a cute story about how rabbit is getting new neighbors, the otters and he doesn't know if they'll be nice. He gets advice from his friend, Owl, who says to treat them they way he would want to be treated. Oh, how I've said that phrase to my own children so many times. lol

Are You Quite Polite? - Just a fun, silly rhyming book that talks about manners. I love this duo and their books. 

Madeline Says Merci - There was a time that one of my daughters LOVED Madeline. So of course, I had to add this book to our bookshelf! Plus, now they know another way to say Thank You. 

The Bad Seed - Oh my goodness. The original Jory John book. I love his books. This seed has a bad temper, bad manners...and just a bad attitude. But then he meets a little seed that changes everything.

Be Kind - This book has all kinds of different examples of what it means to be kind to others. 

Pout Pout Fish - The first in a whole series starring this grumpy fish. I just love these books. The pouty fish spreads his dreary attitude everywhere until he turns that frown upside down. 

Strictly No Elephants - It's Pet Day at school and everyone is bringing their pet dog, cat, fish, mice... but elephants are not allowed. The boy shares that elephants are pets too - pets come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors, just like friends. A great book about including others who are not like you. 

I hope you have found a few books that will help you with presenting Honesty to your students or children. 

If you want to check out all the books I have in my Amazon List for Character Traits, click HERE.

Here are all of the posts in the series. 

1. Honesty
2. Courtesy
3. Courage
4. Perseverance
5. Self-Government
6. Service

17

Picture Books for Character Traits - Honesty

Welcome to the first installment of the blog series - Picture Books that Inspire Good Character Traits!

At our school, we call them the Pillars of Virtue, and we have six of them:

1. Honesty
2. Courtesy
3. Courage
4. Perseverance
5. Self-Government
6. Service

Since last year was my first year, I decided to try and find a bunch of books to read throughout the year to attach to these pillars. Most of these books can be used for multiple character traits, so use these posts as a guide. 

Each pillar will be in a separate post, but in each post, I will link all of the posts so you can easily find the ones you are looking for!

Today's Character Trait is Honesty

Kevin - When Sid makes another mess and his mom asks him about it, he makes the quick decision to blame Kevin, the furry yellow and pink friend. He soon finds out that even thought Kevin's world is make-believe, his feelings are not. 

Princess K.I.M - When Kim starts school, she tells everyone she is a princess and she wear a tiara to school and that her grandmother is a queen. Now everyone at school wants to meet a real queen and Kim is faced with what to do with her lie.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf - The tale as old as time...and one that as a parent and a teacher, I have referenced many of times. This is a classic about not joking around about something serious, because when it actually does happen, no one will believe you. 

A Bad Case of Stripes -  This book works with the trait of Courage as well. I like it when the students can see multiple traits in one book. Camilla Cream LOVES her lima beans but is too afraid to be honest about it, for fear of other's opinions. Then her world is turned upside down...until she is honest and admits home much she loves lima beans. 

The Empty Pot - Oh, gosh. This book is so good. When everyone else is cheating to make themselves look good, but then you do the right thing, even though you don't think you'll "get the prize." And THAT actually gets you the prize. What a great book to show that just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean you have to, too. 

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse - Being honest is hard to do when you think you're going to get in trouble. But that's exactly the kind of character trait we want to instill in our children. You can get in a lot less trouble if you're honest than if you lie and get caught. 

The Colour Thief - Zot lives in a land without color. He sees the world with color and thinks it'd be a good idea to steal their color for himself. Such a great lesson about honesty. 

A Hen for Izzy Pippik - A story about a girl who finds a hen and instead of giving her back to her owner right away, she decides to keep her and take care of her until the owner comes for her. Then mayhem ensues. This is a great story about doing the right thing.

The Sad Little Fact - This story is about a little fact that can not lie. But no one believes him, and all these "lies" were created and were running around the world sharing their "facts." But they keep trying and they get back out there and turn the world a little brighter with their true facts. 

A Bike Like Sergio's - Ruben REALLY wants a bike like Sergio's. So when he finds money that fell out of someone's purse, he picks it up and puts it in his pocket instead of returning it. But as the story continues, his conscience gets to him about the money. 

I hope you have found a few books that will help you with presenting Honesty to your students or children. 

If you want to check out all the books I have in my Amazon List for Character Traits, click HERE.

Here are all of the posts in the series. 

1. Honesty
2. Courtesy
3. Courage
4. Perseverance
5. Self-Government
6. Service

16