70 of the Best Character Building Picture Books For Kids

Any time is a good time to read a fantastic picture book, but when that book serves double duty as an educational tool, it’s truly a “keeper.” The character building picture books listed below are definitely keepers.

We know that good character is best taught through example, right? The saying goes that way more is caught than taught when building virtues in our children. In other words, we can talk until we’re blue in the face, but our daily actions and the examples we set teach way more about our value system than lectures.

Once in a while, lectures seem really necessary, though, don’t they? I’ve found that picture books are some of my very best tools in this case. The characters in books (and even films) can make powerful points about good and bad character qualities. Without the need for lectures, a book can reach pretty deep into the heart of a child to help them see the benefits of positive character traits and the negative effects of bad ones.

Character Building Picture Books for Kids

The list below includes some of the best character building picture books I’ve found over the years. Sometimes, a light discussion is helpful after reading a book, but sometimes, the book is all that’s needed to get a point across. Purposely consider the wisdom to know when to talk and when to let a book simply soak in.

If you aren’t dealing with a particular need for character training right now, you can certainly still read any or all of these books! Remember, our children are taking in information to build their character all the time. It’s never too early or too late to read character building picture books.

Note that some of the books will display poor character qualities alongside good character qualities. That’s actually a good thing because it allows your children to see a great contrast between better and worse behavior choices.

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Perseverance

As much as we want to protect our children from the hardships of life, they must learn how to persevere through tough times and circumstances. These books host a variety of examples of perseverance. Whether waiting for a carrot seed to grow or persevering through a significant event, your children will see the benefits of pushing forward.

• Apples to Oregon by Deborah Hopkinson
• Brave Irene by William Steig
• The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
• Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
• Mailing May by Michael O. Tunnell
• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
• Thank you, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie dePaola
• Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

Responsibility

Responsibility is a character trait that some children naturally lean into and others shy away from because of motivation or forgetfulness. These books will help your children see a wide range of examples of responsibility and the effects of irresponsibility.

• Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday by Judith Viorst
• The Paperboy by Dav Pilkey
• Peppe the Lamplighter by Elisa Bartone
• Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola

Courage

Courage can sometimes be difficult to teach, but a story illustrates it well. These great books help kids connect with the characters and learn what it is like to be brave and have courage. Through slavery and the civil rights movement, as well as examples in life and even nature, children will see courage and how it can change a person’s life.

• The Dandelion Seed by Joseph P. Anthony
• The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
• Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
• Sheila Rae, the Brave by Kevin Henkes
• Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
• Henry’s Freedom Box by Ellen Levine
• Brave Charlotte and the Wolves by Anu Stohner

Honesty

Honesty is a fundamental character trait. We’ve all heard of The Boy Who Cried Wolf and the consequences he endured because of continued lies. This story and others like it will illustrate for your children the correlation between honesty and trust, and how, when trust is broken, it takes a long time to build again. Your children will see that honesty is always better from the beginning!

• The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Jenny Giles
• Sanji’s Seed by B.J. Reinhard
• Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto
• The Empty Pot by Demi
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
• The Golden Plate by Bernadette Watts
• The Emporer’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson
• David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon

Selflessness

Ahh, selfishness. What child hasn’t been selfish at least a few times? Hey, this could apply to adults, too. These amusing stories show that selfishness isn’t a good trait – and how it can get them quite the opposite of what they wanted. Ultimately, the stories will point them in the better direction of selflessness.

• A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban
• The Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone
• Stone Soup by Marcia Brown

Sharing and Generosity

Sharing and generosity go hand-in-hand. These excellent books teach children that giving is better than receiving. And that giving gives them joy and satisfaction, even if it hurts to give at first. The opposite of selfishness is generosity, so it might be a good idea to read books about selfishness and generosity together so that children can grasp the contrast.

• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming
• A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
• One Hen by Katie Smith Milway
• Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier
• The Quiltmaker’s Gift by Jeff Brumbeau
• An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco
• Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant
• The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci

Teamwork

These books illustrate how teamwork usually works better than tackling a big project alone. By learning teamwork, children often learn better communication skills as well. So, whether it is pulling an enormous turnip or getting school kids to understand safety, these books will show children the value of occasionally leaning on others for help.

• Swimmy by Leo Lionni
• Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell
• Click, Clack, Moo Cows that Type by Doreen Cronin
• Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
• Officer Buckler and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
• The Great Big Enormous Turnip by Anna Award

Helping and Serving

Many kids are naturally good helpers because it means they get to be involved in bigger jobs around the house. Perhaps they beg to help their parents prepare a meal in the kitchen or love feeding the family pet. Seize the exuberance to help them learn the joy of helping and serving (even if it means your jobs may take three times as long). For these kiddos and those who are less than exuberant about helping, these books will show the beautiful value of serving their families, friends, and strangers.

• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• The Trees of the Dancing Goats by Patricia Polacco
• An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco

Care and Compassion

Compassion isn’t something that comes easily to a lot of people. These books provide wonderful stories about caring and compassionate people to give examples of how powerful those character traits can be to the recipients. Be sure to point out that in many of these stories, the characters aren’t only compassionate people, but they act on that compassion. Either by buying a chair for her tired mother or giving his shoes away, the action flows from the compassion itself.

• 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
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
• Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
• Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
• Angelo by David Macaulay
• Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen by Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan
• Little Nino’s Pizzeria by Karen Barbour

Gratitude

Being grateful will change a child’s mindset from selfishness to thankfulness for what they have and help them grow compassion for others. In many of these stories, the characters are not grateful for what they already have and long for something new or different. Often, it turns out that they took their family, friends, or things they had for granted. By the end of each book, the characters usually have a change of heart and decide what they already have is enough, and they choose gratefulness instead.

• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
• Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
• All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
• It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach
• Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes
• Elmore by Holly Hobbie
• When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
• Thank You, Mr Falker by Patricia Polacco

Kindness

Kindness is a broad topic and can be seen in many other concepts and books in this list. Compassion, helpfulness, and generosity all have elements of kindness in them for sure. These tales illustrate that kindness is never in vain, even if we don’t necessarily see the fruits of our kind actions or words.

• The Lion and the Mouse by Bernadette Watts
• Hey, Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose
• Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
• Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming

Oh, I hope you see your children grow by reading these beautiful character building picture books! If you’re consistent, you can’t help but see growth. And don’t be surprised when your children pull an example of a character from one of these stories someday, far in the future, when a random discussion about character qualities comes up around the dinner table.

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