HELPING YOUR CHILD LEARN RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR 
(WITH ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN) 

Contents 

Introduction 

What Do We Mean By Responsibility? 

How Can Parents Encourage Responsible Behavior? 

Activities 

Getting to Know Others
Magic Words, Caring Deeds
Gifts From the Heart
Honesty, the Best Policy
There's a Monster in My Room!
Bully
Helping Out
A Job Well Done
Our Heroes!
OOPS!
Will You Be My Friend?
Share a Story 

Parents and the Schools 

Bibliography 

Acknowledgments 

Introduction 

Our children deserve to learn important lessons from us and to acquire important habits with our help.
They need help in learning what matters to us. We want our children to grow up to be responsible
adults. We want them to learn to feel, think, and act with respect for themselves and for other people.
We want them to pursue their own well-being, while also being considerate of the needs and feelings
of others. 

Today, there is wide recognition that many of our children are not learning to act responsibly while they
are young. Studies show that many children see nothing wrong with cheating on tests. Some see
nothing wrong with taking things that don't belong to 

If proper attitudes and behavior are not learned early, problems can mushroom with even worse
consequences when children are older. As crime has increased, teen-age offenders have shown less
and less feeling for their victims. But even for the youngsters who will never commit a crime, it is
better to learn responsibility when they are young, rather than when they are older and they have to
change bad habits. 

This booklet focuses on practical suggestions for helping young children appreciate the importance of
acting responsibly in their everyday lives. Further, it provides ideas on how to help them make
responsible choices, and stick with them, even when doing so is hard and the material rewards are few.

Many parents will also want to share with their children deeply held religious and moral convictions as
a foundation for ethical behavior. This booklet discusses habits of fairness, respect, courage, honesty,
and compassion that responsible people share, and it can be used by parents with different beliefs. 

As parents, we can give our children the best in us by helping them acquire habits and character traits
that they can rely on in their own lives. If we help them lean to take pleasure in thinking and behaving
well, they will have the best chance to lead good lives as individuals and as citizens in the community.
This will be true no matter what unpleasant situations or bad influences they come across. 

What Do We Mean by Responsibility? 

None of us is born acting responsibly. A responsible character is formed over time. It is made up of
our outlook and daily habits associated with feelings, thoughts, and actions. Responsible people act the
way they should whether or not anyone is watching. They do so because they understand that it's fight
and because they have the courage and self-control to act decently, even when tempted to do
otherwise. 

We want our children to appreciate the importance of being responsible. We also want them to develop
the habits and strength to act this way in their everyday lives. Learning to be responsible includes
learning to 

     respect and show compassion for others; 

     practice honesty as a matter of course; 

     show courage in standing up for our principles; 

     develop self-control in acting on our principles; 

     maintain self-respect. 

Respect and Compassion for Others 

As part of bring responsible, children need to respect and show concern for the well-being of other
people. Respect ranges from using basic manners to having compassion for the suffering of others.
Compassion is developed by trying to see things from the point of view of others, and learning that their
feelings resemble our own. 

Daddy, why was Grandma crying? 

She is very sad. One of her closest friends just died. Come and sit with me. Do you remember how
you felt when your gerbil, Whiskers, died? 

I felt sad and lonely. 

I'm sure Grandma feels that way, too. Maybe you can think of a way to help her. 

I could give her a hug... 

That's a great idea! I'm really glad you thought of it. 

Respect for others also includes the habit of treating people fairly as individuals, regardless of race,
sex, or ethnic group. As we mature, respect includes realizing that not all our obligations to others, such
as caring for a family member who is sick, are chosen freely. And it includes tolerance for people who
do not share our beliefs or likes or dislikes, as long as they do not harm others. 

These habits are especially important because many of the wrongs people commit result from
indifference to the suffering they cause. 

Honesty 

Honesty means telling the truth. It means not misleading others for our own benefit. It also means
trying to make decisions, especially important ones, on the basis of evidence rather than prejudice.
Honesty includes dealing with other people and being honest with ourselves. 

To understand the importance of being truthful to others, our children need to learn that living together
depends on trust. Without honesty, trusting each other becomes impossible. 

Honesty with ourselves involves faring up to our own mistakes and biases, even when we have to
admit them to others. It includes self-criticism. The point is to learn from our errors and to do our best
to correct them, not to dwell on them. 

Courage 

Courage is taking a position and doing what is right, even at the risk of some loss. It means being
neither reckless nor cowardly, but faring up to our duties. It includes physical courage, intellectual
courage to make decisions on the basis of evidence, and moral courage to stand up for our principles. 

Courage does not mean never bring afraid. It can involve trying to overcome our fears, such as a fear
of the dark. But our children also need to lean that sometimes it is all right to be afraid. 

Daddy, a man showed us money by the school playground today. 

What did you do? 

We ran for the teacher. 

Why did you do that? 

We were scared. You and Mommy and our teacher Mrs. Jones said never take anything from
grownups we don't know. Run away. Go and tell somebody we know. 

Good for you. It was right to be scared. Lots of people are nice, but some are very mean. They can
hurt you. The mean ones sometimes try to fool people by pretending to be nice. Now, tell me, what did
the man look like? 

Courage becomes especially important by the time children become teenagers. They often have to
stand up against peer pressure to do the wrong thing, such as using drugs. 

Self-Control 

Self-control is the ability to resist inappropriate behavior in order to act responsibly. It relates to all of
the different aspects of responsibility mentioned so far, including respect and compassion for others,
honesty, and courage. It involves persistence and sticking to long-term commitments. It also includes
dealing effectively with emotions, such as anger, and developing patience. 

Self-Respect 

People with self-respect take satisfaction in appropriate behavior and hard-won accomplishments.
They don't need to put others down or have a lot of money in order to respect themselves. People who
respect themselves also view selfishness, loss of self-control, recklessness, cowardice, and dishonesty
as wrong and unworthy of them. As they mature, if they have learned the lessons of responsibility, they
will develop a good conscience to guide them. 

In addition, people who respect themselves respect their own health and safety. Similarly, they are
unwilling to be manipulated by others. Patience or tolerance does not mean allowing others to mistreat
us. 

While we help children have high standards for themselves, we also need to let them know that failure
is no embarrassment when we have done our best. For example, losing a game when we have played
our best, and our opponents have simply played better, is no disgrace. 

How Can Parents Encourage Responsible Behavior? 

Everyday Experiences 

Especially when they are young, children learn best about responsibility in concrete situations. What
they do and what they witness have lasting effects. Most of the activities described in this book are for
you and your child. 

We are always teaching our children something by our words and actions. They learn from seeing.
They learn from hearing. They learn from overhearing. They learn from us, from each other, from
other adults, and by themselves. 

All of us acquire habits by doing things over and over again, whether in learning to play a musical
instrument, to pick up after ourselves, to play games and sports, or to share with others. The best way
to encourage our children to become responsible is to act as responsibly as we can in their presence.
We must genuinely try to be the sort of people we hope they will try to become. 

We can show them by our words and by our actions that we respect others. We can show them our
compassion and concern when others are suffering. They need to see our own self-control, courage,
and honesty. They need to learn that we treat ourselves, as well as others, with respect, and that we
always try to do our best. As they grow older, they should have the chance to learn why we live as we
do. 

Daddy, why are you leaving that note on the garbage can? 

There is broken glass inside, Matthew, and I don't want the garbage collectors to get hurt because of
me. I am warning them about the glass. 

Are they your friends? 

No. I don't know them. 

But you don't want them to get hurt... 

As our children watch us daily, as we talk to them, encouraging their questions and trying to answer
them thoughtfully, they begin to understand us--and we begin to understand them. Understanding each
other well is the best way to teach our children respect for our ideals of good character. 

Using Literature and Stories 

Children learn about responsibility through many activities, including reading stories. They learn by
identifying with individual characters or because the message from a favorite story strikes a particular
chord. Children can be touched deeply by good literature, and they may ask to have things read to them
again and again. 

Children can learn all sorts of lessons from stories. They might learn about courage by reading about
David standing up to Goliath. Or they might learn the value of persistence and effort from The Little
Engine That Could. 

When they are older, reading can help prepare children for the realities and responsibilities of
adulthood. It is usually better for children to read a good book about such things as war, oppression,
suicide, or deadly disease before seeing these things up close. 

When our children grow up they often remember stories that were told to them by family members
when they were young. When we tell stories to our children, we should remember old favorites of ours,
like The Three Little Pigs, not leaving out a single time the wolf says, "I'LL HUFF, and I'LL PUFF,
and I'LL BLOW YOUR HOUSE IN!" 

Developing Judgment and Thoughtfulness 

Judgment on ethical issues is a practical matter. Children develop their capacity for judging what is a
responsible act, just as they come to appreciate the meaning of responsibility, through practice.
Especially when they are young, children need to see moral questions in terms that are meaningful to
them. 

We can also help our children develop good judgment by talking through complicated situations with
them. One way is to help them understand the long-term consequences of different choices. If they tell
us about a story they have read, we might ask them to imagine what the result might have been if a
favorite character had acted differently. 

Sometimes, it can be difficult to know the difference between acting bravely and acting recklessly or
how to balance duties when they conflict. As parents, we can help by making it clear, through what we
do as well as what we say, that it is important in such situations to think carefully and honestly about
what should be done, as well as to keep in mind how others will be affected by what we do. 

Your child's ability to reason about different issues, including ethical ones, will improve as your child
matures. Just as reasoning can lead to a more thoughtful understanding of responsibility, or what
actions to take in complicated situations, it may also become easier to rationalize selfish or reckless
behavior. But if you have helped your young child develop strong habits of considering the welfare of
others, honesty, courage, and admiration for worthy accomplishments, your child will have a solid
foundation on which to build. 

Activities 

As parents, sometimes we think that we must set aside particular times or create special situations in
order to teach our children. But that is far from the truth when it comes to learning about responsibility.
While it is important to have some times together when you won't be disturbed, the most ordinary
situations in everyday life are filled with opportunities for sound teaching, if parents pay attention to
them. 

This booklet contains activities to encourage habits of responsibility in your child. Most of them are not,
however, the kind of activities that you can do together for half an hour once a week. Instead, they are
more like rules of thumb, ideas to build on. They illustrate the concepts introduced in the previous
sections. They should stimulate your own thinking and your own ideas. 

Just remember one thing: teaching our children about responsibility doesn't mean that we can't laugh or
that we have to be grim. Our children should see that we can be serious about our principles, while still
being able to play and have fun. 

Dad, can I show you what we did in ballet class today? 

Sure. 

It was hard. We had to get way up on our toes and then twirl around like this. 

Great. Let me try it. . .oops! Now, what's so funny about that? Well, OK. I guess we aren't all as
graceful as you are. 

Getting To Know Others 

Children need to be shown and taught respect for others. Other people have feelings and hopes, just as
we do. We have much to learn from each other from people who live far away and from those who
lived long ago. 

What to do 

   1.Set a good example by acting respectfully toward others. Always make clear that prejudice is
     wrong and that all of us are equals, no matter our color, gender, or background. 

   2.Show an interest in learning about and from others--from neighbors and relatives, and from
     books about our own and other civilizations. Tell your child interesting things you have learned. 

   3.Encourage your child to learn about many different lands and people, to learn more than one
     language, and to read stories about children from all over the world. Show your child how you
     try to see things from the point of view of others. 

   4.Listen attentively when your child wants to tell you about interesting things discovered about
     history, geography, religions, art, and ways of life. 

We can help our children understand that there are often things to learn from those who lived in the
past and from those whose lives are different from our own. We can teach our children to behave
respectfully toward people and not pre-judge them. Sometimes, however, we must make it clear that
some people behave in ways that are harmful, and such behavior should not be tolerated. 

Magic Words, Caring Deeds 

The magic words are "please" and "thank you." There are other manners we are constantly teaching
our children as well. 

What you'll need 

Chairs
Table
Paper Pen
Crayons, markers
Plates, cups, forks, spoons 

What to do 

   1.Show your children the manners you expect at home first. The next time you eat dinner
     together, have the children pretend they are eating in a restaurant. How should they talk to each
     other? What should they say when the waiter brings their food? Or have the children pretend
     they are riding in a bus. What should they do if the bus stops suddenly and they bump into
     someone? How should they carry a large package on the bus? 

   2.The next time your children mention something nice that another person did for them, suggest
     they write a thank you note. It doesn't have to have a lot of words. It can have pictures as well. 

   3.You, too, can write short notes to your child to indicate your appreciation for something done
     right. 

Children need to learn that little signs of appreciation can be very important to other people. And
manners are a part of respecting and caring for the feelings of others. If we turn the chore of learning
manners into a game, children will get the practice they need without embarrassing us or themselves. 

As you teach the importance of manners, you may need to be honest about what your child can expect
form others. 

Mom, why do you make such a fuss when I chew with my mouth open? 

Because it's ugly for other people to see. Good manners show respect for other people. 

What's respect? 

It means caring how other people feel. 

If I care about them, will they care about me? 

Not always, Paul. Some people don't care and never will, no matter how kind we are to them. But in
our family, we do care. 

Gifts From the Heart 

Have your child give a gift of himself at the next holiday or any time he wants to do something nice for
someone else. 

What you'll need 

Crayons, pencils, paints, or other art supplies Paper
Packaging from around the house
Your child's special gift 

What To Do 

   1.Talk to your child about gift giving. What does it mean to give something to someone else? 

   2.Instead of buying a gift, have your child make a gift. Does your child have a special talent?
     Maybe your child would like to sing or write a song for a relative? Is there a chore your child
     could do? Maybe wash the dishes for a week. Is there a special toy that could be loaned to a
     sister or brother for a week? 

   3.Use materials from around the house so that little, if any, money is spent. 

   4.If the gift is an activity or chore, have your child make a card with a note on it, telling what the
     gift will be. 

   5.Have your child use imagination in making an inviting package. Perhaps your child could paint a
     small rock and wrap it in a big box. Or make an envelope out of the comics from the Sunday
     newspaper. 

Most young children don't have money to buy a gift for a friend or relative. You can teach your child
that a gift that shows effort and attention can mean more than a gift from the store. 

Honesty, the Best Policy 

Children need to learn that benefiting from manipulating or lying to others is dishonest and unworthy of
them. 

What to do 

   1.Tell the story about the boy who cried "Wolf!" so many times to get attention that when the wolf
     finally came, no one believed him. 

   2.Ask your child if anyone has ever lied to her. How did that make her feel? 

   3.Be careful to follow through on things you say to your child. Commitments that may seem minor
     to you can mean a lot to your child. Make promises and keep them. 

Our children need to learn about the importance of trusting each other in our everyday lives. Without
honesty, trust becomes impossible. 

There's A Monster In My Room 

Sometimes our children have needless fears that we can help them overcome. 

What to do 

   1.Listen when your child mentions a fear, even if it sounds silly to you. 

   2.With your child, come up with a plan for facing up to the fear. 

   3.Go through the plan together. Let your child take the step that confronts the fear, although it
     may be helpful for you to be there. 

Children should learn not to allow others to mistreat them. At the same time, we want them to learn
how to reach understandings peacefully, whenever possible. 

Bully 

Children should learn not to allow others to mistreat them. At the same time, we want them to learn
how to reach understandings peacefully, whenever possible. 

What to do 

   1.Listen to your child and find out if others are not treating your child as they should. This will
     encourage your child to trust you and come to you when there is a problem. 

   2.Help your child consider various ways of dealing with a particular problem. 

   3.If the problem is the way another child is behaving, suggest working out the problem by talking
     with the other child, or a responsible adult. 

   4.If the problem is another adult, however, or if your child is seriously threatened by other
     children, you will need to intervene directly. 

A part of self-respect is not tolerating mistreatment by others. Finding appropriate ways to deal with
unpleasant behavior by others is an important, if sometimes difficult, part of growing up. 

Helping Out 

Our children need to learn that as they get older and can contribute more, more will be expected of
them. 

What to do 

   1.As your child matures, consider additional ways your child can contribute to the household. 

   2.Discuss the new duties with your child. Avoid describing them in ways that seem like a
     punishment. Instead, you can imply that they require a new level of ability, which your child now
     possesses. 

   3.With younger children, it helps sometimes if you do the chores together and talk or make it fun.
     But don't do your child's work! 

   4.If possible, new tasks should stretch a child's abilities and encourage satisfaction in good work.
     Praise something done well, especially a new challenge. 

Doing chores is a useful way to learn persistence and to learn that when we live up to our
responsibilities we enable others to trust and rely on us. 

A Job Well Done 

We need to show our children that we take satisfaction in acting properly and accomplishing difficult
tasks. 

What to do 

   1.Through your daily activities, show your children that you care about a job well done. 

   2.Perhaps our children's most important tasks are to work hard at school and do homework.
     When we check homework and point out mistakes, we help them see how an error has arisen.
     When we let them correct errors themselves, we inspire self-confidence. It is also important for
     us to show them that we appreciate their good efforts. 

   3.Teaching our children self-respect does not mean complimenting everything they do. Our
     children also need our honest criticism from time to time. When we do criticize, it should be of
     things they have done, not them personally. 

   4.Most of all, we should help our children form the self-confidence and self-respect that come
     from opportunities to do good work as students or as family members. 

Helping our children form self-respect is based on how we treat them and our own example. 

There are many opportunities to teach self-respect through our actions: 

Dad, nobody's going to see inside the model's wing. Why do you work so hard with all those little
pieces? 

Because that's the right way to build the plane, Martha. It makes the wing strong when the plane flies,
and that's more important than what people see. I want to make the best plane I can. Do you want to
help? 

Our Heroes 

Many children love to look at portraits or photographs, especially if you can tell them stories about the
people in the pictures. 

What you'll need 

Family photo album (or a box or bag of pictures you've been meaning to put in an album) 

Portraits of impressive individuals from books or from history 

What to do 

   1.Select a photo of a person in your family with an impressive quality or accomplishment. Tell
     your child about the person and about what the person did. Perhaps your grandparents had the
     courage to immigrate from another country or your parents sacrificed in order to support you in
     school. Talk about the results of these actions. 

   2.Collect photographs from newspapers or magazines about impressive people in your community.
     With your child, talk about their actions that merit admiration or praise. 

   3.In addition to relatives or others, you may want to display portraits of other people who deserve
     our admiration and respect. A picture of Anne Frank, a young girl who wrote a diary while she
     and her family lived in hiding from Nazi Germans and who died in a concentration camp, can
     inspire conversation about courage and compassion for others. A portrait of Martin Luther King,
     a great civil rights leader who believed in nonviolent change, can lead to discussions of great
     accomplishment despite prejudice. Choose people whom you admire and feel comfortable
     talking to your child about. 

By stories we tell about the people we admire, we can inspire children and remind them of those
qualities we think are important. 

Oops! 

Sometimes, as parents, we don't act the way we should in front of our children. 

What to do 

   1.Try to be honest with yourself and your child if you find that you've done something that sets a
     bad example. Sometimes we need to think a little about an event to realize that we've done
     something inappropriate. 

   2.If your child has observed your behavior, it's especially important that you be honest. A simple
     statement is appropriate in most cases; there is no need to turn your admission into a major
     event. 

   3.Follow up with an apology to anyone you have treated badly and, if possible, by making up for
     what you have done. 

It's important that our children, especially older ones, see that we face up to our own mistakes. 

Will You Be My Friend 

Our children need to learn to choose their friends wisely. 

What to do 

   1.Talk to your child about what is important in a friend. In addition to bring fun, what other
     qualities are important? What about honesty, dependability, a real interest in your child's
     welfare? 

   2.Talk to your child about the type of friends to avoid. Ask if your child can remember a friend
     who couldn't be counted on. 

Our children should learn that it is important to choose friends and companions who care about others
and act responsibly. 

Share a Story 

One important way parents can help their children learn respect for others, self-control, or other
aspects of responsibility is through the use of fables or stories. You can read to your child, you can
read with your child, and you can encourage your child to read on his own. 

What you'll need. 

Good stories, either from books such as those listed in the back of this book or from your own
experiences 

What to do. 

   1.Turn off the TV or other distractions. 

   2.Find stories that exemplify important aspects of character and that your child might enjoy. 

   3.Talk to your child about the behavior of different characters in the story. Ask your child how
     some of the behavior might apply to your own lives. 

   4.Share some stories or books that you have found meaningful with your child. (It is important for
     your child to see you reading and enjoying stories as well.) 

   5.Come up with your own stories. These can be family stories, such as baby stories (when your
     child was little...) that can become a part of your child's personal history. 

Stories can be good ways to learn important lessons. Your child can identify with characters in
meaningful situations without your having to lecture. 

Parents and the Schools 

Parents need to work with teachers and other parents to ensure that children are brought up well. An
African proverb says, "It takes an entire village to raise one child." It is important for parents and other
adults to cooperate in order to have common goals for them. Close communication is essential. 

Parents can visit with teachers to discuss ways they and the school can reinforce the same lessons
about good character. Children are less likely to do much homework, for example, if parents let them
watch television for hours. 

Parents can learn from teachers what their children are studying and what interests them. A teacher or
school librarian can provide good ideas for activities to do at home. 

Parents can cooperate with each other, too. They can agree on standards of supervision at parties and
on entertainment. Some parents may be free to escort children to museums, libraries, athletic events,
and extracurricular school activities, when others are not. Taking turns can provide better opportunities
for all the children. 

Bibliography 

Introduction 

Reading to and reading with children can help them learn responsible behavior. Finding good books,
however, requires time and thought. Librarians and teachers can offer valuable assistance. 

This section is divided into three lists: Beginning (ages 1-6); Intermediate (ages 6-9); and Advanced
(ages 9 and up). The age levels overlap and are only rough guides. Please note that some entries have
annotations identifying specific habits of character such as courage, self-control, and responsibility. 

Art and music also can enrich the lives of parents and children. Parents and children can enjoy the
illustrations in many of the books listed here. They can find inspiration in the music on carefully chosen
records, tapes, and CDs. Audio recordings of the spoken word also can fascinate children and include
many dramatic readings, fairy tales, and even whimsy. Magazines, encyclopedias, and a few movies
are recommended as well. Films can supplement lessons about responsibility found in the many books
listed below. 

Beginning Ages 

Aladdin. Retold by Andrew Lang. Illustrated by Errol Le Cain. New York: Puffin, 1983. [Courage] 

All Night, All Day: A Child's First Book of African-American Spirituals. Selected and illustrated by
Ashley Bryan. New York: Atheneum, 1991. 

Andersen, Hans Christian. The Emperor's New Clothes. Illustrated by Anne Rockwell. New York:
HarperCollins, 1982. [Honesty] 

Atwater, Richard & Florence. Mr. Popper's Penguins. Illustrated by Robert Lawson. Boston: Little,
Brown & Co., 1938. [Kindness; Humor; Imagination] 

Barrett, Judi. Animals Should Definitely Not Act Like People. Illustrated by Ron Baffet. New York:
Aladdin, 1988. [Self-Control] 

Baylor, Byrd. I'm in Charge of Celebrations. Illustrated by Peter Parnall. New York: Macmillan Child
Group, 1986. [Respect for Home and the Natural World; Imagination] 

Bemelmans, Ludwig. Madeline & the Bad Hat. New York: Puffin, 1977. [Humor] 

Brott, Ardyth. Jeremy's Decision. Illustrated by Michael Martchenko. New York: Kane-Miller, 1990. 

Burleigh, Bob. Flight. Illustrated by Mike Wimmer. New York: Putnam, 1991. [Courage; Aspirational] 

Burton, Virginia L. Choo Choo: The Story of a Little Engine Who Ran Away. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co., 1988. 

______. Katy & the Big Snow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1971. [Perseverance] 

______. Little House. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1978. 

______. Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1987. 

Caseley, Judith. Dear Annie. New York: Greenwillow, 1991. 

Childcraft. The How & Why Library. 15 Volumes. Chicago: World Book, 1991. [For ages 4-10, fine
illustrations. Volumes 1-3 contain literature from all ages and around the world. Volumes 4-14 teach
children about living things, machines, the world and its people, and about themselves. Volume 15 is for
parents.] 

Cleary, Beverly. Henry Huggins series. Various editions. 

______. Ramona series. Various editions. 

Climo, Shirley. The Cobweb Christmas. Illustrated by Joe Lasker. New York: HarperCollins, 1982.
[Kindness] 

Cooney, Barbara. Miss Rumphius. New York: Viking, 1982. 

De Brunhoff, Jean. The Story Babar. New York: Dragonfly Books, 1989. 

Demi. The Empty Pot. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1990. [Honesty] 

De Paola, Tomie. The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard & Her Dog. San Diego: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, 1981. 

Dr. Seuss. Horton Hatches the Egg. New York: Random House, 1940. [Dependability] 

Dorros, Arthur. Abuela. New York: Dutton, 1991. [Family Commitment] 

Eastman, P. D. Are You My Mother? New York: Random House, 1986. [Family Commitment] 

Family Pictures--Cuadros de Familia. Illustrated by Carmen L Garza. San Francisco: Children's Book
Press, 1990. [Family Commitment] 

Flack, Marjorie. The Story About Ping. Illustrated by Kurt Wiese. New York: Puffin, 1977. 

Fox, Mem. Koala Lou. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. 

______. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. Illustrated by Julie Vivas. New York: Kane-Miller,
1985.[Kindness; Helping Each Other; Friendship; Careful Thinking] 

Freedman, Florence B. Brothers. New York: HarperCollins, 1985. [Family Commitment; Religious
Faith] 

Gag, Wanda. Millions of Cats. New York: Coward, 1977. 

Galdone, Paul. The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Boston: Clarion, 1981. 

Gantschev, Ivan. The Christmas Train. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1984. [Courage; Careful 

Garfield, Leon. Fair's Fair. Illustrated by S.D. Schindler. New York: Doubleday, 1983. [Friendship] 

Greenfield, Eloise. Honey, I Love: And Other Love Poems. Illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon. New
York: HarperCollins, 1978. Includes a poem about Harriet Tubman. 

Griffith, Helen V. Grandaddy's Place. Illustrated by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow, 1987.
[Family Commitment; Respect for Home and the Natural World] 

Grimm's Fairy Tales. Various editions. Includes "The Brave Little Tailor"; "The Bremen Town
Musicians"; "Cinderella"; "The Elves & the Shoemaker"; "The Fisherman & His Wife"; "Hansel &
Gretel"; "Rapunzel"; "The Sleeping Beauty"; "Snow White & Rose Red"; "Snow White & the Seven
Dwarfs"; "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"; and others. 

Hendershot, Judith. In Coal Country. Illustrated by Thomas B. Allen. New York: Knopf, 1987. [Work
Well Done; Family Commitment] 

Henkes, Kevin. Chrysanthemum. New York: Greenwillow, 1991. [Courage; Self-Respect] 

Hoban, Russell. A Baby Sister for Frances. Illustrated by Lillian Hoban. New York: HarperCollins,
1976. [Love] 

Hoffman, Mary. Amazing Grace. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1991. 

The Hole in the Dike. Retold by Norma Green. Illustrated by Eric Carle. New York: Crowell, 1975.
[Courage; Perseverance] 

Howard, Elizabeth F. Chita's Christmas Tree. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. New York: Macmillan Child
Group, 1989. 

Jakes, John. Susanna of the Alamo: A True Story. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986.
[Courage] 

Joosse, Barbara M. Mama, Do You Love Me? Illustrated by Barbara Lavallee. San Francisco:
Chronicle Books, 1991. 

Keats, Ezra J. The Snowy Day. New York: Puffin, 1976. 

Lasky, Kathryn. Sea Swan. Illustrated by Catherine Stock. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1988.
[Aspiration] 

Leprince de Beaumont, Marie. Beauty & the Beast. Various editions. 

Lester, Helen. The Wizard, the Fairy, & the Magic Chicken. Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Co., 1988. [Friendship] 

Lionni, Leo. A Color of His Own. New York: Pantheon, 1976. 

______. It's Mine. New York: Knopf, 1986. 

______. Nicolas, Where Have You Been? New York: Knopf, 1987. 

______. Swimmy. New York: Pantheon, 1968. 

Lobel, Arnold. Fables. New York: HarperCollins, 1980. 

______. Frog & Toad Are Friends. New York: HarperCollins, 1970. 

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Hiawatha. Illustrated by Susan Jeffers. New York: Dial Books for
Young Readers, 1983. 

Lon Po Po: A Red Riding Hood Story from China. Translated & Illustrated by Ed Young. New York:
Putnam, 1989. [Careful Thinking Humor; Courage] 

Luttrell, Ida. Three Good Blankets. Illustrated by Michael McDermott. New York: Macmillan Child
Group, 1990. [Kindness; Helping Each Other] 

MacDonald, Betty. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Illustrated by Hilary Knight. New York: HarperCollins, 1957. 

Martin, Bill, Jr. & John Archambault. Knots on a Counting Rope. Illustrated by Ted Rand. New York:
Henry Holt & Co., 1987. [Courage; Family Commitment] 

McCloskey, Robert. Blueberries for Sal. New York: Puffin, 1989. 

______. Make Way for Ducklings. New York: Puffin, 1991. 

McGuire, Leslie. Baby Night Owl. Illustrated by Mary Szilagyi. New York: Random House, 1989. 

McKissack, Patricia C. Flossie & the Fox. Illustrated by Rachel Isadora. New York: Dial Books for
Young Readers, 1986. [Self-Reliance; Self-Knowledge; Careful Thinking; Humor] 

______. Lost! Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1990. 

McQueen, Lucinda. Little Red Hen. New York: Scholastic, 1985. 

Miles, Miska. Annie & the Old One. Illustrated by Peter Parnall. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1972.
[Family Commitment; Respect for Home and the Natural World] 

Milhous, Katherine & Alice Dalgliesh. The Turnip: An Old Russian Folktale. Illustrated by Pierr
Morgan. New York: Putnam, 1990. [Cooperation] 

Milne, A. A. Winnie-the-Pooh. Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard. New York: Dutton, 1988. [Friendship;
Helping Each Other; Humor] 

Mosel, Arlene. Tikki Tikki Tembo. Illustrated by Blair Lent. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1968.
[Humor, Family Commitment] 

Mother Goose. Various editions, for example: The Just Right Mother Goose. Selected and illustrated by
Arnold Lobel. 

Mother Goose. Selected and illustrated by Tomie De Paola. 

The Real Mother Goose. Selected and illustrated by Blanche F. Wright. Lakewood, Ohio: Smarty
Pants. 

Murphy, Jill. Five Minutes' Peace. New York: Putnam, 1989. [Generous Understanding] 

Olson, Arielle N. The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter. Illustrated by Elaine Wentworth. Boston: Little,
Brown & Co., 1987. [Courage; Unselfishness; Dependability; Responsibility] 

Piper, Watty. The Little Engine That Could. Various editions. 

Polacco, Patricia. Babushka's Doll. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990. 

______. Chicken Sunday. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991. [Family Commitment] 

Porter, Sue. Little Wolf & the Giant. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990. 

Potter, Beatrix. The Tale of Peter Rabbit. London: Warne, 1902. 

Rey, H. A. Curious George. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973. 

Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1991. [Self-Reliance; Concern for
Others] 

Rylant, Cynthia. When I Was Young in the Mountains. Illustrated by Diane Goode. New York: Dutton,
1985. 

San Souci, Robert D. The Talking Eggs. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York: Dial Books for
Young Readers, 1989. 

Scarry, Richard. What Do People Do All Day? New York: Random House, 1968. 

Schindel, John. Who Are You? Illustrated by James Watts. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1991.
[Family Commitment; Concern for Others; Humor] 

Schwartz, David. Supergrandpa. New York: Lothrop, 1991. 

Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: HarperCollins, 1988. 

Singer, Isaac Bashevis. Why Noah Chose the Dove. Illustrated by Eric Carle. New York: Farrar,
Straus & Giroux, 1974. [Dependability; Justice] 

Steig, William. Brave Irene. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1986. [Perseverance; Courage] 

______. Sylvester & the Magic Pebble. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988. 

Steptoe, John. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale. New York: Lothrop, 1987. [Kindness;
Helping Each Other; Justice] 

Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child's Garden of Verses. Various editions. 

Thayer, Ernest L. Casey at the Bat. Illustrated by Wallace Tripp. New York: Putnam, 1980.
[Self-Knowledge; Humor] 

Watson, Jane W., et al. Sometimes I Get Angry. Illustrated by Irene Trivas. New York: Crown, 1986. 

Williams, Vera B. Cherries & Cherry Pits. New York: Greenwillow, 1986. [Careful Thinking;
Imagination; Kindness; Helping Each Other] 

______. More More More, Said the Baby. New York: Greenwillow, 1990. 

Yashima, Taro. Crow Boy. New York: Viking, 1955. [Responsibility; Self-Control] 

Zemach, Margot. It Could Always Be Worse. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1990. 

Intermediate 

Ages 6-9 

Aesop's Fables. Various editions. [Careful Thinking; Work Well Done] 

& the Pea"; "Thumbelina"; "The Little Mermaid"; "The Steadfast Tin Soldier"; "The Ugly
Duckling";"The Red Shoes"; "The Little Match Girl"; "The Marsh King's Daughter." 

______. Snow Queen. Illustrated by Susan Jeffers. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1989. 

Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1975. [Self-Respect; Careful
Thinking; Generous Understanding] 

Barbour, Karen. Mr. Bow Tie. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991. [Generous
Understanding; Compassion] 

Blos, Joan W. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32. New York: Macmillan
Child Group, 1979. [Family Commitment; Friendship; Perserverance; Humor] 

Blume, Judy. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. Illustrated by Roy Doty. New York: Dutton, 1972.
[Family Commitment; Humor] 

Bond, Carol Taylor. A Book of Famous Black Americans. Illustrated by Joyce Beecher King With
bibliography and activities. Livonia, Michigan: Partner Press, 1989. Includes Marian Anderson, Jesse
Owens, Guion S. Bluford, Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, Althea Gibson, Martin Luther King,
Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Wilma Rudolph, George Washington Carver, Phillis Wheatley, Shirley
Chisholm, Ralph Bunche, Jackie Robinson, Louis Armstrong. 

Brink, Carol R. Caddie Woodlawn. Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. New York: Macmillan Child
Group, 1973. [Family Commitment; Respect for Home and the Natural World; Humor] 

Burnett, Frances Hodgson. Little Lord Fauntleroy, New York: Dell, 1986. [Generous Understanding;
Justice] 

______. The Secret Garden. Various editions. [Self-Knowledge; Generous Understanding; Respect
for Home and the Natural World] 

Burnford, Sheila. The Incredible Journey. Illustrated by Carl Burger. New York:bantam, 1990.
[Perseverance; Friendship; Self-Reliance; Courage] 

Chaikin, Miriam. Exodus. Illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak. New York: Holiday House, 1987. 

Cleary, Beverly. Dear Mr. Henshaw. Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. New York: Dell, 1984. [Divorce]

Cohen, Barbara. Thank You, Jackie Robinson. Illustrated by Richard Cuffari. New York: Lothrop,
1988. 

Conrad, Pam. Pedro's Journal. A Voyage with Christopher Columbus. Philadelphia: Boyds Mills Press,
1991. [Courage; Self-Reliance; Work Well Done] 

Dahl, Ronald. James & the Giant Peach. Illustrated by Nancy E. Burkert. New York: Knopf, 1962. 

Dalgliesh, Alice. The Courage of Sarah Noble. Illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. New York:
Macmillan Child Group, 1986. [Courage; Respect for Home and the Natural World] 

D'Aulaire, Ingri & Edgar P. D'Aulaire. Book of Greek Myths. New York: Doubleday, 1980. 

DeJong, Meindert. The House of Sixty Fathers. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak. New York:
HarperCollins, 1987. [Kindness; Helping Each Other; Courage; Family Commitment] 

______. Wheel on the School. Various editions. 

De Paola, Tomie. Bonjour, Mister Satie. New York: Putnam, 1991. 

Du Bois, William P. The Twenty-One Balloons. New York: Puffin, 1986. [Courage] 

Estes, Eleanor. The Hundred Dresses. Illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. San Diego: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1974. [Imagination; Courage] 

Farley, Walter. The Black Stallion. Illustrated by Keith Ward. New York: Random House, 1977.
MOVIE: "The Black Stallion", 1979. 

Field, Eugene. Poems of Childhood. New York: Airmont, 1969. 

______. The Gingham Dog & the Calico Cat. Illustrated by Janet Street. New York: Putnam, 1990. 

______. Wynken, Blynken, & Nod. New York: Putnam, 1986. 

Fisher, Aileen. Always Wondering: Some Favorite Poems. Illustrated by Joan Sandin. New York:
HarperCollins, 1991. 

Fitzgerald, John. The Great Brain. Illustrated by Mercer Mayer. New York: Dial Books for Young
Readers, 1985. [Family Commitment] 

Freedman, Russell. Lincoln: A Photobiography. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1987. [Justice; Courage;
Responsibility; Aspiration] 

Fritz, Jean. The Great Little Madison. New York: Putnam, 1989. [Careful Thinking; Aspiration;
Justice] 

______. The Double Life of Pocahontas. Illustrated by Ed Young. Putnam, 1983. [Courage] 

George, Jean C. My Side of the Mountain. New York: Dutton, 1988. 

Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows. Various editions. [Friendship] 

Hahn, Mary D. Stepping on the Cracks. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991. [Generous
Understanding] 

Haviland, Virginia. Favorite Fairy Tales Told Around the World. Illustrated by S. D. Schindler. Boston:
Little, Brown & Co., 1985. 

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Wonder Book. New York: Airmont. 

Henry, Marguerite. Misty of Chincoteague. Illustrated by Wesley Dennis. New York: Macmillan Child
Group, 1990. [Respect for Home and the Natural World] 

Homer. The Children's Homer; The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy. Retold by Padraic
Colum. Illustrated by Willy Pagany. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1982. [Careful Thinking;
Imagination; Perseverance; Respect for Home and the Natural World; Family Commitment] 

______. The Return of Odysseus. Adapted by I.M. Richardson. Illustrated by Hal Frenck. Mahwah,
New Jersey: Troll Associates, 1984. [Family Commitment; Courage; Perseverance; Love] 

______. The Wooden Horse. Adapted by I.M. Richardson. Illustrated by Hal Frenck. Mahwah, New
Jersey: Troll Associates, 1984. [Careful Thinking; Imagination] 

Howe, Deborah & James. Bunnicula; A Rabbit Tale of Mystery. Illustrated by Alan Daniel. New
York: Macmillan Child Group, 1979. [Humor] 

Jennings, Judi. Why Work? Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1989. [Work Well
Done; Self-Control & Responsibility; Self-Knowledge] 

Kipling, Rudyard. The Jungle Book. Various editions. 

Kuskin, Karla. Dogs & Dragons, Trees & Dreams: A Collection of Poems. New York: HarperCollins,
1980. 

Lamb, Charles & Mary. Tales from Shakespeare. Various editions. 

Lang, Andrew. The Blue Fairy Book. Various editions. 

Lawson, Robert. Ben & Me. New York: Dell, 1973. 

______. Rabbit Hill. New York: Puffin, 1977. 

L'Engle, Madeleine. Time Trilogy: A Wrinkle in Time; A Wind in the Door; A Swiftly Tilting Planet.
New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1979. [Family Commitment; Courage; Self-Reliance] 

Lewis, C. S. The Chronicles of Narnia (Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe) series. Various editions
[Friendship; Courage; Unselfishness; Self-Knowledge] 

Little, Jean. Hey, World, Here I Am. Illustrated by Sue Truesdell. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. 

______. Stars Come Out Within. New York: Viking, 1991. [Self-Reliance; Courage] 

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Paul Revere's Ride. Illustrated by Nancy W. Parker. New York:
Greenwillow, 1985. [Courage] 

Lovelace, Maud H. Betsy-Tacy. Illustrated by Lois Lenski. New York: HarperCollins, 1966. A series:
Betsy, Tacy & Tib; Betsy & Tacy Go Over the Big Hill; Betsy & Tacy Go Downtown; Heaven to
Betsy; Betsy in Spite of Herself; Betsy Was a Junior; Betsy & Joe; Betsy's Wedding. [Family
Commitment; Friendship; Self-Knowledge; Aspiration] 

Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1989. [Justice; Courage; Family
Commitment; Self-Knowledge] 

MacDonald, George. Princess & the Goblin and The Princess & Curdie. Various editions. [Courage] 

MacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain & Tall. New York: HarperCollins, 1985. [Courage; Family
Commitment] 

Maestro, Betsy & Giulio. A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution. New York: Morrow,
1990. [Justice; Perseverance] 

Mattingley, Christobel. The Miracle Tree. Illustrated by Marianne Yamaguchi. San Diego: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, 1986. [Justice; Concern for Others] 

McKissack, Patricia and Frederick. Frederick Douglass: The Black Lion. Chicago: Children's Press,
1987. [Justice; Courage] 

______. Mary McLeod Bethune: A Great Teacher. [Helping Each Other; Aspiration] 

Merriam, Eve. Fresh Paint: New Poems. Illustrated by David Frampton. New York: Macmillan Child
Group, 1986. 

______. Halloween A B C. Illustrated by Lane Smith. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1987.
[Poems] 

Montgomery, L. M., Anne of Green Gables. Series. MOVIE: "Anne of Green Gables", also "Anne of
Avonlea", Wonderworks. 

My Book House. Illustrated. Edited by United Educators Staff. Lake Bluff, Illinois: United Educators,
Inc., 1920.12 Volumes. [Contains a bibliography of character traits.] 

Myers, Walter D. Now is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom. New York:
HarperCollins, 1991. [Courage] 

O'Hara, Mary. My Friend Flicka (first of a trilogy; Thunderhead, Son Flicka and The Green Grass of
Wyoming). New York: HarperCollins, 1988.[Courage; Loyalty; Family Commitment] 

Osborne, Mary P. George Washington: Leader of a New Nation. New York: Dial, 1991. [Careful
Thinking; Aspiration] 

Park, Barbara. Don't Make Me Smile. New York: Knopf, 1981. 

Paterson, Katherine. The Great Gilly Hopkins. New York: HarperCollins, 1978. [Generous
Understanding; Serf-Knowledge] 

______. The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Dutton,
1990. [Kindness] 

Petry, Ann. Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railway. New York: HarperCollins,
1955. [Courage; Justice; Self-Sacrifice] 

Philip, Neil. The Tale of Sir Gawain. Illustrated by Charles Keeping. New York: Putnam, 1987.
[Courage; Loyalty] 

Pyle, Howard. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. New York: Dover, 1968. [Justice; Humor,
Courage] 

Rawls, Wilson. Where the Red Fern Grows. New York: Bantam, 1974. [Perseverance; Courage;
Family Commitment] 

Rockwell, Thomas. How to Eat Fried Worms. Illustrated by Emily McMully. New York: Watts, 1973.
[Humorl 

Sandburg, Carl. Rootabaga Stories. Illustrated by Michael Hague. New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1988. 

Selden, George. The Cricket in Times Square series. Illustrated by Garth Williams. New York: Farrar,
Straus & Giroux, 1960. [Friendship; Humor; Kindness] 

Sewall, Marcia. The Pilgrims Plimoth. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1986. [Courage;
Perseverance; Justice; Kindness; Helping Each Other] 

Shura, Mary F. Gentle Annie: The True Story of a Civil War Nurse. New York: Scholastic, 1991. 

Sis, Peter. Follow the Dream. New York: Knopf, 1991. [Courage] 

Skira-Venturi, Rasabianca. A Weekend with Renoir. New York: Rizzoli, 1992. [Careful Thinking;
Imagination] 

Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983. [Self-Reliance;
Dependability; Generous Understanding; Respect for Home and the Natural World] 

Spyri, Jobanna. Heidi. Various editions. [Love; Respect for Home and the Natural World; Generous
Understanding; Kindness] Stanley, Diane & Peter Vennema. Good Queen Bess: The Story of Queen
Elizabeth I of England. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1991. [Justice; Self-Control &
Responsibility] 

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Black Arrow. Various editions. [Friendship; Courage; Justice;
Serf-Knowledge] 

______. Treasure Island. Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1981.
[Justice; Courage; Generous Understanding] 

Stolz, Mary. Barkham Street Trilogy: Dog on Barkham Street; Bully of Barkham Street; Explorer of
Barkham Street. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. [Self-Knowledge; Courage] 

Taylor, Mildred D. Let the Circle Be Unbroken. New York: Puffin, 1991. Sequel to Roll of Thunder,
Hear My Cry. 

______. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1976. [Family
Commitment; Justice; Self-Respect] 

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit.. Illustrated by Michael Hague. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1984.
[Justice; Courage; Kindness] 

Tooze, Ruth. Our Rice Village in Cambodia. Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. New York: Viking, 1963. 

Viorst, Judith. Alexander & the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Illustrated by Ray Cruz.
New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1976. [Humor] 

Vo-Dinh. Toad is the Emperor's Uncle: Animal Folktales from Viet-Nam. New York: Doubleday,
1970. 

Voight, Cynthia. Dicey's Song. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1982. Sequel to Homecoming. 

______. Homecoming. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1981. [Self-Control & Responsibility;
Careful Thinking; Family Commitment] 

Watkins, Yoko K. So Far from the Bamboo Grove. New York: Lothrop, 1986. [Courage; Concern for
Others] 

White, E. B. Charlotte's Web. Illustrated by Understanding; Imagination] 

______. Stuart Little. Illustrated by Garth Williams. New York: HarperCollins, 1945.
[Self-Knowledge] 

______. The Trumpet of the Swan. Illustrated by Edward Frascino. New York: HarperCollins, 1973.
[Family Commitment; Respect for the Natural World; Humor] 

Wiggin, Kate D. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. New York: Scholastic, 1988. [Self-Knwoledge;
Generous Understanding; Aspiration; Work Well Done; Friendship; Family Commitment] 

Wilde, Oscar. Stories for Children. Illustrated by P. J. Lynch. New York: Macmillan Child Group,
1991. 

______. Complete Fairy Tales. Afterword by Jack Zipes. New York: Dutton, 1990. 

______. The Happy Prince. Illustrated by Ed Young. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989. 

______. The Nightingale & the Rose. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. 

______. The Selfish Giant. Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger. New York: Scholastic, 1991.
[Unselfishness; Generous Understanding] 

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House series. Illustrated by Garth Williams. New York: HarperCollins,
1975. [Family Commitment; Perseverance; Honesty] 

Advanced 

Ages 9 and Up 

Alcott, Louisa May. Eight Cousins. Various editions. 

______. Little Women. Various editions. MOVIE: "Little Women", 1933, 1949. [Family Commitment;
Self-Control; Humor] 

Avi. Nothing But the Truth. New York: Orchard Books, 1991. [Justice; Resisting Peer Pressure;
Self-Control & Responsibility] 

WolfRider: A Tale of Terror. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1988. 

Bauer, Marion D. On My Honor. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1986. [Courage; Honesty] 

Brooks, Bruce. The Moves Make the Man. New York: HarperCollins, 1987. 

Burroughs, Edgar Rice. Tarzan of the Apes series. Various editions. [Careful Thinking; Self-Reliance;
Self-Knowledge] 

The Constitution of the United States of America. Especially the "Preamble." Various editions.
[Justice; Aspiration] 

Crowe-Carraco, Carole. Women Who Made A Difference. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of
Kentucky, 1989. 

Danziger, Paula. The Cat Ate My Gymsuit. New York: Dell, 1980. 

Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. Various editions, including abbreviated. [Self-Reliance; Careful
Thinking; Imagination] 

de Saint-Exupery, Antoine. The Little Prince. Various editions. [Friendship; Self-Knowledge;
Self-Control & Responsibility] 

Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Various editions. [Generous Understanding; Justice] 

______. David Copperfield. Various editions. See also "David Copperfield and Little Emily", in My
Book House collection. [Friendship] 

______. Oliver Twist. Various editions. [Justice; Aspiration; Self-Knowledge] 

Dodge, Mary M. Hans Brinker: The Silver Skates. New York: Puffin, 1985. 

Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Preface by W.
L. Garrison. New York: Dutton, 1968. [Courage; Aspiration] 

Doyle, Arthur Conan. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Various editions. [Careful Thinking;
Imagination; Honesty; Justice] 

Forbes, Esther. Johnny Tremain. Illustrated by Lynd Ward. New York: Dell, 1969. [Courage;
Friendship; Self-Reliance] 

Fox, Paula. One-Eyed Cat. Illustrated by Irene Trivas. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1984. 

______. The Village by the Sea. New York: Orchard, 1988. 

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. Various editions. [Self-Knowledge; Justice;
Family Commitment; Aspiration; Friendship] 

Franklin, Benjamin. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Various editions. [Careful Thinking;
Self-knowledge; Aspiration] 

Freedman Russell. Indian Chiefs. New York: Holiday, 1987. [Justice; Careful Thinking; Generous
Understanding] 

______. The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane. Photographs. New York: Holiday,
1991. 

Frost, Robert. Poems. Various editions. 

Glenn, Mel. Class Dismissed! High School Poems. Photographs by Michael J. Berstein. New York:
Ticknor & Fields, 1988. 

Haggard, H. Rider. King Solomon's Mines. Various editions. 

Hamilton, Virginia. Anthony Burns: The Defeat & Triumph of a Fugitive Slave. New York: Knopf,
1988. 

______. The House of Dies Drear. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1984. [Courage, Justice] 

______. In the Beginning: Creation Stories from Around the World. Illustrated by Barry Moser. New
York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988. 

______. M. C. Higgins, the Great. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1974. 

______. The People Could Fly. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Knopf, 1985. 

______. The Planet of Junior Brown. New York: Macmillan Child Group, 1986. 

Henry, O. Stories. Various editions. See especially "Gift of the Magi." 

Heyerdahl, Thor. Kon-Tiki. Various editions. [Courage; Careful Thinking; Imagination] 

Ho, Minfong. The Clay Marble. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1991. 

Irving, Washington. Rip Van Winkle & The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Various editions. 

Janeczko, Paul B. Poetspeak: In Their Work, About Their Work: A Selection. New York: Macmillan
Child Group, 1983. 

Jones, Diana W. Dogsbody. New York: Greenwillow, 1988. [Friendship] 

Keller Helen. Story of My Life. Various editions. [Courage; Friendship; Careful Thinking;
Perseverence] 

Kipling, Rudyard. Captains Courageous & Other Stories. Including "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "The
Maltese Cat". New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1959. MOVIE: "Captains Courageous", 1937. 

Lasky, Kathryn. Pageant. New York: Dell, 1988. [Self-Knowledge; Humor] 

Lincoln, Abraham. The Gettysburg Address. Various editions. [Courage; Aspiration] 

Lincoln, Jack. The Call of the Wild. Illustrated by Karel Kezer. New York: Macmillan Child Group,
1970. [Self-Reliance; Self-Knowledge; Respect for the Natural World] 

______. White Fang. Various editions. [Respect for the Natural World] 

McCord, David One at a Time. Illustrated by Henry B. Kane. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1986.
Poems. 

McKinley, Robin. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast: Pocket, 1985. 

______. The Blue Sword. New York: Greenwillow, 1982. 

______. Outlaws of Sherwood. New York: Greenwillow, 1988. 

Merriam, Eve. If Only I Could Tell You: Poems for Young Lovers & Dreamers. Illustrated by Donna
Diamond. New York: Knopf, 1983. 

O'Dell, Scott. Sing Down the Moon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1970. 

Orczy, Emmuska. The Scarlet Pimpernel (first of trilogy). Various editions. [Justice; Courage; Careful
Thinking; Imagination] 

Paterson, Katherine. Bridge to Terabithia. Illustrated by Donna Diamond. New York: HarperCollins,
1977. Frieland, Joyce and Rikki Kessler. Bridge to Terabithia: A Study Guide. New, York: Learning
Links, 1982. MOVIE: "Bridge to Terabithia", Wonderworks. 

______. Jacob Have I Loved. New York: HarperCollins, 1980. MOVIE: "Jacob Have I Loved",
Wonderworks. 

______. Lyddie. New York: Dutton, 1991. 

______. Of Nightingales That Weep. New York": HarperCollins, 1989. [Self-Knowledge] 

Sook, Nyul Choi. Year of lmpossible Goodbyes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991. 

Speare, Elizabeth G. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. New York: Dell, 1972. [Generous Understanding;,
Friendship; Resisting Peer Pressure] 

Twain, Mark. Various editions. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Prince & the
Pauper. 

Magazines and Encyclopedias 

Cricket. (Ages 6-12). Literary magazine for children. Well known authors and artists. 

Highlights for Children. (Ages 4-10). Includes "Guide for Parents and Teachers," stories, poems, craft
ideas, cartoons. 

Kid City (Ages 6-10). For graduates of Sesame Street. Items about popular culture as well as serious
issues such as racial inequalities and handicaps. 

KidSports. (Ages 8-14). Contains advice from professional athletes and stresses practice. Many
articles focus on "When I Was Your Age" (a column title). 

Ladybug. (Ages 2-7). Literary magazine for younger children. From the publishers of Cricket. Includes
a parent's supplement. 

National Geographic World. (Ages 8-13). A variety of subjects including other children, games,
projects, a large pull-out poster. 

Seedling Series: Short Story International. (Ages 8-12). Contains short stories from around the world,
often with a moral or message. 

Sesame Street. (Ages 26). Educational magazine that draws from the television show. Emphasizes
letters and numbers with games to cut out. Every issue includes a read-aloud piece about a serious
topic such as starting school. Comes with a guide for parents. 

Zillions. (Ages 8-14). Consumer Reports for kids. Helps children make wise judgments about the
quality and value of items for sale. 

Compton's Encyclopedia. Illustrated. 26 volumes. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1992. Bound and on
compact disc. 

New Book of Knowledge. Illustrated 21 volumes. Grolier, 1992. Written for elementary school
children. 

Oxford Children's Encyclopedia. Illustrated. 7 volumes. Oxford University Press, 1991. 

Random House Children's Encyclopedia. Illustrated. Random House, 1991. 

World Book. Illustrated. 22 volumes. World Book, Inc., 1991. Appropriate for elementary school
students and as a general family reference. 

Other Booklists 

Best of the Best for Children. Reference book compiled by the American Library Association. Gives
titles with descriptions of books, magazines, videos, and computer software. New York: Random
House, 1992. Available in many libraries. 

Books for Children. List of more than 100 of the best children's books recently published. Compiled by
the Library of Congress. Available for $1 from the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Colorado
81009. Item 101Z. 

Choosing Books for Children: A Commonsene Guide, by Betsy Hearne. Revised, expanded, and
updated. New York: Delacorte, 1990. 

The Human Family...Learning To Live Together. Annual listing of children's books that portray
relationships among people of different cultural backgrounds, races, and religions. Available free from
the National Conference of Christians and Jews, Inc., 71 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1100, New York, New
York 10003. 

The New Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease. 2nd revised edition. New York: Penguin, 1989. 

The New York Times Parent's Guide to the Best Books for Children. Edited by Eden Ross Lipson.
New York: Random House, 1991. [Special subject indexes include such topics as "Family Life and
Problems"; "Friendship"; "Growing Up"; "Holidays"; "Immigrants"; "Manners"; "Myths"; "Religion";
"War and Peace"; and others.] 

Timeless Classics. List of nearly 400 books published before 1960 for children of all ages. Compiled by
the National Endowment for the Humanities. Available for $.50 from the Consumer Information
Center, Pueblo, Colorado 81009. Item 419Z. 

Acknowledgements 

This booklet has been made possible with help from the following people who reviewed early drafts,
provided materials and suggestions, and generously contributed from their own experience: Ruth
Pilsbury, Steven Tigner, Marty Sears, Miriam Marecek, Anne Ilacqua, Lee Delattre, Julie Boothby,
April Supple, Judith Schickedanz, Joan Dee, Thomas Culliton, Scott and Victoria Stripling, Roselmina
Indrisano, Richard Chambers, John Burkett, Roger Shattuck, Leon Kass, Maria Brisk, William Bennet,
Jayne Karsten, Myles Striar, William and Jan Russell, Andrew Oldenqist, Edward Styles Peter Losin,
Betsy Speicher, Charles Glenn, Victor Kestenbaum, Charles Griswold, Jane O'Hern, David Kahn,
Sydney Eisen, Kevin Ryan, Carolyn Gecan, Gary Edwards, Robert Fullinwinder, Charles Karelis,
James Herbert, Mary Minner, and many individuals within the Office of Educational Research and
Improvement. 

Mark Travaglini and Mamie Brown copyedited this book with production assistance from Torey Evans.
Jaine Shattan reviewed the bibliography and Michael Patrick Hearn advised on the use of artwork that
is in the public domain. 

Edwin J. Delattre is Dean of Boston University's School of Education, Olin Scholar in Applied Ethics,
and Professor of Philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts. He is President Emeritus of St. John's
College in Annapolis, MD, and Santa Fe, NM, and the author of two books and numerous articles on
ethics in education, business, government, and law enforcement. He holds a B.A. from the University
of Virginia and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. 

AliceB. Delattre has worked as a cataloguer at the Tompkins-McCaw library of the Medical College
of Virginia Commonwealth University and in the Catalogue Department of the Main Library,
University of Texas at Austin, and she has served as a volunteer in the Concord Free Public Library in
Concord, Massachusetts. She holds a B.A. from Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia, and did
graduate study in library science at The University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. 

Nancy Ione Young drew the cover illustration. 

Illustrations from classic children's books include: pages 3, 5, and 9 by W.W. Denslow in Thw Onderful
Wizard of Oz and pages 20, 26, 30, and 44 by Arthur Rackham in Sleeping BEauty. 

The illustration of the book on the inside back cover is by Brian A. Griffin. 

What We Can Do To Help Our Children Learn: 

Listen to them and pay attention to their problems. 

Read with them. 

Tell family stories. 

Limit their television watching. 

Have books and other reading materials in the house. 

Look up words in the dictionary with them. 

Encourage them to use an encyclopedia. 

Share favorite poems and songs with them. 

Take them to the library--get them their own library cards. 

Take them to museums and historical sites, when possible. 

Discuss the daily news with them. 

Go exploring with them and learn about plants, animals, and local geography. 

Find a quiet place for them to study. 

Review their homework. 

Meet with their teachers. 

Do you have other ideas?