125 Children’s Books That Teach Positive Character Traits

Character-building activities are powerful tools in helping our kids learn and grow. From learning to live with love, kindness, and gratitude, there are some amazing children’s books about character traits.

We have the best of the best books on each positive character trait to read with your kids.  AND, you can even download the printable list to take with you to the library.

Best Building Character Books for Kids

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Great care went into preparing this huge list for you.  In fact, over a year was spent reading every book on this list plus countless more that didn’t make the list.

NOTE: For each character trait, we have listed our favorite books to read.  You can learn more about each book by visiting each category link where we share a little about each book or you can click on the book link that will take you to Amazon reviews.

You can also use the 12 different character traits and to do a monthly Family Dinner Book Club. We’ve got a themed menu, activity, and conversation starters to go with each character trait.  See them all here.—>12 Building Character Family Dinner Book Clubs.

Teamwork

1. Swimmy by Leo Lionni
2. The Juice Box Bully by Maria Dismondy
3. Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell
4. Stone Soup by John J. Muth
5. Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
6. The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco
7. The Big Enormous Turnip illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
8. The Secret Life of the Red Fox by Laurence Pringle
9. Tractor Mac Teamwork by Billy Steers
10. Up the Creek by Nicholas Oldland
11. How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney

Persistence/Determination

1. She Persistedand She Persisted Around the World by Chelsea Clinton
2. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
3. Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World by Susan Hood
4. Emmanuel’s Dream by Laurie Ann Thompson
5. After the Fall by Dan Santat
6. The Girl Who Thought in Pictures and The Doctor With An Eye for Eyes by Julia Finley Mosca
7. A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams
8. Salt in His Shoes by Deloris Jordan with Rosyln Jordan
9. The Boy and the Whale by Mordicai Gerstein
10. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (chapter book)

Fairness

1. New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer
2. One Grain of Rice by Demi
3. Jamaica Tag-Along by Juanita Havill
4. Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
5. Separate is Never Equal by Sylvia Mendez
6. Little Red Henby Paul Galdone
7. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
8. Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki

Love

1. Loveby Matt de la Pena
2. Old Hat by Emily Gravett
3. I Love You Book by Todd Parr
4. Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBartney
5. Love is a Family by Roma Downey
6. The Valentine Bearsby Eve Bunting
7. Hair for Mama by Kelly A. Tinkham
8. Ida, Always by Caron Levis
9. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (chapter book)

Citizenship/Responsibility

1. Many: The Diversity of Life on Earthby Nicola Davies
2. A Castle on Viola Street by DyAnne Disalvo
3. On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole
4. Hello Helloby Brendan Wenzel
5. The Red Bicycle by Jude Isabella
6. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
7. Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers
8. Granddaddy’s Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box by Michael S. Bandy
9. A Very Important Day by Maggie Rugg Herold
10. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (chapter book)

Honesty

1. The Empty Pot by Demi
2. Usborne Illustrated Stories from Aesop (story: The Boy Who Cried Wolf)
3. The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot! by Scott Magoon
4. Tell the Truth B.B. Wolf by Judy Sierra
5. The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen
6. A Bike Like Sergio’s by Maribeth Boelts
7. In A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting
8. The Honest-to-Goodness Truth by Patricia C. McKissack

Creativity 

1. Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy
2. Metal Man by Aaron Reynolds
3. Everything You Need for a Treehouseby Carter Higgins
4. The Big Orange Splot by D. Manus Pinkwater
5. Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller
6. Peter H. Reynolds Creatology Series:Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot
7. Drawn Togetherby Minh Le
8. Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
9. Christina Katerina & The Box by Patricia Lee Gauch
10. Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu

Curiosity

1. Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows by Asia Citro
2. Papa’s Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming
3. Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum
4. Windows by Julia Denos
5. The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
6. Julian is a Mermaid by Julia Love
7. Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
8. On a Beam of Light by Jennifer Berne
9. Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
10. Barefoot Books World Atlas by Nick Crane
11. The Way Things Work by David Macaulay

Bravery/Courage

1. Malala’s Magic Pencilby Malala Yousafzai
2. The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
3. Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
4. The Boy and the Whale by Mordicai Gerstein
5. Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue
6. The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! by Carmen Agra Deedy
7. Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson
8. Brave Irene by William Steig
9. Tyrannosaurus Rex vs Edna The Very First Chicken by Douglas Rees
10. Spaghetti on a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy
11. Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle
12. The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do by Ashley Spires
13. What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada
14. Be Brave, Little Penguinby Giles Andreae
15. Word of Mouse by James Patterson (chapter book)

Respect/Inclusion

1. Wishtree by Katherine Applegate (chapter book)
2. All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
3. Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
4. The Big Umbrellaby Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates
5. I Am a Cat by Galia Bernstein
6. One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
7. It’s OK To Be Different by Todd Parr
8. The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane DeRolf
9. Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
10. The Barefoot Book of Children by Tessa Strickland, Kate DePalma and David Dean

Gratitude/Appreciation

1. When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
2. The Thank You Book by Mary Lyn Ray
3. Elmore by Holly Hobbie
4. Thankful by Eileen Spinelli
5. Giving Thanks by Jonathan London
6. The Thankful Book by Todd Parr
7. We Are Gratefulby Traci Sorell
8. Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
9. Look and Be Grateful by Tomie dePaola
10. My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith (board book)
11. Thank you, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
12. Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes
13. Gracias/Thanksby Pat Mora
14. Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes

Kindness

1. We’re All Wondersby R.J. Palacio
2. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
3. One Smile by Cindy McKinley
4. Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming
5. Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
6. Try a Little Kindness by Henry Cole
7. I Walk With Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness by Kerascoët
8. Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson
9. Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers
10. The Jelly Donut Differenceby Maria Dismondy
11. The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
12. The Can Man by Laura E. Williams
13. Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller
14. Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora

Get a Printable List of Children’s Books About Character Traits

If you have enjoyed this book list, then you don’t want to miss any new ones we create! Sign up for our free newsletter to learn when new book lists are released as well as literacy activities that will help young growing readers.

As a thank you for joining our free newsletter, we will send you a copy of the character education book list.  It’s a great resource to take to the library.

And, here are a few more resources that you may find helpful.

Meaningful Mama shares Character Building Activities

100 Books Every Child Should Hear Before Kindergarten

The Ultimate List of Preschool Books

Books That Will Inspire Kids to Make a Difference in the World

Enjoy reading with the kids and building character strengths.