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
- Swimmy by Leo Lionni
- The Juice Box Bully by Maria Dismondy
- Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell
- Stone Soup by John J. Muth
- Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann
- The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco
- The Big Enormous Turnip illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
- The Secret Life of the Red Fox by Laurence Pringle
- Tractor Mac Teamwork by Billy Steers
- Up the Creek by Nicholas Oldland
- How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney
Persistence/Determination
- She Persistedand She Persisted Around the World by Chelsea Clinton
- Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History by Vashti Harrison
- Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World by Susan Hood
- Emmanuel’s Dream by Laurie Ann Thompson
- After the Fall by Dan Santat
- The Girl Who Thought in Pictures and The Doctor With An Eye for Eyes by Julia Finley Mosca
- A Chair For My Mother by Vera B. Williams
- Salt in His Shoes by Deloris Jordan with Rosyln Jordan
- The Boy and the Whale by Mordicai Gerstein
- Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (chapter book)
Fairness
- New Shoes by Susan Lynn Meyer
- One Grain of Rice by Demi
- Jamaica Tag-Along by Juanita Havill
- Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
- Separate is Never Equal by Sylvia Mendez
- Little Red Henby Paul Galdone
- Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
- Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki
Love
- Loveby Matt de la Pena
- Old Hat by Emily Gravett
- I Love You Book by Todd Parr
- Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBartney
- Love is a Family by Roma Downey
- The Valentine Bearsby Eve Bunting
- Hair for Mama by Kelly A. Tinkham
- Ida, Always by Caron Levis
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (chapter book)
Citizenship/Responsibility
- Many: The Diversity of Life on Earthby Nicola Davies
- A Castle on Viola Street by DyAnne Disalvo
- On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole
- Hello Helloby Brendan Wenzel
- The Red Bicycle by Jude Isabella
- Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
- Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers
- Granddaddy’s Turn: A Journey to the Ballot Box by Michael S. Bandy
- A Very Important Day by Maggie Rugg Herold
- Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (chapter book)
Honesty
- The Empty Pot by Demi
- Usborne Illustrated Stories from Aesop (story: The Boy Who Cried Wolf)
- The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot! by Scott Magoon
- Tell the Truth B.B. Wolf by Judy Sierra
- The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen
- A Bike Like Sergio’s by Maribeth Boelts
- In A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting
- The Honest-to-Goodness Truth by Patricia C. McKissack
Creativity
- Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy
- Metal Man by Aaron Reynolds
- Everything You Need for a Treehouseby Carter Higgins
- The Big Orange Splot by D. Manus Pinkwater
- Arnie, the Doughnut by Laurie Keller
- Peter H. Reynolds Creatology Series:Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot
- Drawn Togetherby Minh Le
- Not a Box by Antoinette Portis
- Christina Katerina & The Box by Patricia Lee Gauch
- Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu
Curiosity
- Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows by Asia Citro
- Papa’s Mechanical Fish by Candace Fleming
- Curiosity: The Story of a Mars Rover by Markus Motum
- Windows by Julia Denos
- The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
- Julian is a Mermaid by Julia Love
- Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty
- On a Beam of Light by Jennifer Berne
- Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
- Barefoot Books World Atlas by Nick Crane
- The Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Bravery/Courage
- Malala’s Magic Pencilby Malala Yousafzai
- The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
- Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
- The Boy and the Whale by Mordicai Gerstein
- Ron’s Big Mission by Rose Blue
- The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! by Carmen Agra Deedy
- Let the Children March by Monica Clark-Robinson
- Brave Irene by William Steig
- Tyrannosaurus Rex vs Edna The Very First Chicken by Douglas Rees
- Spaghetti on a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy
- Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle
- The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do by Ashley Spires
- What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada
- Be Brave, Little Penguinby Giles Andreae
- Word of Mouse by James Patterson (chapter book)
Respect/Inclusion
- Wishtree by Katherine Applegate (chapter book)
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
- Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev
- The Big Umbrellaby Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates
- I Am a Cat by Galia Bernstein
- One Green Apple by Eve Bunting
- It’s OK To Be Different by Todd Parr
- The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane DeRolf
- Whoever You Are by Mem Fox
- The Barefoot Book of Children by Tessa Strickland, Kate DePalma and David Dean
Gratitude/Appreciation
- When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
- The Thank You Book by Mary Lyn Ray
- Elmore by Holly Hobbie
- Thankful by Eileen Spinelli
- Giving Thanks by Jonathan London
- The Thankful Book by Todd Parr
- We Are Gratefulby Traci Sorell
- Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
- Look and Be Grateful by Tomie dePaola
- My Heart Fills With Happiness by Monique Gray Smith (board book)
- Thank you, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
- Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes
- Gracias/Thanksby Pat Mora
- Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes
Kindness
- We’re All Wondersby R.J. Palacio
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- One Smile by Cindy McKinley
- Boxes for Katje by Candace Fleming
- Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
- Try a Little Kindness by Henry Cole
- I Walk With Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness by Kerascoët
- Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson
- Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers
- The Jelly Donut Differenceby Maria Dismondy
- The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
- The Can Man by Laura E. Williams
- Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller
- 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.
Janet Councilman says
A complete list of awesome children’s book!
I will include it in my tbr.
Debbie says
I teach A virtues program in my school library. I Love your booklists. I have made suggestions for other virtues. Thank you for providing such a great valuable ResOurce.
Kris Bauers says
What an awesome list. while they seem like simple and obvious lessons, the more examples of kindness that we can provide our children the better. THis month I have been focusing on social lessons for my kiddos and I have to give a shout out to Michael Dotsikas, his new benjamin Birdie series is so enchanting and educational. My kiddos and i both loved it. I found it on amazon but I learned more about the author here: http://www.michaeldotsikas.com