Happy Tuesday! For today’s Tuesday Tell-All, we’re back with some resources on teaching Kindness & Respect through literature for your home libraries. Last month, we posted why we felt it was valuable to reinforce character growth using books. For this month’s character traits, Dr. Pamela Bleisch has compiled another list of wonderful reads for us as we immerse ourselves in compassion and consideration of others.
We learned last week that:
“Kindness means showing high regard, value, and appreciation for authority, others, self, and property. Our catch phrase: Be nice. Respect means recognizing that relationships are core to who we are becoming, and therefore being tender, courteous, helpful, forgiving and compassionate towards others and self. Looking for the goodness in all. Being unselfish and generous. Our catch phrase: You don’t have to like or agree with everyone, but you do need to treat them with respect.”
Take a look below for this month’s set of books then visit our library or den, and enjoy! You can also click on the links below to see where you can purchase these items.
The Grouchy Ladybug, by Eric Carle
A grouchy ladybug doesn’t want to share and challenges everyone she meets to a fight, regardless of size or strength. How will she learn kindness and respect? Eric Carle’s innovative illustrations also show the time of day at the side of each page of this picture book. Age 2 and up.
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
A beautiful retelling of Aesop’s fable, with minimal text and stunning illustrations that tell the story of a lion who graciously allows a captured mouse to escape, only to then be rescued by that same mouse when he gets caught in a trapper’s net. Caldecott Award-winning picture book. Ages 2 and up.
Interrupting Chicken, by David Ezra Stein (J PB STEIN)
It’s bedtime, and rooster papa is trying to read fairy tales to his daughter, but the sweet little chicken can’t stop interrupting him to warn the characters of impending danger! Finally, rooster papa suggests she make up a story to tell him instead, and what she creates is an adorable childlike tale of a little chicken putting her rooster papa to bed. An entertaining way to learn about how disruptive interrupting can be. Caldecott Honor picture book. Ages 3 and up.
Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Clooney
As a child Alice Rumphius resolved that when she grew up she would go to faraway places, live by the sea in her old age, and do something to make the world more beautiful–and she does all those things, the last being the most difficult of all. The countless lupines that bloom along the coast of Maine are the legacy of the real Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady, who scattered lupine seeds everywhere she went. A beautiful picture book. Ages 3 and up. On the list for 3rd Grade Battle of the Books.
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, by John Steptoe (J PB STEP)
Mufaro has two daughters: the bad-tempered, prideful Manyara, and the loving, kind Nyasha. The girls must pass a series of tests in order for one of them to be considered a beautiful and worthy wife for the Great King. This Caldecott Medal-winning retelling of an African folktale evokes the Cinderella story, as well as the traditional theme of good triumphing over evil. Ages 3 and up.
Brother Sun, Sister Moon: The Life and Stories of Saint Francis, by Margaret Mayo (J NF 271.302 F818 M15)
How Francis Tamed a Ferocious Wolf is just one of several charming stories of St. Francis of Assisi in this volume. Francis rejected his wealthy background to lead a life of poverty, good works, and kindness to animals. Peter Malone’s illustrations are inspired by medieval books of hours. Ages 6 and up.
The Three Questions, by Jon Muth
A short story by Tolstoy recast into a beautifully illustrated tale for kids. What is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? Nikolai knows that he wants to be the best person he can be, but often he is unsure if he is doing the right thing. So he goes to ask Leo, the wise turtle. When he arrives, the turtle is struggling to dig in his garden, and Nikolai comes to his aid. As he finishes work, a violent storm rolls in. Nikolai runs for Leo’s cottage, but hears cries for help from an injured panda.… Ages 7 and up.
The Invisible Boy, by Trudy Ludwig (J PB LUD)
Brian has always felt invisible at school, but when a new student, Justin, arrives, everything changes. Beautiful watercolor illustrations by Patrice Barton. Ages 7 and up.
The Hundred Dresses, by Eleanor Estes (J FIC EST)
A tender story with a timeless message of compassion and understanding. At its heart is Wanda Petronski, an immigrant girl in an American school, who is ridiculed for wearing the same faded dress every day. When she tells her classmates that she has one hundred dresses at home, she unwittingly triggers a game of teasing that eventually ends in a lesson for all. A Newbery Honor book in 1945. Chapter book, ages 9 and up. On the “Must Reads” list for Primary students.
Save Me a Seat, by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan (J FIC WEE)
Two boys struggle to navigate middle school, family, and friendships. Joe’s lived in the same town all his life and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi’s family just moved to America from India, and he’s finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in. Joe and Ravi don’t think they have anything in common– but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week. Chapter book, ages 10 and up. On the list for Intermediate Battle of the Books.
Wild Wings, by Gill Lewis (J FIC LEW)
Striving to protect the rare osprey nesting on his family’s farm in Scotland, 11-year-old Callum McGregor watches the bird throughout the summer and becomes friends with Iona, an almost feral girl. They eventually share the secret with others, including Jeneba who encounters the same bird at her home in Gambia. With universal themes of life and death, friendship and respect for the natural world. Chapter book, ages 9 and up. On the list for Intermediate Battle of the Books.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (J FIC LEE, also in Audiobook)
In a racially divided small Alabama town in the 1930s, a little girl learns valuable lessons about empathy as her widowed father defends a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Pulitzer Prize winner in 1961. On the “Must Reads” list for Upper Middle students. Ages 13 and up.
Thank you again, Dr. Bleisch, for your guidance in our literature selection this month! We look forward to our next set of character trait books!
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