Kids Books About Honesty

Honesty is another one of those virtues that seems to have mostly disappeared off the face of the earth since the invention of social media and the internet. My faith in journalistic integrity is quite low. As we enter the fall of an election year – I honestly don’t even know what is true or not anymore and which sources I can trust to do accurate reporting. Everything seems to have a spin on it, an ulterior motive. Nothing seems to be objective facts.

I’d just like to get to a place where we have smart, honest people with integrity in positions of leadership. I’d like to figure out a better funding model for reporting current events other than click-baitey emotionally-driven titles so that the world’s journalists can be professionals instead of circus talkers who stand outside spewing “Step right up ladies and gentlemen and see this spectacularly upsetting spectacle!”

So how do we reset the world’s lack of honesty? I guess by raising honest children who care about facts, truth, and integrity. We reset it by being skeptical of what is said on the internet, we think critically, and we raise critical thinkers.

So what is honesty?

Honesty means you can trust what someone is saying and how they are acting. It means they are behaving in a way that is sincere and true. When you are honest it means you do not lie, steal, or cheat. You are open and truthful. Sometimes telling the truth will disappoint someone. That is okay. It is still best to be honest and not lie. Sometimes people tell a truth that is exaggerated – which means they make it sound greater or better than it really was. They do this to impress other people. This is not honest. When we are honest, people will trust that what we say is the truth. They will feel they can rely on us. When we are honest, we have integrity, which means we do what we say we will do.

Here are some books I read with my kids to discuss honest and dishonest characters! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

In Tops & Bottoms, an industrious rabbit misleads a lazy bear. I mean, it is kind of the bear’s fault and the rabbit wasn’t exactly lying – but the rabbit was being tricky. This is a good one to have a conversation about.

Sam, Bangs and Moonshine by Evaline Ness

In Sam, Bangs & Moonshine, a little girl named Sam tells tall tales. She learns the consequences of dishonesty when her tall tales put her friend and her cat in danger.

Franklin Fibs by Paulette Bourgeois

In Franklin Fibs, Franklin learns what happens when he boasts about his abilities and then has to prove to his friends that he can eat that many flies when he knows he can’t.

The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach

I love an unreliable narrator! This story is the perfect story to introduce the concept of an unreliable narrator to your children. Did the bear really eat the sandwich? What do they think?

Honest Abe Lincoln by David Adler

We really like this story about Abraham Lincoln and one of his remembered character virtues – his honesty.

I hope you enjoy these books and have great conversations with your kids about honesty.

Warmly,

Heather

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