BOOKS FOR STUDENTS
Aesop. Androcles and the Lion, and other Aesop’s Fables. Paxton, Tom (ed.). New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1991. Aesop. The Lion and the Mouse. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979.
Aliki. The Twelve Months. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1978. [The poor widow who finds good in every month of the year is rewarded while her complaining rich neighbor receives a jar of snakes.]
Bang, Molly. The Paper Crane. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1985. [An honest and hard-working father and son own a restaurant that has fallen on hard times. One day a stranger comes to the restaurant, and though he cannot pay for his meal, he is fed like a king.]
Brumbeau, Jeff. The Quiltmaker’s Gift. New York, NY: Scholastic, 2001. [A charitable seamstress makes beautiful quilts that she gives to the needy and poor. When a greedy king hears of the marvelous creations, he demands that she sell him one. She refuses, and changes the king’s life forever.]
Bunting, Eve. Magic and the Night River. New York: Harper & Row, 1978. [A Japanese boy and his grandfather fish successfully with their cormorants because they have treated the birds with kindness.]
Bunting, Eve. Smoky Night. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1994. [When the Los Angeles riots break out in the streets of their neighborhood, a young boy and his mother learn the value of getting along with others no matter what their background or nationality.]
Canfield, Jack L., Mark Victor Hansen, et. al. Chicken Soup series. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc. [Personal accounts that touch the heart and lift the spirits.]
Carlson, Nancy L. Arnie and the New Kid. New York: Viking, 1990. [Top cat Arnie teases Philip because he is confined to a wheelchair. Yet when Arnie falls down the school steps and breaks a leg, twists a wrist, and sprains a tail, he begins to see life from a different perspective.]
Colf, Mary K., and Len Oszustowicz. 301 Random Acts of Kindness: A User’s Guide to a Giving Life. Arlington, TX: Summit Publishing Group, 1994. [Challenges readers to tackle the list and actually commit themselves to take concrete steps toward the creation of a better world.]
Cooney, Barbara. Miss Rumphius. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1985. [As a child, Great-aunt 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.]
Cosby, Bill. The Meanest Thing to Say. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1997. [When a new boy in his second grade class tries to get the other students to play a game that involves saying the meanest things possible to one another, Little Bill shows him a better way to make friends.]
Daugherty, James Henry. Andy and the Lion. New York: The Viking Press, 1938. [In this retelling of Androcles and the Lion, Andy meets a lion on the way to school and wins his friendship for life by removing a thorn from his paw.]
Dahl, Roald. The BFG. London, UK: Puffin Books, 2007. [When orphan Sophie is snatched from her bed by a Giant, she fears he is going to eat her. But the Giant has no intention of harming her…he’s the Big Friendly Giant, after all! The BFG shows Roald Dahl at his most warm and dream-like as he depicts the amazing friendship between a little girl and a big hearted Giant.]
Dahl, Roald. Danny, Champion of the World. London, UK: 2007. [Danny’s Dad had a secret, but now the secret’s out and it’s going to lead Danny on the adventure of a lifetime.]
Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach. London, UK: 2007. [Join James Trotter and his friends - Grasshopper, Earthworm, Miss Spider - on an adventure inside a giant magical peach.]
DeArmond, Dale. The Seal Oil Lamp. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1988. [Because of a blind boy’s kindness to Mouse Woman’s kin, she teaches him a magical chant that will call the animals to his spear.]
DeSpain, Pleasant. “Toads and Diamonds.” Twenty-two Splendid Tales to Tell from Around the World. Little Rock, AR: August House Publishers, 1994.
Fleischman, Sid. The Scarebird. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1988. [A lonely farmer begins a friendship with a scarecrow, but finds a real companion in his new hired hand.]
Glass, Linzi. Finding Danny. Boston, MA: Walden Pond Press, 2010. [When Bree’s dog Danny runs away, her search for him leads her to a local animal shelter where she finds more than she expected.]
Grahame, Kenneth. The Reluctant Dragon. New York: Holiday House, 1989. [A short and funny fantasy about a reluctant dragon who is engaged to fight with St. George himself.]
Grimm, Wilhelm, and Jacob Grimm. Snow White and Rose Red. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1984. [A bear, befriended by two sisters during the winter, returns one day to reward them royally for their kindness.]
Hall, Lynn. Barry: The Bravest Saint Bernard. New York: Random House, Inc., 1992. [This is the true story of a Saint Bernard who rescued over forty people, and whose courage and kindness became legendary.]
Hart, George. “The Lion and the Mouse.” Tales from Ancient Egypt. Cairo: Hoopoe Books, 1994.
Hoff, Syd. Little Chief. New York: Harper, 1961. [An Indian boy’s kindness encourages a group of frontiersmen to settle in the same green valley as the Indians.]
Hughes, Shirley. Dogger. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1988. [Dave and Dogger go everywhere together, but when Dave discovers Dogger is missing, big sister Bella’s help is needed.]
Hurwitz, Johanna. Aldo Ice Cream. New York: Morrow, 1981. [Aldo is working through the summer, trying to earn enough money to pay for the ice cream machine his sister wants for her birthday.]
Hyde, Katherine Ryan. Pay It Forward. New York: Pocket Books, 2000. [Trevor chooses three people for whom he will do a kind act and tells them that instead of paying him back they should each pay it forward with acts of kindness to three more people.]
Jaffe, Nina. Older Brother, Younger Brother: A Korean Folktale. New York: Viking, 1995. [After being turned out by his greedy older brother, Hungbu and his family manage to prosper when his kindness to an injured sparrow is richly rewarded.]
Kornbluth, Jesse, and Jessica Papin (eds.). Because We Are Americans: What We Discovered on September 11, 2001. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 2001. [In memory of the events of September 11, 2001, a scrapbook of America in tragedy and triumph. All profits from the sale of this book are distributed equally to The American Red Cross and the New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund.]
Kroll, Steven. Happy Father’s Day. New York: Holiday House, 1988. [Each of the children and Mom have a special surprise for Dad on his special day.]
Kroll, Steven. Happy Mother’s Day. New York: Holiday House, 1985. [One day when Mom returns home, she is greeted by surprise after surprise from each of her six children and her husband.]
La Fontaine, Jean de. The Lion and the Rat. Oxfordshire, England: Oxford University Press, 1984. [A small rat is the only animal capable of saving the life of the king of the beasts.]
Law, Ingrid. Savvy. Boston, MA: Walden Media/Puffin Books, 2008. [In Mibs Beaumont’s family a special power strikes on your 13th birthday, and Mibs’s big day is going to be anything but predictable.]
Law, Ingrid. Scumble. Boston, MA: Walden Media/Puffin Books, 2010. [In this rollicking companion novel to Savvy (2008), nine years have passed since Ledger Kale's cousin Mibs turned 13 and began her magical experience.]
Lorbiecki, Marybeth. Sister Anne’s Hands. New York: Puffin, 2000. [Seven-year-old Anna has her first encounter with racism in the 1960s when an African-American nun comes to teach at her parochial school.]
Lupica, Mike. Safe at Home: A Comeback Kids Novel. Boston, MA: Walden Media/Puffin Books, 2008. [Nick Crandell is out to prove that he belongs – to his parents, to his baseball team and to himself.]
Lupica, Mike. Two Minute Drill: A Comeback Kids Novel. Boston, MA: Walden Media/Puffin Books, 2009. [Scott Parry, the clumsiest kid in school, has joined the football team. Only star quarterback Chris Conlan knows his secret.]
Mayer, Marianna. Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1994. [Vasilisa, sent by her evil stepmother on a dangerous journey to the ancient and terrible witch Baba Yaga, is helped by her secret companion, a little live doll, who acts as mentor and friend.]
McGraw, Eloise Jarvis. The Moorchild. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. [Feeling that she is neither fully human nor fully fairy, a changeling learns her true identity and attempts to find the human child whose place she had been given.]
Morris, Ann. Loving. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1990. [Little ones will enjoy this enlightening encounter with people from many cultures showing their love for each other.]
Murphy, Mary. How Kind. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2002. [A hen’s single act of kindness becomes infectious as the animals pass it on; kindness affects every animal in the barnyard and eventually finds its way back to her.]
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Shiloh Season. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1996. [When mean and angry Judd, who has never known kindness, takes to drinking and mistreats his dogs, Marty discovers how deep a hurt can go and how long it takes to heal.]
Paterson, Katherine. Celia and the Sweet, Sweet Water. New York: Clarion Books, 1998. [While journeying to find a remedy for her mother’s illness, Celia and her grumpy dog Brumble encounter strange and threatening characters who have never known kindness.]
Pearson, Emily. Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2002. [A young girl’s good deed is multiplied as it is passed on by those who have been touched by the kindess of others.]
Peet, Bill. Kermit the Hermit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965. [After a mean, selfish crab is rescued by a boy, the crab searches for a way to repay the kindness.]
Polacco, Patricia. Mrs. Katz and Tush. New York: Bantam Books, 1992. [Larnel Moore, a young African-American boy, and Mrs. Katz, an elderly Jewish woman, develop an unusual friendship through their mutual concern for an abandoned cat named Tush.]
Polacco, Patricia. Pink and Say. New York: Philomel Books, 1994. [The true story of a remarkable wartime friendship between a young white Union soldier and a young black Union soldier who are captured by Confederate soldiers and sent to Andersonville Prison.]
Rappaport, Doreen. Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2001. [By using simple, direct language — much of it King’s — the text offers young readers an accessible yet profound introduction to King’s legacy.]
Reynolds, Diana. The Elephant’s Pillow. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2003. [Set in Peking, this story teaches children about empathy and kindness.]
Rice, David L. Because Brian Hugged His Mother. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications, 1999. [When Brian hugs and kisses his mother one morning, the act starts a chain reaction of kindness and consideration that spreads throughout the town and eventually comes back to him.]
San Souci, Robert D. The Talking Eggs. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1989. [A Southern folktale in which kind Blanche, following the instructions of an old witch, gains riches, while her greedy sister makes fun of the old woman and is duly rewarded.]
Schotter, Roni. Captain Snap and the Children of Vinegar Lane. New York: Orchard Books, 1989. [In this tender twist on a familiar theme, a neighborhood curmudgeon — “thin and mean and bent and bitter”— is changed by youngsters’ kindness.]
Silverstein, Shel. The Giving Tree. New York: HarperCollins, 1986. [A moving parable about the gift of giving and the capacity to love, told throughout the life of a boy who grows to manhood and a tree that selflessly gives him her bounty through the years.]
Small, Ernest. Baba Yaga. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966. [An adaptation of a Russian folktale about a nasty witch who supposedly eats bad little children.]
Spinelli, Eileen. Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch. New York: Bradbury Press, 1991. [An anonymous Valentine changes the life of the unsociable Mr. Hatch, turning him into a laughing friend who helps and appreciates all his neighbors.]
St. John, Lauren. The White Giraffe. Boston, MA: Walden Media/Puffin Books, 2008. [After Martine is sent to live with her grandmother she meets a legendary white giraffe and begins a journey to save his life.]
Steptoe, John. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1987. [Mufaro’s two beautiful daughters, one bad-tempered, one kind and sweet, go before the king, who is choosing a wife.]
Wilde, Oscar. The Selfish Giant. Natick, MA: Picture Book Studio USA, 1984. [A once selfish giant welcomes the children to his previously forbidden garden and is eventually rewarded by an unusual little child.]
Zolotow, Charlotte. I Know a Lady. New York: Greenwillow, 1984. [Sally describes a loving and lovable old lady in her neighborhood who grows flowers, waves to children when they pass her house, and bakes cookies for them at Christmas.]
BOOKS FOR TEACHERS
Baldrige, Letitia. Letitia Baldrige’s More than Manners! — Raising Today’s Kids to Have Kind Manners & Good Hearts. New York: Rawson Associates, 1997.
Bennett, William J. (ed.). The Book of Virtues for Young People: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories. Parsippany, NJ: Silver Burdett Press, 1995.
Boles, Nicole Bouchard. How to Be an Everday Philanthropist: 330 Ways to Make a Difference in Your Home, Life and World – At No Cost. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Company, 2009.
Cohn, Dr. Janice. Raising Compassionate, Courageous Children in a Violent World. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2001.
The Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama, A Policy of Kindness: An Anthology of Writings by and about the Dalai Lama. Piburn, Sidney (ed.) Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1990.
Editors of Conari Press. Random Acts of Kindness. San Francisco, CA: Conari Press, 2002.
Ferrucci, Piero. The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2006.
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. New York: Little Brown & Co., 2000.
Hamilton, David R. Why Kindness is Good for You. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House Publishers, 2010.
Kilpatrick, William. Books that Build Character: A Guide to Teaching Your Child Moral Values through Stories. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Lamme, Linda Leonard. Literature-based Moral Education: Children’s Books and Activities for Teaching Values, Responsibility & Good Judgment in the Elementary School. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1992.
Lickona, Thomas. Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility. New York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1992.
Paley, Vivian Gussin. The Kindness of Children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000.
Paley, Vivian Gussin. You Can’t Say You Can’t Play. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Rice, Judith. The Kindness Curriculum: Introducing Young Children to Loving Values. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, 1995.
Rubin, Gretchin. The Happiness Project. New York, NY: Harper, 2009.
Salzberg, Sharon. The Force of Kindness: Change Your Life with Love & Compassion. Louisville, CO: Sounds True, 2011.
Tenzer, Debbie. Do One Nice Thing. New York, NY: Crown Archetype, 2009.
Wheeler, Claire Michaels. 10 Solutions to Stress: How to Tame Tension & Start Enjoying Your Life. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 2007.
