Reading aloud children’s books to your elementary students is a great way to introduce and teach honesty. Below is a list of our favorite picture books to teach this social emotional learning topic. They all lend themselves well to facilitating rich classroom discussions around honesty. Pig the Fibber, Tiddler: The Story-Telling Fish, The Empty Pot and A Bike Like Sergio’s are part of our honesty SEL Unit, which includes interactive read aloud lesson plans among tons of other resources for teaching honesty. Learn all about these honesty children’s books below and how you can use them to teach honesty!
5 Children’s Books about Honesty
Below are 5 quality honesty children’s books for elementary teachers. Your kids will love these read alouds! They are great for teaching honesty, as well as many other concepts and skills.
1. Pig the Fibber by Aaron Blabey
Pig the Pug is the greediest of them all! He continues to break rules and get in trouble, but he blames his friend Trevor. Will Pig learn the importance of being honest by the end? My Honesty SEL bundle includes an SEL lesson based on this picture book!
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2. Tiddler: The Story-Telling Fish by Julia Donaldson
Tiddler has a big imagination and uses it to tell made-up stories to the others. One day, he is caught in a fishermen’s net, but is sent back to the ocean because he is too small. Although Tiddler finds his way back by following stories, he learns the importance of being honest. My Honesty SEL bundle includes an SEL lesson based on this picture book!
3. The Empty Pot by Demi
The third book on this list of children’s books about honesty is The Empty Pot. In this story, Ping loves flowers and everything that he plants blooms beautifully. One day, the Emperor announces that the person who will succeed him to the throne will be the one who blooms the best flower out of seeds that the Emperor gives them. Throughout the story, we learn that the seeds the Emperor gave cannot actually grow. As Ping was the only one who was honest, he is to be next on the throne. Students will learn a lesson about honesty as they read this book. My Honesty SEL bundle includes an SEL lesson based on this picture book!
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4. A Bike Like Sergio’s by Maribeth Boelts
This story is told from the point of view of Ruben, a boy who really wants a bike. Everyone else has a bike, but Ruben’s family can’t afford one. One day, he sees a woman who dropped money, and thinking it was a dollar, he kept it. It was actually $100, and he wanted to use that money to buy a bike. Eventually, he returns the money to the woman who dropped it. Ruben is proud of himself for doing the right thing. This story lends itself to teaching about honesty because Ruben is able to return the money. My Honesty SEL bundle includes an SEL lesson based on this picture book!
5. Sparky! by Jenny Offill & Chris Appelhans
The last on this list of children’s books about honesty is Sparky. This is a book about a young girl who wants a pet, and with lots of convincing, she gets to buy a sloth. She quickly learns that Sparky is slow and cannot do tricks. At the end of the story, the girl learns to appreciate Sparky for who he is and enjoy his company. Students can use their background knowledge to infer that sloths are not great pets throughout the story, making this a fun read aloud for the class! Check out these Sparky! activities!
Integrated SEL and Literacy Activities
Below are some integrated SEL and literacy resources for elementary teachers.
SEL Unit
Our Honesty Unit, which is available individually or as part of a year-long SEL bundle, includes lessons for the first four books on this list. This unit is packed with lesson plans, teaching resources, games, and activities. Click an image below to either get this individual honesty unit or get ALL 30 SEL units!
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SEL Book Companions
As I mentioned earlier, I love teaching SEL skills using picture books. That’s why I created the Starts With a Story Collection. High quality children’s literature supports elementary teachers in delivering meaningful and accessible SEL lessons. Many of the read alouds on this list are part of this book companion collection. Check out the book companions below!
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In closing, we hope you found this list of honesty read alouds helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts:
