One of my greatest goals of parenting was to train my kids in godly character. There are many ways our kids learn character, and one is through the influence of others. Character building books can be a positive influence on our kids by giving them Godly role models, and shaping their view of integrity, courage, obedience, etc.
There is also the negative influence that wrong books can have. Many of the books written for kids (including Christian fiction) send the wrong signal to our kids. For example, some convey that it is normal for kids to disobey or disrespect their parents, while others portray sibling squabbles as a normal everyday thing.
I don’t know about you, but my kids didn’t need any encouragement to be unkind to each other, or to be disobedient! I would prefer they read books where the kids are obedient, kind to each other, etc.
Many of you have asked me for a list of good character building books for your family, so today I’m going to share some that our family loved. We used these for reading aloud, or gave them to the kids as gifts, or even for assigned reading.
These are books that will help our kids learn character traits such as courage, dependability, honesty,persistence, purity, and self-control.
Little Journeys Into Storyland
The Secret At Pheasant Cottage
Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories – I absolutely LOVE all of this books in this series, and my kids loved them too!
Tiger and Tom and Other Stories for Boys
The King’s Daughter and Other Stories for Girls
What are some of your favorite character building books? Please share them in the comments.
More from my site
How to Commit to Building Godly Character Over Time
Building Godly Character Intentionally 10 Day Challenge
How to Build Godly Character When You Don’t Know Where To Start
The Best Way to Use Biblical Correction To Build Godly Character
When Is Best to Build Godly Character in Your Children? It’s Never Too Early
Margaret - SheepAmongWolves says
August 2, 2016 at 6:40 amGreat list! Some I’ve heard of, but some are new to me. I’ll have to check them out. I have had a fair bit of success with Lamplighter books as well as Rod and Staff Publishing. I’ve done a few book reviews on my blog if you want to see more specifics – we hold similar values in books.
Kathie says
August 2, 2016 at 10:36 amYes, Lamplighter and Rod & Staff have good wholesome books! Thanks for sharing your list too. 🙂
Sara says
August 3, 2016 at 8:00 amGreat list! I have a bunch of avid readers and there are several on the list we haven’t tried yet.
Kathie says
August 3, 2016 at 9:25 amSara, glad to hear you got some new ideas. My kids were avid readers too, so I was always on the lookout for good books which promoted Godly character.
Raia Todd says
August 3, 2016 at 1:47 pmGreat list! I remember reading some of those as a kid. I’m going to have to find them for my kiddos, too. 🙂
Kathie says
August 3, 2016 at 6:08 pmI loved passing on some of my favorites to my kids!
Ann Marie says
August 8, 2016 at 1:45 amI looked through your list and I noticed many of the books were published nearly 100 years ago and most of the stories are set in the 19th and early 20th century. I live and work in an urban setting and I would like to find books that demonstrate strong character in a modern setting. I have not lived on a farm, though my parents grew up farmers, but now my daughter will be two generations removed. I feel as though such focus on the past and agrarian life gives the impression that there was a golden age of morality and it is incompatible with Urban 21st century life.
Wendy says
August 8, 2016 at 10:03 pmI’m commenting to let you know that this post was chosen as one of our featured favorite articles for tomorrow’s Hop post on Hip Homeschool Moms. In case you’d like to share it, the shortlink, which will go live when the Hop post goes live in the morning, is http://wp.me/p1swZe-bjz. We hope you’ll keep coming back to link up with us!
Wendy (co-owner of Hip Homeschool Moms)
Kathie says
August 9, 2016 at 8:34 amThanks Wendy!
Marta says
June 7, 2017 at 10:51 pmI loved reading “Anne of Green Gables,” “Little House on the Prairie” series, and “The Grain Brain” series. The later was written by John D. Fitzgerald. And of course “Narnia” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Kathie says
June 8, 2017 at 12:23 amThose are all great books. Thanks for sharing!
Tiffany says
October 4, 2017 at 12:56 pmTitus 2 ministries has the Moody Series (10 books) which are written for children and point them to Christ. My son has all of them through Christmas gifts, Christmas or birthday money. They talk on a homeschool perspective and we really like them.
Many on this list we haven’t read and they look really good. Thank you!
Kathie says
October 4, 2017 at 7:04 pmTiffany, thanks for suggesting those! I have never read them, but I have heard good things about them!
Laura says
October 10, 2017 at 1:33 amHi! We are traveling Europe this year so Kindle books work best for us to keep the bags light. Do you happen to have a list that indicates which of these might be available on Kindle?
Kathie says
October 10, 2017 at 9:58 amHi Laura! How exciting to be traveling to Europe. At the time I don’t have a list for Kindle books — I’ll keep that idea in the back of my mind though.
Laura says
February 1, 2019 at 5:13 amI went through and found the ones from your list that have Kindle versions, and I made a public wish list of them on amazon, in case it is helpful to others. I didn’t add every book in the ones that are series sets, as I figure the sequels will be easy to find once you have a starting point. I hope this is helpful to some other travelers!
http://a.co/j6U7ppH
Kathie says
February 1, 2019 at 12:03 pmThank you for sharing the Kindle list for others to use! Very helpful!
Ariana says
May 6, 2018 at 9:06 amIs there a place I can see what age these books are appropriate for? My oldest is 6 so i wonder if these are too old for him or if I can start reading some now. Thanks!
Kathie says
May 6, 2018 at 1:48 pmHi Ariana! I don’t have an age suggestion for these, but would say read them aloud if he isn’t able to read them yet. 🙂