Today, Paul Taylor joins me to share the children’s books he finds particularly inspiring. Paul blogs regularly on children and childcare.
5 Inspiring Children’s Books
by Paul Taylor
Teaching your children to have good character and a high morale can be a daunting task, and is one that needs to be approached from many different angles. While living your life in a way that you want your children to emulate is one of the best ways to instill good values in them, sometimes you need some outside supplementation to reinforce the messages you’re trying to send. These five books are full of inspirational messages that will teach your children the importance of having self-confidence, being accepting of others, recognizing life’s blessings, and loving unconditionally, and are lessons that will stick with them for a lifetime.
The Giving Tree
This book, written by renowned author Shel Silverstein, is about a tree that gives all that it can to a little boy. His love for the boy knows no bounds, and he eventually sacrifices himself for the boy so that he can build a boat and sail around the world. Many years later the boy returns to the tree – which is now nothing more than a stump – and the tree regretfully tells the boy that he has nothing left to give him. The boy replies that all he needs is a place to sit, and the tree is able to happily fulfill this wish. The books teaches children a lot about the sacrifices that people – especially parents – make for their kids, and is an ultimate demonstration of unwavering love.
The Little Engine That Could
At this point the story of the Little Engine That Could is one that has been retold millions of times, largely because of the message it sends. In the book there is a long and large train that needs to be pulled over a mountain. The bigger, stronger engines refuse to pull the train, and the task ultimately falls on the shoulders of a small engine, who agrees to take on the task despite his small stature. The little engine huffs and puffs his way over the mountain, all the while repeating the signature phrase, ‘I think I can. I think I can.’ He eventually is successful in pulling the train, and the story reinforces the belief that if you believe in yourself you are unstoppable, no matter what odds are stacked against you.
Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
This popular Dr. Seuss book is a great reminder that no matter how bad you may have it, there is likely someone out there who has it worse than you do, so you need to count the blessings in your life. It takes readers to a variety of characters that are stuck in unlucky situations, and provides a great lesson for kids who may complain about their own circumstances, reminding them that they probably have it much better than they think they do.
The Story of Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a bull who isn’t interested in the least in bullfighting, which flies starkly against what bulls are supposed to do. He’d much rather smell the flowers and lead a peaceful life than be provoked by matadors in a bullfighting ring. By a stroke of bad luck a bee sting sends him into a tailspin, making the matadors think that he’s perfect for bullfighting. However when he gets in the ring he refuses to fight, no matter how much they try to entice him to. They eventually send him home, where he is content to go on smelling the flowers and living in peace. This book serves as a good reminder to kids to be true to themselves and no one else, no matter who society thinks that they should become and what pressures they put on them to conform.
Love You Forever
This story starts out with a young mother who has just given birth to a baby boy. The mother loves the boy with all her heart, and throughout his life – no matter what he does or how much he grows and changes – she continues to love him unconditionally. Even after he grows up and moves out on his own, his mother still sees him as her baby boy, and still loves him unequivocally. This touching children’s book is a true testament to the unconditional love that a parent offers their child, and allows children to take a peek into the depth of love their own parents have for them.
About Paul Taylor
Paul and his wife Julie both spend quite a bit of time coming up with ideas, blogging, and researching all things related to childcare. They take care of all the necessary information related to ‘BabysittingJobs.com‘. He personally thinks his blog will help finding information on all things related to a babysitter.
Hi Paul, Terri,
These are superb recommendations. My favorite is "Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?" This book would surely let kids know that every human being is unique and has his/her own good qualities, and that each person should be appreciative and thankful for what he/she has.
The rest of the recommended books are surely awesome reads too. Thanks for the heads-up.
I agree with Jena, this is a "superb" list of recommendations. Well done! We love the story lines of each of these, timeless teachings. The number of books we own are along these lines, we enjoy a good book to learn from! We recently read A Mango in the Hand by Antonio Sacre. It's written in proverbs which lights up the conversation in our house! You should check it out at antoniosacre.com! I'd be glad to know what you thought! I think we might pull out some Ferdinand tonight!