Homeschool Friday - The Children's Book of Virtues

Homeschool Friday is a feature here at Somewhere Only We Know that showcases books my family reads during homeschool and provides a mini-review for each.

The Children's Book of Virtues

Edited By: William J. Bennett

Illustrated By: Michael Hague

Publication: October 1, 1995 by Simon & Schuster

112 pages

Genre: Children's, Classics, Philosophy, Short Stories, Picture Book

Source: Personal Library

( Goodreads | Amazon )

*Note: The above link to Amazon is an affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--The perfect companion to William J. Bennett's number-one bestseller; The Book of Virtues, The Children's Book of Virtues is the ideal storybook for parents and children to enjoy together:

With selections from The Book of Virtues, from Aesop and Robert Frost to George Washington's life as well as Native American and African folklore, The Children's Book of Virtues brings together timeless stories and poems from around the world.

The stories have been chosen especially for a young audience to help parents introduce to their children the essentials of good character: Courage, Perseverance, Responsibility, Work, Self-discipline, Compassion, Faith, Honesty, Loyalty, and Friendship.

Lavishly illustrated by the well-known artist Michael Hague, these wonderful stories and the virtues they illustrate come to life on these pages.

The Children's Book of Virtues is an enduring treasury of literature and art that will help lead young minds toward what is noble and gentle and fine.

I decided that my children needed a course on manners, and since we homeschool, I could easily incorporate manners into our daily study time. I pieced together my own "unit" on the subject. And even though we're *one week shy of finishing the school year, I still plan to incorporate manners study into our next year as well. This might end up being an ongoing unit. The unit that never ends. All of that to say, I got The Children's Book of Virtues to go with our manners unit in our homeschool.

This is a book that includes various stories on topics covering courage and perseverance, responsibility, work and self-discipline, compassion and faith, and honesty, loyalty, and friendship. The selections are pulled from Aesop, Robert Frost, George Washington's life, and even Native American and African folklore. The stories and poems included are all informative about the good character we all need to develop. Many of these stories are familiar to me from my childhood as well.

And so often we learn so much from stories. Including good stories with good moral character and moral lessons helps to build us up and strengthen our ethics. Reading these types of stories to your children will pay dividends down the road.

The Children's Book of Virtues almost feels like a staple for any library of a family with young children. Including stories with good morals and life lessons into our children's daily life will help them grow in these areas as they see from outside themselves. The Children's Book of Virtues gets 5 Stars. Have you or your child read The Children's Book of Virtues? What did you think? Let me know!

*This review was written in May 2025, but not posted on my blog until later.