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With selections 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, written by William J. Bennette is dedicated to teaching children about virtues such as courage, perseverance, loyalty, and faith. I thought the content is noteworthy as it focuses on character building. These virtues establish family norms in society and help citizens gain the social respect of their peers. It promotes civil obedience and the responsibilities that citizens have to themselves and to their fellow citizens. For example, the poem on “Kindness to Animals” promotes the rights of animals as it teaches children to consider all creatures as members of a world that we share. The poem teaches children to be kind to all living creatures. I particularly liked the fact that it incorporated different faiths. “The Sermon to the Birds” is about the Catholic Italian St. Francis, “The Honest Disciple” is a Jewish folktake. I particularly enjoyed “A Child’s Prayer” since I thought parents could use it to teach little children to pray before they go to sleep at night. Religious schools maybe particularly interested in this volume. I also thought the art work was a great asset to the content. The colors are traditional pastels, and there is innocence to the caricatures displayed.
Age: 2 and up ( )

No book collection would be complete without The Children's Book of Virtues (and poems) illustrated for younger children. Included are The Pasture, by Robert Frost, Over in the Meadow, by Olive Wadsworth, and God Make My Life a Little Light by M. Edwardsthat. Children will identify with these moral stories of truth and compassion. ( )

This children's edition of the classic Book of Virtues offers a wide variety of writing that is perfect for reading aloud to children. The illustrations in this collection are phenomenal, and the different types of writing in this collection will allow children to think about what it means to be virtuous. ( )