Looking for the best children’s books about honesty? These picture books on lying and telling the truth for elementary students are engaging for primary and upper elementary kids. Books with lesson plans and activities linked. Picture books about various topics such as being honest, being authentic, gossip and lies, and more for your kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth or fifth grade students. Your students will delight in these classic and brand new books!
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Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
While riding the subway home from the pool with his abuela one day, Julián notices three women spectacularly dressed up. Their hair billows in brilliant hues, their dresses end in fishtails, and their joy fills the train car. When Julián gets home, daydreaming of the magic he’s seen, all he can think about is dressing up just like the ladies in his own fabulous mermaid costume: a butter-yellow curtain for his tail, the fronds of a potted fern for his headdress. But what will Abuela think about the mess he makes — and even more importantly, what will she think about how Julián sees himself? Mesmerizing and full of heart, Jessica Love’s author-illustrator debut is a jubilant picture of self-love and a radiant celebration of individuality.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Julian is a Mermaid HERE
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Mr. Peabody’s Apples by Madonna
A boy learns a lesson about the destructive power of gossip.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Mr. Peabody’s Apples HERE
Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford
What if the truth of a great tragedy was covered up for years? Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation’s history. The book traces the history of African Americans in Tulsa’s Greenwood district and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the Black community.
News of what happened was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years. This picture book sensitively introduces young readers to this tragedy and concludes with a call for a better future.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Unspeakable HERE
A Bike Like Sergio’s by Maribeth Boelts
Finders keepers, right? When Ruben picks up someone’s lost money, he finds out how hard it can be to do the right thing.
Ruben feels like he is the only kid without a bike. His friend Sergio reminds him that his birthday is coming, but Ruben knows that the kinds of birthday gifts he and Sergio receive are not the same. After all, when Ruben’s mom sends him to Sonny’s corner store for groceries, sometimes she doesn’t have enough money for everything on the list. So when Ruben sees a dollar bill fall out of someone’s purse, he picks it up and puts it in his pocket. But when he gets home, he discovers it’s not one dollar or even five or ten—it’s a hundred-dollar bill, more than enough for a new bike just like Sergio’s! But what about the crossed-off groceries? And what about the woman who lost her money?
Get the lesson plan and activities for A Bike Like Sergio’s HERE
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code by Joseph Bruchac
What if you were a hero but could not tell anyone the truth that you were? As a young Navajo boy, Chester Nez had to leave the reservation and attend boarding school, where he was taught that his native language and culture were useless. But Chester refused to give up his heritage. Years later, during World War II, Chester―and other Navajo men like him―was recruited by the US Marines to use the Navajo language to create an unbreakable military code. Suddenly the language he had been told to forget was needed to fight a war. This powerful picture book biography contains backmatter including a timeline and a portion of the Navajo code, and also depicts the life of an original Navajo code talker while capturing the importance of heritage.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code HERE
Teach Us Your Name by Huda Essa
What if you were too embarrassed to be honest, but not telling the truth means hating who you are? Embracing the diversity of our names is one of the first steps we can take to show our appreciation of diversity and inclusion. Everyone has a name and every name has a story. Teach Us Your Name focuses on the many stories and ways we can all connect by helping children take pride in their many identities and to utilize the opportunity to learn from others. This book lends itself to countless invaluable discussions about cultural norms, languages, unconscious bias, and much more. Most of all, Teach Us Your Name is focused on showing respect for ourselves and all others.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Teach Us Your Name HERE
I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
The bear’s hat is gone, and he wants it back. Patiently and politely, he asks the animals he comes across, one by one, whether they have seen it. Each animal says no, some more elaborately than others. But just as the bear begins to despond, a deer comes by and asks a simple question that sparks the bear’s memory and renews his search with a vengeance. A hilarious book about what might happen if you are dishonest.
Get the lesson plan and activities for I Want My Hat Back HERE
They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel
What if the truth is subjective? The cat walked through the world, with its whiskers, ears, and paws . . . In this glorious celebration of observation, curiosity, and imagination, Brendan Wenzel shows us the many lives of one cat, and how perspective shapes what we see. When you see a cat, what do you see?
Get the lesson plan and activities for They All Saw a Cat HERE
Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Pena
What if what you think is the truth, isn’t actually true? Milo thinks he knows things about other people in his world. It turns out, what he imagines about them isn’t always true and gives him a new perspective.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Milo Imagines the World HERE
Best Children’s Books About Honesty
What are some of your favorite children’s books about honesty? Are there any must read children’s books about honesty that I left out? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it!
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