Gratitude
Kids high in the character strength of gratitude are appreciative and thankful in daily life. Their gratitude can be expressed through words, action, gifts, self-reflection and in other ways. Research shows that practicing gratitude reduces stress and that people who practice gratitude may feel better about their lives overall, have fewer physical issues, sleep more soundly, and live longer than the average person.
Explore and spot the strength of gratitude in the children’s books curated below.
Full of thought-provoking prompts, inspiring messages, and fun fill-in-the-blanks, this gratitude journal is both fun for kids to fill out and educational in that explores why gratitude matters to them in the first place.
Author Lainie Rowell also has a podcast where she explores gratitude with guests and experts and shares way to cultivate more gratitude in ourselves and with our kids.
Artist: Lainie Rowell and Allyson Liu
Bold Gratitude
A sweet little girl celebrates her birthday and writes thank you cards to everyone around her. She is so elevated by gratitude that she continues writing cards for the community at large around her—her teacher, a woman at the thrift shop, the beautiful blue sky. My kids loved her anticipation for her birthday, appreciation for the party and gifts, the cute and charming escalation of her gratitude, and the thoughtful thanks that she received in return.
Artist: Jane Cabrera
The Thank You Letter
A little boy and his mom lose everything, but still find a way to help another who needs it. Sharing the experience of loss, compassion and connection, the story features strong and sensitive characters with deep thoughtfulness and a strong moral code.
Artist: Patricia McKissack and April Harrison
What is Given from the Heart
A boy needs a new pair of shoes and yearns for the cool brand that’s popular at school. Unfortunately, his grandmother cannot afford to buy them, having already purchased brand new snow boots for the coming winter.
Still, seeing how badly he wants the sneakers, his grandmother kindly takes him to visit a few stores around town; in a thrift shop, they get lucky and find a pair. They are a bit small, but the boy hides it, and wears it around. His perspective begins to change when he sees another kid badly in need of new shoes.
This is a well-written read that is relatable to kids and explores perspective and kindness, in addition to gratitude.
Artist: Maribeth Boelts (Author) and Noah Z. Jones (Illustrator)
Those Shoes
A young girl is frustrated by lack of money. Her family gathers together, sitting around their old worn table, and philosophizes about value. They explore how money is often an arbitrary way of calculating the value of life’s most meaningful experiences. This book may inspire kids to think deeply about what they value, and structure their goals, ideas and time around that. Recommended for older kids who are more comfortable reading longer passages of text.
The Table Where Rich People Sit
This story begins during the Cherokee New Year in the fall and shares “otsaliheliga” (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah), a word used by Cherokee people use to express gratitude. Moving from fall to winter, spring to summer, the book depicts how gratitude can be expressed through each season of the year. It’s an ode to beauty all year long, from falling leaves to warm soup in winter, gathering green onions in spring to catching crawdads in summer.
Artist: Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac
The Way to Start a Day
Our Table invites kids to think about how we connect and show gratitude daily at home. Violet is a little girl who is misses the time she used to spend with her family around the kitchen table. She finds a way to bring everyone back together and be a little more mindful of valuing one another. A good one to inspire kids to use their strengths of gratitude to inspire others and make positive change.
Artist: Peter H. Reynolds
Our Table
Written in rhyme and illustrated with spirit and charm, Thankful takes you through a joyous community, showing a range of people and the things for which they are grateful. This is a useful book in explaining what gratitude looks like in daily life. It is a good companion read with Spinelli’s wonderful Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, featured in Love.
Artist: Eileen Spinelli and Archie Preston
Thankful
A new sun rises everyday. How will you greet it? Weaving in stories of how humans have greeted the new day over time and al over the world, this story explores the connection we have with the natural world and inspires reflection, awe and quiet appreciation.
“Some people say there is a new sun every day, and that it begins its life at dawn and lives for one day only. They say you have to welcome it.”
Artist: Byrd Baylor and Peter Parnall
The Way to Start a Day
Here We Are introduces kids to thinking about our place in the world from the broad zoom of space to a fine focus on relationships and citizenship. Invites fresh thinking about how we want to live in the world, treat others and our planet. There many beautiful details on each page and opportunities to pause and marvel. Fosters gratitude toward the natural world and awe in our lucky place in all its immensity.
Artist: Oliver Jeffers
Here We Are
A little girl accepts a gift she dislikes with compassion, grace and a little strategic thinking. Receiving gifts can be exciting; the reality, however, is that it is often a stressful time for kids, too, with the pressure to be grateful, the expectations and disappointment, and the fine line between honesty and tact. I like this book because the little girl gets a gift she did not initially want but makes the most of it while modeling gratitude and coolheadedness.
Artist: Jamie L. B. Deeniham
When Grandma Gives You A Lemon Tree
Lily is moving somewhere with her grandmother. In the backseat of the car, she is anxious and unhappy. It’s unclear where she’s coming from or where she’s headed. Her grandmother calmly suggests they try to find ten beautiful things as they move through the landscape.
With feeling and lyrical detail, the story provides an authentic example of the power of mindfulness in cultivating gratitude (and other strengths). This may especially helpful for kids moving, in foster care, or weathering moments of change, and inspire your own game of “ten beautiful things.” Companion strengths may be appreciation of beauty and excellence and self-regulation.
Artist: Molly Beth Griffin (Author) and Maribel Lechuga (Illustrator)
Ten Beautiful Things
Joseph is an appreciative and generous kid full of enthusiasm for food and community. He and his mom formerly lived at a crowded refugee camp that teemed with togetherness at mealtime. Their new apartment is quiet and empty, and he is eager to build a new community to eat and share food with. According to David DeSteno, of Emotional Success: The Power of Gratitude, Compassion and Pride, via Character Lab, gratitude is “not only a great virtue but the parent of all other virtues… when you feel gratitude, it makes you more generous.” This is a strength that can also foster love and kindness. Joseph is a character who is likely high in gratitude and, with his infectious enthusiasm around food, models awareness of the goodness and meaning in his life.
Artist: Terry Farish, OD Bonny (Authors) and Ken Daley (Illustrator)
A Feast for Joseph
