Judgment
Kids high in judgment use critical thinking, logic and rationality when making decisions. Rather than jumping to conclusions, they keep an open mind to new information and are ready to change their opinions, beliefs and ideas with new information. This thinking strength supports independent thinking that fairly weighs differing evidence and perspectives, and may provide a buffer against faulty decision-making, manipulation and groupthink.
The curated selection of children’s books below feature a mix of the following: characters actively engaging this strength; characters who may be underusing and overusing this strength (e.g. being unreflective; being overly critical); and situations that may inspire and invite use of judgment. Happy reading!
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
A calm, quick-witted mouse must talk himself out of being eaten by a fox, owl and snake. It’s funny and clever and gets kids imagining how they could think themselves out of tricky situations, too.
Artist: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Lots of downloadable Gruffalo activities on the author website here.
Benjamin Bear in Fuzzy Thinking
Benjamin Bear gets you thinking. For kids who like comics, this one distills funny ideas and new perspectives in a way that is both visually entertaining and mentally stimulating.
Artist: Philippe Coudray
Publisher: Toon
Awesome free resources like a Common Core Guide, lesson plan and student activity sheet, designed by passionate literacy experts at the Toon website here. We love Toon books! My kids always find something interesting, funny or inspiringly drawn there.
Pierre the Maze Detective
Beautifully detailed and challenging puzzles with a fun story including fun characters like a ninja, samurai and polar bear. For kids who like mazes, this brings beauty and intrigue with the challenge.
Artist: Hiro Kamigaki and IC4DESIGN
The Batsford Book of Chess for Children
A how-to book that reads like a story in a fun, conversational format making it easy and enjoyable to learn chess. Two likable characters introduce each piece and explain what they can do and how they move, and walk you through the game, from opening, middle and endgame to useful tricks and tactics. Kids will also learn notation.
Chess is a great game for kids high in judgment in that it rewards critical thinking and weighing decisions from different possible angles. Like the character strength of Judgment, chess is all about logical, rational thinking.
Artist: Sabrina Chevannes
Philosophy Sucks… Kids Right In!
A collection of read aloud stories that encourage thinking about happiness, meaning, consequences, friendship, virtue, and lots more. There’s a great chart in the book that organizes recommended age levels, topics and even more recommended reads beyond this collection. This is fun to read and open-ended.
(If you’re interested in philosophizing more with kids, I also liked Nasty, Brutish, and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with My Kids, an honest account of how one law and philosophy professor explores thinking with his own kids.)
The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg
An intriguing and atmospheric mystery that gets you thinking and examining different theories and possibilities.
Solutions for Cold Feet and other little problems
A simple, funny guide to handling life’s challenges, from managing a melting ice cream cone to surviving a boring day. Inspires kids to be reflective and consider problems from different perspectives.
Artist: Carey Sookocheff
