The Top Social Emotional Learning Books for Kids

Social emotional learning books should be a requirement in every classroom. Children love read alouds and when an important life skill can be incorporated with a good story-this is when the magic happens!

Social emotional learning is the process in which kids are learning how to understand and manage their emotions, set goals, show empathy for others, establish positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

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The following list of books are organized by character trait. Also, be sure to check out the character trait units in our Social Emotional Curriculum!

Respect

• A Chair for my Mother by: Vera B. Williams
• All are Welcome Here by: Alexandra Penfold
• Be Bigger by: Colleen Doyle Bryant
• Berenstain Bears Show Some Respect by: Jan & Mike Berenstain
• The Bicycle Man by: Allen Say
• Do Unto Otters by: Laurie Keller
• Great Joy by: Kate DiCamillo
• How Full is your Bucket for Kids by: Tom Rath & Mary Reckmeyer
• I Can’t Believe you Said That by: Julia Cook
• I Just Don’t Like the Sound of No by: Julia Cook
• Interrupting Chicken by: David Ezra Stein
• Kindness Starts with You by: Jacquelyn Stagg
• Matilda by: Roald Dahl
• The Recess Queen by: Alexis O’Neill
• Rulers of the Playground by: Joseph Kuefler
• That Rule Doesn’t Apply to Me by: Julia Cook
• The Way I Act by: Steve Metzger

Responsibility

• Alexander, Who Used to be Rich Last Saturday by: Judith Viorst
• Arthur’s Pet Business by: Marc Brown
• Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room by: Stan & Jan Berenstain
• Berenstain Bears: Blame Game by: Stan & Jan Berenstain
• But It’s Not My Fault by: Julia Cook
• The Emperor’s Egg by: Martin Jenkins
• How do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms? by: Jane Yolen
• I Just Forgot by: Mercer Mayer
• I Just Want to do it My Way by: Julia Cook
• It’s Not My Fault by: Nancy Carlson
• Miss Nelson is Missing by: Harry Allard
• The Paperboy by: Dav Pilkey
• The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by: Mo Willems
• Pigsty by: Mark Teague
• Responsibility by: Cynthia Roberts
• Saving Shadow by: Sanders Dokas & Dara Lynn
• Stanley and the Class Pet by: Barney Saltzberg
• Strega Nona by: Tomie dePaola
• What Should Danny Do? by: Ganit & Adir Levy
• William and the Guinea Pig by: Gill Rose

Honesty

• A Bike Like Sergio’s by: Maribeth Boelts
• The Berenstain Bears and the Truth by: Stan & Jan Berenstain
• The Big Fat Enormous Lie by: Marjorie Weinman Sharmat & David McPhail
• The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot by: Scott Magoon
• Doug-Dennis and the Flyaway Fib by: Darren Farrell
• Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big by: Berkeley Breathed
• Eli’s Lie-O-Meter: A Story about Telling the Truth by: Patricia McKissack
• The Empty Pot by: Demi
• The Honest-to-Goodness Truth by: Patricia McKissack
• Howard Wigglebottom and the Monkey on His Back by: Howard Binkow
• I Want my Hat Back by: Jon Klassen
• Jackalope by: Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel
• Let’s Be Honest by: P.K. Hallinan
• Liar, Liar by: Gary Paulsen
• Lying Up a Storm by: Julia Cook
• Molly the Great Tell the Truth by: Shelley Marshall and Ben Mahan
• Pinky Promise: A Book About Telling the Truth by: Vanita Braver
• Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by: Laura Rankin
• Sam Tells Stories by: Thierry Robberecht
• Victory Vault by: Jake Maddox

Kindness

• A Sick Day for Amos McGee by: Philip C. Stead
• Be Kind by: Pat Zietlow Miller
• Because Amelia Smiled by: David Ezra Stein
• The Bicycle Man by: Allen Say
• Grumpy Bird by: Jeremy Tankard
• How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? by: Jane Yolen
• How Full is Your Bucket for Kids by: Tom Rath & Mary Reckmeyer
• How Kind by: Mary Murphy
• I Walk Vanessa by: Kerascoet
• If you Plant a Seed by: Kadir Nelson
• The Invisible String by: Patrice Karst
• The Jelly Donut Difference by: Maria Dismondy
• Mine by: Shutta Crum
• Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by: Emily Pearson
• Pass It On by: Sophy Henn
• Stick and Stone by: Beth Ferry
• Superheroes Club by: Madeleine Sherak
• We’re All Wonders by: R. J. Palacio
• Superbuns by: Diane Kredensor

Self Control & Self Regulation

• Clark the Shark by: Bruce Hale
• Click, Clack, Quack to School by: Doreen Cronin
• David Gets in Trouble by: David Shannon
• I Can Handle It by: Laurie Wright
• It’s Hard to be a Verb by: Julia Cook
• Katie loves the Kittens by: John Himmelman
• Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker by: Christianne C. Jones
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by: Kevin Henkes
• My Mouth is a Volcano by: Julia Cook
• No, David by: David Shannon
• Of Course, It’s a Big Deal by: Bryan Smith
• Oh No, George by: Chris Haughton
• Percy Gets Upset by: Stuart J. Murphy
• Sometimes I’m Bombaloo by: Rachel Vail
• The Bad Seed by: Jory John
• Throwing Tantrums by: Joy Wilt Berry
• Tyrannosaurus Wrecks by: Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen
• We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by: Ryan T. Higgins
• You Will Be My Friend by: Peter Brown

Perseverance

• After I Fall by: Dan Santat
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by: Judith Viorst
• Argyle Fox by: Marie Letourneau
• The Book of Mistakes by: Corinna Luyken
• Dog Breath by: Dav Pilkey
• Emmanuel’s Dream by: Laurie Ann Thompson
• Giraffes Can’t Dance by: Giles Andreae
• I Am So Brave by: Steven Krensky
• I Will Be Okay by: Ms. Laurie N. Wright
• Jabari Jumps by: Gaia Cornwall
• Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster by: Michelle Nelson-Schmidt
• Let’s Go For a Drive by: Mo Willems
• Life by: Cynthia Rylant
• The Most Magnificent Thing by: Ashley Spires
• Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still by: Karlin Gray
• Pete the Cat- I Love my White Shoes by: Eric Litwin
• Salt in His Shoes by: Deloris Jordan
• Sunday Chutney by: Aaron Blabey
• The Dot by: Peter H. Reynolds
• There Might Be Lobsters by: Carolyn Crimi
• The Thing That Lou Couldn’t Do by: Ashley Spires
• Too Shy for Show-and-Tell by: Beth Bracken
• When Charlie McButton Lost Power by: Suzanne Collins
• Wilma Jean the Worry Machine by: Julia Cook

Empathy

• All Are Welcome by: Alexandra Penfold & Suzanne Kaufman
• Amazing Grace by: Mary Hoffman
• Chocolate Milk, Por Favor by: Maria Dismondy
• Chrysanthemum by: Kevin Henkes
• Hey Little Ant by: Philip and Hannah Hoose
• The Hundred Dresses by: Eleanor Estes
• I Am Human- A Book of Empathy by: Susan Verde
• The Invisible Boy by: Trudy Ludwig & Patrice Barton
• Last Stop on Market Street by: Matt De La Pena
• Madeline Finn and the Library Dog by: Lisa Papp
• The Monster Who Lost His Mean by: Tiffany Strelitz Haber
• My Many Colored Days by: Dr. Seuss
• Stick and Stone by: Beth Ferry
• Those Shoes by: Maribeth Boelts
• Through Grandpa’s Eyes by: Patricia MacLachlan
• The Wall by: Eve Bunting
• What’s Wrong with Timmy by: Maria Shriver

Cooperation

• A House in the Woods by: Inga Moore
• Bat’s Big Game by: Margaret Read MacDonald
• The Brownstone by: Paula Scher
• Colors versus Shapes by: Mike Boldt
• Duck and Goose by: Tad Hills
• Duck in the Truck by: Jez Alborough
• Frankie by: Mary Sullivan
• Franklin Plays the Game by: Paulette Bourgeois
• The Little Red Fort by: Brenda Maier
• The Little Red Hen by: Lucinda McQueen
• Mine by: Jeff Mack
• No, David by: David Shannon
• Officer Buckle and Gloria by: Peggy Rathman
• Please Please the Bees by: Gerald Kelley
• Prince and Pirate by: Charlotte Gunnufson
• Red & Yellow’s Noisy Night by: Josh Selig

Self-Confidence

• A Bad Case of Stripes by: David Shannon
• The Book of Mistakes by: Corinna Luyken
• Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie by: Jennifer Berne
• The Dot by: Peter H. Reynolds
• Giraffes Can’t Dance by: Giles Andreae
• The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by: Mark Pett
• I am Enough by: Grace Byers
• I Am So Brave by: Steven Krensky
• I Can Handle It (Mindful Mantras) by: Ms Laurie Wright and Ms Ana Santos
• I like Myself by: Karen Beaumont
• Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster by: Michelle Nelson-Schmidt
• The Kissing Hand by: Audrey Penn
• Not Quite Narwal by: Jessie Sima
• Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by: Eric Litwin
• The Shiny Bee Who Felt Out of Place by: Natalie Meraki
• Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by: Patty Lovell
• Tacky the Penguin by: Helen Lester
• Today I Feel Silly, And Other Moods That Make My Day by: Jamie Lee Curtis
• Wemberly Worried by: Kevin Henkes
• When You are Brave by: Pat Zietlow Miller
• Wilma Jean the Worry Machine by: Julia Cook, Illustrated by Anita Dufalla

Compassion

• A Sick Day for Amos McGee by: Philip C. Stead
• Arnie and the New Kid by: Nancy Carlson
• Be Kind by: Pat Zietlow Miller
• Come With Me by: Holly M. McGhee
• Each Kindness by: Jacqueline Woodson
• Emma and the Whale by: Julie Case
• Firenze’s Light by: Jessica Collaço and Angela Li
• The Friendship Puzzle by: Julie L. Coe
• Hooway for Wodney Wat by: Helen Lester
• Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores by: James Howe
• The Invisible Boy by: Trudy Ludwig
• Little Blue Truck by: Alice Schetyle
• Lost and Found Cat by: Doug Kuntz and Amy Shrodes
• My Brother Charlie by: Holly Robinson Peete and Ryan Elizabeth Peete
• My Many Colored Days by: Dr. Seuss
• Otis and the Scarecrow by: Laren Long
• The Rabbit Listened by: Cori Doerrfeld
• Save Me a Seat by: Sarah Weeks
• Sumi’s First Day of School Ever by: Soyung Pak
• Under the Lemon Moon by: Edith Hope Fine
• We’re All Wonders by: R.J. Palacio
• Wonder by: R.J. Palacio
• Yoko by: Rosemary Wells

Gratitude

• All the World by: Liz Garton Scanlon
• An Awesome Book of Thanks by: Dan Clayton
• Bear Says Thanks by: Karma Wilson
• Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by: Dr. Suess
• The Giving Tree by: Shel Silverstein
• Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks by: John Buccino
• Gratitude Soup by: Olivia Rosewood
• I’m Thankful by: Terri-Sue Hill
• I’m Thankful Each Day! by: P.K. Hallinan
• It Could Always Be Worse by: Margot Zamach
• Just So Thankful by: Mercer Mayer
• Last Stop on Market Street by: Matt De La Pena
• Let’s Be Thankful by: P.K. Hallinan
• Rubber Shoes by: Gladys Barbieri
• Secret of Saying Thanks by: Douglas Wood
• Should I Share My Ice Cream? by: Mo Willems
• Splat Says Thank You! by: Rob Scotton
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by: William Steig
• The Thank You Book by: Mo Willems
• Thankful by: Eileen Spinelli
• The Thankful Book by: Todd Parr
• The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings by: Stan Berenstain
• Those Shoes by: Maribel Boelts

Manners

• Achoo! by: Mij Kelly
• Clifford’s Manners by: Norman Bridwell
• Do Unto Otters by: Laurie Keller
• Dude, That’s Rude! by: Pamela Espeland
• May I Please Have a Cookie? by: Jennifer Morris
• The Monsters’ Monster by: Patrick McDonnell
• Penguin Says Please by Michael Dahl
• Rude Cakes by: Rowboat Watkins
• Rules of the Wild by: Bridget Levin
• Time to Say Please by: Mo Willems

Friendship

• A Sick Day for Amos McGee by: Philip C. Stead
• Grumpy Bird by: Jeremy Tankard
• How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? by: Jane Yolen
• How to Lose All Your Friends by: Nancy Carlson
• The Invisible Boy by: Trudy Ludwig
• Llama Llama Time to Share by: Anna Dewdney
• The Monster at Recess by: Shira Potter
• The Rainbow Fish by: Marcus Pfister
• Rules of the Playground by: Joseph Kuefler
• Stick and Stone by: Beth Ferry

Browse the entire SEL Curriculum with one click!

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