The Best Children’s Books About Character Traits

Rabbit’s carrot collection has filled his burrow, so his friends offer space — and discover that one rabbit’s habit can crowd everybody out.

The Pigeon has found a hot dog, the Duckling has questions, and every question makes sharing it a little harder to avoid.

A peacock finally gets a book all to himself, only to find other characters appearing in his precious spotlight.

Pig owns every toy in sight and still cannot bear to let Trevor touch one — until the pile answers for him.

A girl finds a box of yarn that never runs out and quietly knits color into a town that has nearly forgotten it.

A black dog grows larger with every frightened report, until the smallest member of the family walks outside to meet it.

Willow prefers the quiet of her mailbox, but a boy’s undelivered request to the moon gives her a reason to step outside.

Omu shares her red stew with every neighbor who follows the smell, until the pot is empty when her own supper should begin.

Cat has become the person who always knows what her younger brother needs; one unexpected summer asks what she needs herself.

Maddie meets a brain-tumor diagnosis with fake mustaches, imagination, and a campaign to make compassion fashionable.

A boastful little dog goes looking for his lost sister as a hurricane closes in and discovers more courage than he claims to possess.

A Mars rover named Resilience is built to explore, not to feel — though curiosity and attachment keep appearing in the code.

Christina wants a place on the cheerleading squad, but the tryout tests friendship and self-command long before it tests a routine.

Two brothers arrive at their grandparents’ farm determined to prove who is brave, while their blind grandfather quietly overturns the definition.

Thirteen-year-old Koly loses the future chosen for her and must build another with skill, patience, and nerve.