Best Life Lessons Told in Children’s Stories
Best Life Lessons Told in Children’s Stories
The stories we read make us who we are, and the stories we tell impact those who hear and read them. As children, we are read stories that shape us, that define our integrity and our social and moral fiber. Sometimes, it’s nice to reflect on the stories that made us who we are today, which is why we have a list of the best life lessons told in children’s stories.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
In The Giving Tree, a lonely little boy befriends a tree. In his youth, the boy eats the trees apples and swings on the tree, as he matures and has less time for the tree, the boy visits less and less frequently and often only to take from the tree. It is not until the tree has been reduced to a stump, unable to give any more, and the boy has matured into an old man that he realizes that all he wants is a place to sit being too weak and old to eat apples, to swing, or to climb. He sits, and the tree is happy.
Lesson: There is great joy in giving and loving without contingency or condition. The tree and the boy have an undeniable parent/child relationship where the child does not learn to value unconditional love and kindness until it is nearly too late for both of them, so the story is also one that reminds us to always show gratitude to those who give in love.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Alexander knows he’s going to have a terrible day from the onset of the book, and when his day does indeed go awry in every possible way from tripping on his skateboard to soaking his sweater to not getting the prize in the cereal box (phew, and that’s just getting him through breakfast), Alexander eventually vows to move to Australia in the hopes of a better life. It’s hilarious for the reader…not so much for Alexander.
Lesson: First, the reality is that some days are going to suck; Murphy’s Law will prevail, and you’re not going to be king of your mountain. But what’s more, this book teaches that our attitudes influence our perception and experiences. Alexander was his own worst self-fulfilled prophecy. He predicted he’d have a crappy day, so he did. The other truth here is the grass isn’t going to be greener. The accents might be better in Australia, but Aussies have bad days, too. Sorry, kids.
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
An old-fashioned stuffed toy rabbit made with velveteen is given to a young boy for Christmas. The neglected rabbit wants nothing more than to be real; the wizened skinned rocking horse in the boy’s nursery tells the rabbit that it is only through a child’s love that things become real. When the boy’s nanna gives him the rabbit to sleep with, the velveteen rabbit soon becomes the boy’s favorite and most beloved toy. His love and companionship wear down the velveteen, and the rabbit becomes increasingly worn.
When the boy gets scarlet fever, the rabbit comforts him as he recovers, but because of the nature of the boy’s illness, all of his things must be burnt. The rabbit is cast away for disposal. A magical fairy finds the rabbit and promises to make him real because he has become real to the boy who loves him. The next spring, the recovered boy sees the real rabbit and seems to recognize his beloved velveteen rabbit.
Lesson: Love brings us to life; love makes us real. Love sees past the surface and allows us to see and to be seen.
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
In this short but significant book, a boy named Max dresses as a wolf and is so chaotic that he’s sent to bed without supper. Once he’s alone, his bedroom transforms into a jungle, and Max ends up sailing to an island of “Wild Things”. Adventurous Max intimidates the creatures and becomes king of the Wild Things. As he plays, Max begins to feel lonely and decides to return home where a hot supper awaits.
Lesson: Our imaginations can transport us if we allow them, but also it teaches that there really is not place like “home” and that all of us, no matter how wild at heart, need love, nurturing, and companionship.
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Goodnight Moon
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter
Olivia by Ian Falconer
The Lion
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Lion
The Ramona Series by Beverly Cleary
Ramona series
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Charlotte’s Web
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
The Lion
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
The Lion
Matilda by Roald Dahl
When the extraordinarily bright Matilda discovers telekinetic powers, she leverages them to overthrow the brutally cruel headmistress of her school in order to provide a happier life to her kind, beloved teacher, Miss Honey, who she ultimately lives with in order to escape her neglectful and verbally abusive parents.
Lesson: Life is unfair; we all have hardships, but those should never define us nor inhibit us from doing the best we can to do good for others in this world.
Oh the Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss
The Cat in the Hat (or Oh the places You Will Go)
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
The Lion
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
The Lion
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
Love You Forever tells the story of a mother who has a baby and who watches that baby grow into a destructive toddler, a rebellious teenager, and a respectable man and father in his own right. Throughout the story, the mother cradles her son at night, the refrain echoing, “I love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.” The story ends with the son going to visit his venerable mother, holding her frail body in his arms, and saying, “I love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I’m living, my mommy you’ll be.” The story was written after the author and his wife had two stillborn babies.
Lesson: Love transcends time and space and our impact on someone’s life can be eternally profound and significant, regardless the duration physically in that person’s presence.
The Frog and Toad Collection by Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad are Friends
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The Lion
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
The Lion
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
The Lion
Miss Nelson is Missing by James Marshall
The Lion
Amy Delcambre
Amy is a creative nonfiction writer and editor with over a decade of professional writing and editing experience in technical writing, content marketing, travel writing, memoir and creative nonfiction essay writing, and contemporary fiction. She has worked for multiple companies including The Storyteller Agency, Vertical Measures, Compass Media, and Madden Media to name a few. Amy’s writing has been published on countless websites and in various collections.
Amy serves as co-president for the Mobile Writers Guild and as a member-at-large for the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA). Amy is also a member of the Authors Guild, the ACES: The Society for Editing, and the Alabama Writers’ Conclave. In addition to her writing activities Amy is a part-time professor of English for the University of South Alabama and for the University of Phoenix Online. She routinely teaches courses in literature, composition, writing for social media, fiction writing, and creative nonfiction. Amy holds a Master’s in creative writing from the University of South Alabama and in publishing from George Washington University.
Amy is a work-at-home widowed mom of three young daughters and one angel son. Much of Amy’s writing revolves around the chaos, confusion, and crocodile tears of navigating work and child-rearing as a solo act; however, Amy remains eternally optimistic about life and the beauty of this world as she processes her grief and helps her daughters navigate theirs.
When she isn’t writing, Amy is an avid outdoor fitness enthusiast. She loves running, biking, swimming, and kayaking and engages in at least one of those activities every day. Amy is also a passionate home cook and culinary gardener. Like most writers, Amy is a reader who gets her literary fix on the fly through audiobooks, which she listens to while cooking, cleaning, exercising, folding endless piles of laundry...whatever it takes. Like most work-at-home moms, Amy is trying to strike the right balance between slowing down and taking it easy, and “having it all”. The results are entertaining if nothing else.
Read more of Amy’s writing at:
Her personal website, www.amydelcambre.ink
Her website dedicated to processing losing her son: www.letterstojude.com
Her editing website, www.creativeeditingservices.com
Follow Amy on Facebook @amysdwriter and @creativeeditingservices and @travelingwithstories.
Follow Amy on Instagram @amy.s.d_writer and @travelingwithstories and @creativeeditingservices
