I believe that helping our students learn to stand up for what is right and have the courage to act with strong values when needed is an important part of our job in the upper elementary classroom. This past summer, I felt compelled to re-evaluate my go-to picture books for each theme that I teach to ensure that the books I use to teach different SEL and character education topics represent a diverse group of characters and authors. These books about bravery are perfect for a Courage-themed read aloud or courage lesson and will highlight some of my old favorites as well as newer books about bravery to make your Courage lessons and read alouds more inclusive.
Note: Links to the suggested read alouds in this post are affiliate links. This means that I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Read my full disclosure here.
PICTURE BOOKS ABOUT COURAGE
The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson* (Black, Indigenous Person of Color)
The beginning of a new school year, new teacher and new group of classmates, can bring out a lot of apprehension about fitting in. The Day You Begin is a perfect read aloud for highlighting the realization that everyone feels different for one reason or another and can find themselves feeling hesitant to step out of their comfort zone to connect with others. This book focuses on the shared feeling of being an outsider and encourages readers to be courageous and take the first step toward creating a sense of belonging.
The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade by Justin Roberts (Black, Indigenous Person of Color)
Sally is small and quiet and therefore no one really notices or pays attention to her. However, she is very observant and notices everything. Unfortunately, Sally is a witness to constant bullying and cruelty among students in her class. One day, she decides that she’s had enough of being a silent bystander and drums up the courage to speak out against the behavior. This picture book is a fantastic reminder for students that courage comes in all shapes and sizes.
Brave Ballerina: The Story of Janet Collins (Who Did It First?) by Michelle Meadows* (Black, Indigenous Person of Color)
This picture book biography tells the story of Janet Collins, growing up in the 1930s and 40s when racial segregation was extensive in the United States. Janet had her heart set on being a dancer but was repeatedly turned away from discriminatory dance schools because of her skin color. However, she worked hard and was very talented. As a teenager, she was accepted into a prestigious dance school, on the condition that she paint her skin white for performances. Janet courageously refused and continued to chase her dream. She eventually became the first African American principal dancer at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Say Something by Peggy Moss (Black, Indigenous People of Color, People of Color)
This important picture book focuses on the role of silent bystanders in bullying situations. The main character in the story sees bullying taking place in her school and although it bothers her, she does nothing because she isn’t involved. Then one day she realizes that being a silent bystander isn’t right and she needs to work up the courage to support the kid that is being mistreated. Say Something is an excellent catalyst to discussions about courage, compassion, and taking a stance.
Wings by Christopher Myers* (Black, Indigenous Person of Color)
Ikarus Jackson, a new student, moves to the block and shocks his neighbors when he flies above the rooftops. At first neighbors begin to quietly question Ikarus, but they quickly move to taunt and ostracize him. However, the narrator, a girl who is also not widely accepted by others, doesn’t think the flying boy is strange. As the shunning behaviors against the boy mount, the girl musters up the courage to stand up for the flying boy in front of taunting onlookers.
Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker (Asian-American)
This picture book is based in China in 1958 during the “Sparrow War”. When her country’s leader, frustrated with the sparrows for eating all the grain from farmers’ fields, declares a war on the sparrows to eradicate them, Ming-Li is heartbroken. Ming-Li objects and points out that getting rid of the sparrows will create great problems. However, she is silenced. Ming-Li courageously decides to secretly create a bird refuge and eventually becomes a hero when the pests and insects are getting out of control because of the lack of birds. Sparrow Girl is a wonderful example of courage and proof that one individual can make a big impact.
Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai* (Person of Color)
Malala Yousafzai grew up in Pakistan yearning for a magic pencil that could erase any problem, from little problems like keeping her brothers out of her room to big problems like war, poverty, hunger, and gender inequalities. However, as Malala gets older she begins to realize that these problems can’t be solved with magic, but by relying on her courage to use her words and actions to bring about change. One day when “powerful and dangerous men” try to ban girls from going to school, she boldly speaks up. She was shot and nearly died for speaking out for what is right. This story of the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize embodies courage and perseverance and would be a fantastic choice to spark some powerful discussions.
Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh* (Person of Color)
This picture book tells the inspiring story of the Mendez family who moved from Mexico to California. When they tried to enroll in the neighborhood school, they were denied and directed to the Mexican school instead. After their concerns about Mexican families being forced to attend a separate school went unresolved with the school board, they organized the Hispanic community and filed a lawsuit in federal district court. Eventually, the Mendez family’s efforts helped to bring an end to segregated schools in California.
The Whispering Town by Jennifer Elvgren
Annet and her family live in a small town in Denmark that is occupied by the Nazis. They are part of the Danish resistance and courageously hide Jews in their cellar while they wait for their escape by boat to Sweden. Annet helps her mother gather additional food and books for the “new friends” hiding in their cellar. The hushed exchanges back and forth inspire Annet to create a whispering chain to help the Jews find their way to the harbor for their escape on a moonless night.
Courage Unit
Help students recognize their inner strength, embrace new challenges, be assertive, and face difficulties with resilience!
Implementing SEL just got so much easier! 25 days of lesson plans, suggested read alouds, student notebooks, and a courage-focused bulletin board ready to print and teach!
NEED MORE RESOURCES AND DONE-FOR-YOU COURAGE ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS?
If you’re looking for ideas on how to use classroom time to develop students’ courage skills, check out these other resources you may be interested in:
- Courage Activities and Lessons for the Classroom—learn about the 4 types of everyday courage and find many ideas for teaching students about courage
- Teaching Assertiveness Skills to Upper Elementary Students
- The Courageous Sheet of Paper—a quick demonstration that is easy to implement and leaves a lasting impression of the power we have to show courage, even when we feel small or weak.
- Complete Courage SEL Unit for upper elementary—this unit includes 25 days of editable lesson plans, suggested read alouds, student notebooks, Google slides for students and teacher, and a courage bulletin board to help your unit make a lasting impression!
A NOTE ABOUT DIVERSITY IN READ ALOUDS
In my quest to maintain an inclusive collection of picture books, I relied heavily on research from The Conscious Kid, “an education, research, and policy organization dedicated to equity and promoting healthy racial identity development in youth.” The Conscious Kid has created “a curated list of teacher-facing materials and evaluation criteria to affirm and reflect students’ identities and to help facilitate important conversations about equity, racism, and belonging.”
The Conscious Kid has 14 helpful guidelines and questions to consider when selecting inclusive books. I found the guidelines to be extremely helpful and enlightening. I recommend checking out the entire 9-page document, but I thought I’d highlight some of the guidelines to note in reference to themes like growth mindset, perseverance, intrinsic motivation, goal setting, and courage:
- Watch for Invisibility: Having an absence or minimal portrayal of different groups teaches young people about their perceived worth by showing whose stories and lives are worthy of being celebrated (Many of the books in this list do this!)
- Support Counter Stories: Include texts that oppose deficit narratives of people of color and that instead center the knowledge and experiences of marginalized groups
- Beware of tokenism in books: Avoid books that only show “one” person of a given group
- Foster healthy racial identity: Counter whiteness as the norm or definition of success; avoid books where characters only succeed when conforming to white values or norms
- Choose social justice books: Push back against embedded biases and reinforced values of sexism, racism, or ableism
- Consider the author’s background: Choose books written by authors who are members of the community they write about (These have been noted in the list)
- Seek out specificity: Avoid books that generalize experiences of race, culture, or ethnicity and instead select books that provide specific and nuanced experiences (Many of the books in this recommended list CENTER a person of a marginalized race, culture, or ethnicity and give us SPECIFIC insight into their experiences).
WHERE TO FIND MORE SUGGESTIONS TO ADD DIVERSITY TO YOUR BOOK COLLECTIONS
I am very appreciative of the following teachers and websites who do the hard work of sharing the importance of representing diversity and inclusivity in their picture book recommendations.
Jillian Fine-Heiss’s #classroombookaday Facebook Group
We Need Diverse Books on Instagram
The Conscious Kid on Instagramand Facebook
Click here for all of my blog posts for recommended read alouds
I hope these suggested read alouds and books about courage give you some new ideas and new energy that will help you continue to build and grow your classroom community!
Grab Your First SEL Morning Meeting Unit
Build the classroom community you’ve dreamed of with year-long, interconnected units that prevent behavior problems instead of just reacting to them. I’d love to get you started with the Sense of Belonging unit.
