6 Children’s Books That Promote Cultural Values 📖📚🧠

This year, National Story Telling Week takes place from the 30th of January to the 5th of February. In early years, many stories are shared between listener and reader daily. The intent is to empower and feed children’s imaginations, open them up to bundles of vocabulary and inspire them to have new ideas. Not only is it important to establish a regular story telling time for the whole class to participate in, but just as important are quite book corners where children can go independently to find their own love of reading, and looking at books without any distraction. 

Encourage children to create their own stories! Share them with each other. Creating props, puppets and anything you can think of to extend the experience. Stories don’t only exist in books, they exist in role play, arts, poems, songs, shows and so on. Each method of story telling is so rich in holistic development and will support children in their learning and development.

Below is a list of 6 children’s story books that we love at Hatching Dragon’s and believe that promote several cultural values such as Courtesy, Honesty, Respect, Peace/Harmony, Integrity and Loyalty.

1. Mind Your Manners by Nicola Edwards

Explores the value of Courtesy as children will enjoy learning how good manners make the world go round.

2. The Empty Pot by Demi

This story contains an important lesson about Patience, Honesty and strength within yourself.

3. What If Everybody Did That? by Ellen Javernick

The moral of this story is that our behaviours affect others. We are each responsible for making choices that positively impact our community and the value of Respect.

4. Peace Train by Cat Stevens

This story defines the message of Peace, love and hope between all people and cultures. It was first popularised as a song and has now been developed into a heart warming picture book for children.

5. One by Kathryn Otoshi

As young listeners learn about numbers and colours, along the way is also a lesson on accepting other's differences and one person’s voice can make a good impact, exploring the value of Integrity.

6. A Sick Day For Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead

This book touches upon the value of Loyalty as it discusses moral duty and healthy friendships.