Editorial Review
The perfect companion to William J. Bennett's number-one bestseller;
The Book of Virtues, The Children's Book of Virtues is the ideal storybook for parents and children to enjoy together:
With selections from The Book of Virtues, from Aesop and Robert Frost to George Washington's life as well as Native American and African folklore, The Children's Book of Virtues brings together timeless stories and poems from around the world.
The stories have been chosen especially for a young audience to help parents introduce to their children the essentials of good character: Courage, Perseverance, Responsibility, Work, Self-discipline, Compassion, Faith, Honesty, Loyalty, and Friendship.
Lavishly illustrated by the well-known artist Michael Hague, these wonderful stories and the virtues they illustrate come to life on these pages.
The Children's Book of Virtues is an enduring treasury of literature and art that will help lead young minds toward what is noble and gentle and fine.
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Customer Reviews
Wonderful compilation of literature with lessons 
2005-04-10
I have been looking for a great collection of stories that convey important values for quite some time. I had not been able to find anything good enough (or easy enough) for my 5 year old son to find interesting...until now.
The Children's Book of Virtues is a compilation of short stories and poems, many of which I remember from my youth. The book is well organized, with stories/poems grouped by the virtue they represent (courage, perserverence, etc.). So if I want my son to think about a particular virtue, maybe due to what happened that day, I can easily find an appropriate story in this book.
The illustrations are also so well done. They are colorful and expressive, catching my son's attention as I read to him.
Thank you for this book. I hope additional volumes may be developed.
wonderful book of virtues, beautifully illustrated 2004-09-16
My daughter (6 yo) loves this book, and I do too. The stories are entertaining and engaging, and the illustrations are wonderful.
The book hearkens back to good old-fashioned values and morals, and is completely unashamed in doing so. Mr. Bennett writes in the foreword that the process of intentionally instructing the young in virtues was done without embarrassment in our recent past. I enjoyed the frankness of the approach in this book. Each selection is headed by a summary of the lesson contained in it.
This collection includes poems, fables from Aesop, adaptations of fairy tales, and other stories from cultures around the world in order to illustrate certain virtues, such as responsibility, kindness, honesty, and good manners. The selections are of a good length to sustain the interest of a young(4 - 8 yo) child. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to inculcate good values.
I AM BIASED ALSO 
2003-09-10
I had purchased the book "The Educated Child" by Bennett for my
son and daughter-in-law shortly after my granddaughter was born.
They have been using it and I assume they like it.
I work in a bookstore in the children's department and I had been eyeing this "Book of Virtues" for some time. Not only do I think that such a book is important but Hague also happens to be one of my favorite illustrators. So on breaks at work I would read it. It is not all that I had hoped it would be, but it is good.
However, Bennett's bias politically drives me nuts which has made
me biased against purchasing this book. Added to that, his
decision to not only preach against sin but to name the names of
the sinners (in another venue) makes him something less than an
effective moralist and something more like just another loud-mouthed commentator on tv. And then to put the nail in the coffin, there is the recent revelation of his own particular downfall (gambling). Talk about people who live in glass houses!!
None of my own biases against this man has to do with the intrinsic value or lack thereof of the book. But, I have decided that I would find someone more personally worthy of informing me and my grandchild about virtues.
Great Morals, Good Stories, Well Illustrated 2000-05-19
We're on our second read through of this book of children's morality tales.
With poems, short homilies and stories, Bill Bennett entertains young children as life's good lessons are imparted. The accompanying illustrations are visually delightful.
Some of the stories, because of word usage, appeal to a slightly older audience than my four and five year olds, but they can appreciate most of the vignettes. A good book that helps parents in childhood instruction.
Children's Book of Virtues 2000-05-12
This is an excellent book to read to your young ones (4+) The stories are old yet the principles are ageless. The children will curl up and live these tales. I find myself truely enjoying this special time. When they get to six or seven I would strongly recommend moving to the Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett. The stories will sweep you and the children away. MY childrens favorite time is reading these stories. They actually ask for the book and seldom does anything else draw such smiles and "Thank You Daddys". Enjoy the experience.
Excellent Collection of Stories and Poems 2007-04-20
My children and I just adore this book. What a lovely collection of stories all heavily demonstrating solid virtues that are Biblically rooted, not worldly. My children, ages 5 and 4, request that several stories be read time and time again. This book will grow with us through the years; they are no where near growing out of it.
Bennett compiles the stories and poems in 4 categories: courage/perseverance, responsibility/work/self-discipline, compassion/faith, and honesty/loyalty/friendship. There is a nice selection in each category of 1 paged poems, to several paged stories. There is a solid virtue to be taken from every single work.
I recommend this book highly. Fill those little minds with things that are good, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable. Also recommended by the same author are The Children's Book of Faith and The Children's Book of Heroes. Both also have wonderful collections and wonderful illustrations.
wonderful 2005-11-17
I had this book when I was a little kid. I honestly think that by reading it, it changed how I viewed things as a child. Partially because of this book, when I was little I had strong feelings about responsiblity, kindness, courage, perserverance, and many of the other subjects illustrated in The Children's Book of Virtues. I loved reading it and the stories affected me greatly.
It's About The Message, Not The Messenger 2005-09-17
These tales were collected from virtually every corner of the globe and some go far back into the reaches of antiquity. Bennett and his collaborators did a fine job of finding stories of universal, fairly non-controversial appeal that we can all cite without worrying about the inherent differences in religion or politics that might otherwise divide us. Segregated according to the principles being celebrated (Honesty, Courage, etc.) these fables and true life stories demonstrate virtues of conduct far too often left unstressed in our morally-undermined society.
GOOD CHILDREN'S BOOK AND STORIES 
2005-09-14
I purchased this book and a few others in the series for my 4 ½ year old. My son is very intelligent for his age, yet some of the stories were a bit long and beyond his attention span and/or understanding. However, I am not disappointment as I am confident that in time, all the stories will be appropriate. I would recommend this book!
Fabulous moral stories...the best compilation I've found so far... 2005-09-08
As a homeschool mother I am always looking for great stories for my almost 7 yo and my 2.5 yo. This book is part of the curriculum for Sonlight and it is fabulous. My daughter's favorite is about two brothers, one who doesn't let his "please" out of his mouth so the "please" jumps into the other brothers' mouth (which makes him say all his "pleases" twice). Eventually though, the "please-less" mouth wants his please back and his "please" is thrilled to be at home and allowed to get some fresh air. The stories are grouped by moral or attribute (compassion, courage, etc.). Both male and female main characters throughout the stories and the poems makes this book appropriate for both boys and girls. I highly, highly recommend this book, no qualms about it.
