Top 10 Picture Books for Teaching Mindset to Kids
This year, I decided to use the month of January to focus on my mindset. There is always room to be more grateful, positive, resilient, and self-accepting.
The aim is not to move into February and forget all about my mindset.
The aim is to take what I build and carry it through the rest of the year and beyond.
Mindset, especially in our children, is so important. The mindset and attitude they develop as kids is the foundation for how they perceive themselves, their mistakes, and opportunities later. January is the perfect time to create some positive routines and discussions around mindset - not just in ourselves, but in our children.
One of my favorite ways to teach a new skill with kids, without being preachy, is to read and talk about picture books. Picture books are a wonderful teaching tool. You don’t even need to directly connect the theme to your child. Instead, you can focus the discussion on the character in the book and often your child will make a connection all on their own. If they don’t connect the theme to their own life out loud, you don’t need to push. Kids may ruminate on such connections and ideas quietly. Who knows, your child may bring it up on the way to swim lessons, or while eating breakfast the next day.
Below are just a few of my favorite picture books for teaching various mindset themes such as perseverance, self-acceptance, risk-taking, growth mindset, fear and bravery, self-love and confidence, positive self-talk, improvement vs. perfectionism, and flexibility.
A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen
What a fantastic book for budding writers! A little boy wants to write a story like his big sister, but grows frustrated that he doesn’t know how to make the words. His sister reminds him that all stories start with a single letter. He tries and records his writing in the way that he knows how to. I used this book to introduce writing and teach self-acceptance, perseverance, and perfectionism.
2. Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak
I love this book for digging into the science behind growth mindset. Kids love learning about the “why” of things, and can spark so many great conversations around anatomy, the brain, and growth-mindset.
3. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
This is my go-to book to encourage risk-taking, perseverance, and creativity. The art teacher lovingly encourages Vashti to make a mark on her paper, which leads to her creating an array of dot paintings. She then spires another young artist to make his own mark.
4. The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Gary Rubinstein and Mark Pett
Beatirice Bottomwell never, ever makes mistakes! One day, she made a BIG mistake in front of lots of people. This book is great for teaching that making mistakes is okay and we can even have fun with it. It addresses perfectionism and the importance of having a growth mindset.
5. What Do You Do With a Problem by Kobi Yamada
This is a great book that teaches young learners to tackle a problem head on, rather than avoid or deny it. In every problem or challenge is a lesson to learn, and we can come through the other side of it feeling lighter and wiser.
6. Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
Jabari really wants to learn to jump off the diving board at the pool. However, he gets nervous and loses some confidence. His father reassuringly shares with Jabari that feeling scared is okay. This is all it takes for Jabari to be ready to jump! I love this one because it embraces fear rather than dismisses it!
7. Beautiful Oops! By Barney Saltzberg
Do you have a little perfectionism at home? Rips in pages, tears, smudges, and crooked lines can cause BIG feelings in our learners. This book addresses how we can embrace those little mistakes to form something beautiful.
8. The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
This book is so beautifully written and illustrated (if you don’t have multiple Jacqueline Woodson books in your home or classroom already, DO IT). We all feel like outsiders sometimes, but it is so brave to put ourselves and our stories out into the world anyway. This book so lovely addresses diversity, self-acceptance, and courage.
9. Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
Gerald wants to participate in the Jungle Dance but feels he can’t dance and that the other animals laugh. He does not give up and learns to dance in his very own way. This book is wonderful for teaching that we can persevere even when others tell us we can’t or shouldn’t do something. It s another good one for discussions about self-acceptance and empathy.
10. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
A little girl and her dog work really hard to create the most magnificent thing. Her creation does not turn out as she imagines. This book is especially wonderful for teaching creative and flexible thinking and perseverance.
Do you have any of these titles? Do you have other favorite mindset books? There are so many good ones.
Here are a few discussion books to initiate some conversation around the themes in these books:
Discussion Questions:
How is this character feeling right now? How can you tell?
How do you think this character can try to solve their problem?
What could they do differently?
How did they learn from this mistake?
Why do you think this character is scared of doing this new thing?
Did this character ask for help? Would that have helped them solve their problem?
Have you ever felt that way? When?
