Books About Diligence
These books about diligence are a resource to help you as you are working on the character development of your children. This character development series is comprised on 52 character traits with, 7-9 lessons associated with each trait. These lessons on diligence are a great way to get started, and the books here are meant to supplement these lessons. It is important to teach our kids the benefit and importance of working hard – within our home, our school, our community and our world. If you want to discover the other character traits we work on, hover of the character development tab to learn more.
Dex: The Heart of a Hero – I think all kids will enjoy this book about Dex, the first superhero dog. He dreams of becoming a superhero someday despite the taunts of his peers. It takes a lot of hard work and diligence for a wiener dog to accomplish this feat. With colorful pictures, a great story line and a lovable dog, kids will learn that it takes training to become all they want to be.
Duck on a Bike – When I searched at the library this is one of the books that came up for diligence. However, I see little connection. I guess duck worked hard to learn to ride a bike while all the other animals thought he was crazy. That said, I decided to keep it here because although the connection was weak, it was still there. Also, it was a really enjoyable book. The illustrations were fabulous. I love the rhythm of the book and the responses of the animals. However, the animals were quickly swayed by the idea of riding the bike, so there is a fun ending to this cute story.
My Mommy Hung the Moon: A Love Story – Ah, if only our kids really believed what this little boy believes. He adores his mommy for the diligence in which she can do EVERYTHING. He thinks she hung the moon, invented .com, sends spaceships to the outer stretches of the universe and makes it rain. While really none of these things are true, there are a few moments of truth in it. We can use this book as a platform to point out how hard moms and dads work so they can begin to see the examples set forth in their lives.
Farmer Duck – This was a delightful story. This is the story about a farmer who is lazy. He wants to sit around and eat chocolates all day and basically makes the duck his slave. The duck works and works all day. The other animals on the farm devise a plan to change the ways of the farm. I love that you are never made aware of the plan until it happens. The animals speak in moos, baas, clucks and quacks when they communicate. Animals don’t speak human after all. They end up driving the farmer away and begin helping the duck with all the farmyard responsibilities. They all decide they should all be more diligent around the farm. I really enjoyed the story and the illustrations.
[ HOW THE CAMEL GOT ITS HUMP (MY FIRST CLASSIC STORIES) – GREENLIGHT ] By Jones, Christianne C ( Author) 2010 [ Library Binding ] – This is a cute rendition of the fable about how camel got its hump. While all of the other animals were busy working, lazy camel just sat around doing nothing. When other animals would ask him to help, all he would say was, “Humph.” The animals got tired of carrying all the workload so went to visit the magic dessert watcher for help. Empathetic with their plight, he cast a spell on the camel, giving him a hump. Now that he could carry all the food and water he needed in his hump, he would have the ability and would be destined to work that much harder. I wonder if I could threaten my kids with such an idea. I probably won’t do that. Rather, I’ll point out that it is important for us all to carry our own work load so that everything doesn’t fall on other individuals.
The Big Race: A Lesson on Perseverance (Problem Solved! Readers) – This is a cute little book about two friends training for a big race. The cat, Tab, isn’t a fast runner by nature (I can relate!), but he trains with the fox who definitely has a faster pace. He works hard to train even though it seems hard and not always enjoyable. Race day comes and Tab has the chance to outrun the Sox the Fox at a moment when Sox falls. Will he? You’ll have to see. The great thing is to talk about the diligence in the little cat as he trains for this race.
Little Mouse On the Prairie (Serendipity Books) – This is a book you might remember from your own childhood. I do, but I didn’t quite remember the story. However, once I read it I was familiar with the tale. There are many different versions of the story with the same lesson. There is always one creature working hard throughout the summer to store up for winter. There are always others that don’t work. Those who chose to play all summer long always find themselves in quite a bind in the harsh winter months. I love this version of this common lesson. This is one of those stories that reads well and lets kids use their imagination to create pictures with a lot of text for every picture. It is understandable and yet broadens vocabulary. I was able to ask my kids lots of questions throughout the book to engage them in an interesting dialogue. What would you do? What do you think the Bible says to do? I had to admit I was in a bind. I want to be generous with the poor, but I want to be helpful to those that genuinely need help and aren’t just trying to live off the system and be lazy. I love that the prairie mouse in this story struggled with the same issues, and I loved to see how they were resolved.