The word of the week in my character development series is “joy.” These books on joy will be a great way to begin discussion about how to achieve joy. Please hover over the character development tab to reveal all 52 words we focus on in this series. You can click on the joy tab to find all of our activities. There are 7-9 activities for each character trait. I hope you will really embrace and utilize this series.
Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo (Oct 9 2007)
– This is a Christmas book that will warm your heart. We own this book, but it was all packed away in our Christmas stuff, so I checked it out at the library. This book shows a child’s concern for a homeless man and his performing monkey. She watches him from her bedroom window on the cold, wintery nights. Her heart reaches out to the man, which leads to her actions reaching out to him too. She boldly invites him to her Christmas production where she has the role of proclaiming joy to the world. Since joy can be found through God and it is shown through Christians living out our examples of joy and love, I love to present these messages to my kids. I especially like showing them that they, as kids, can still make a big difference in peoples’ lives.
Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life of Joy
– This is a fascinating book that I found at the library. I did not know the story of St. Francis of Assisi. I knew his name but knew nothing of his life. He was an eccentric man who loved the Lord. His story of wanting to live humbly and give everything to the poor is convicting. He emphasized a life of joy that surpasses your circumstances. He spent a life of being both ridiculed and held up as a man of inspiration and leadership. His life story that involves rebellion against his father’s wishes and dramatic choices that put God and serving people as a priority. It is a longer book, but it held my 4 & 6 year olds’ attention. I was fascinated by his story and found myself getting choked up when learning about the way he sacrificed every comfort to reach out to “the least of these.”
OLIVIA Dances for Joy (Olivia TV Tie-in)
Callie Cat, Ice Skater
– This was recommended to me as a good book on joy from
Mr. Happy (Mr. Men and Little Miss)
Pollyanna (Sterling Unabridged Classics)
Free Book of Virtues at True Aim Education
Some Activities for Joy in my Character Development Series:
Always love your book list posts but this one is my new favorite! Ordering the saint Francis of Assisi and Pollyanna for both my girls’ kindles today. Can’t wait to read these together. Thank you, once again, for helping THIS momma to keep things meaningful! Big hugs!!!
So fun to hear, Erin. The St. Francis of Assisi is super interesting. I think you’ll be really interested in his story. Who doesn’t love Pollyanna? Thank you for commenting, Friend.