Morality Tales

No one wants their kids reading complete trash. It's pretty widely understood that what goes in comes out, and if kids consume a steady diet of books with bad morals, chances are they're going to retain those attitudes, regardless of the instruction they get at home. Wouldn't it be better to have them read books with clear messages of Christian virtue and well-behaved main characters?

Yes and no—obviously, we want good examples set for our children, and character-building stories often provide them. At the same time, they have a tendency to portray their heroes and heroines as too good, so that kids see a completely unrealistic picture of childhood which they consequently reject, if not at home, then later in life when it matters even more.

In the Bible, of course, Jesus Himself is presented as our example for leading a godly life. The difference is that these books are supposed to be representations of ordinary people, not the Son of God. To suggest that human beings (especially children!) can attain a state of near-sinless perfection is dangerously close to heresy.

That said, even stories of this kind are better than a lot of the available reading material for youngsters. If the goal is to raise children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, giving them an unattainable standard is superior to giving them one far too easily achieved, or none at all. Stories about selfish kiddos, kiddos who get their way, kiddos who are more wise than adults—these aren't the kind of stories our impressionable tykes need to read.

With that in mind, we offer this collection of morality tales, or wholesome fiction. A lot of these books are Victorian-era novels highly influenced by the moralist tones of the period, but many are also more recent ventures (and also a little more realistic). We suggest you not make a steady diet of these sorts of books (they don't typically feature the best writing), but every now and then it's not a bad idea to refresh your children's pool of good examples.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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71 Items found Print
Active Filters: 2nd grade (Ages 7-8), In-Stock Books & Materials
Among the Farmyard People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.95
Among the Forest People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.95
Among the Meadow People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.95
Among the Night People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.95
Among the Pond People
by Clara Dillingham Pierson
from Yesterday's Classics
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$10.95
Anak, the Eskimo Boy
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$8.95
Bible Wise Series
by Carine MacKenzie
from Christian Focus Publications
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
BibleTime Series
by Carine MacKenzie
from Christian Focus Publications
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
Birds of the Air
Eyes and No Eyes #4
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Book of Legends
by Horace E. Scudder
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-5th grade
$9.95
Bristol
by Fonda Mast, illustrated by Josephine Beachy
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Rod & Staff Fiction (Location: REA-R&S)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
By Pond and River
Eyes and No Eyes #2
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$13.95
Child's Book of Character Building - Book 1
by Ron & Rebekah Coriell
from Revell Publishing
for 1st-5th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Choice Stories for Children
Character Classics
by Ernest Lloyd (editor)
from A. B. Publishing, Inc.
for 1st-5th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Christie's Old Organ
Lamplighter Rare Collector Series
by O. F. Walton
from Lamplighter Publishing
for 1st-5th grade
in Lamplighter Rare Collector Series (Location: FIC-WH04)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Cowboys with Penny the Mustang Pony
by Barbara Knight, Illustrated by Dale "Wink" Burgess
from Mustang Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
David the Shepherd Boy
by Mary Miller, illustrated by Jeremiah Christensen
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Rod & Staff Fiction (Location: REA-R&S)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Elementary Geography
by Charlotte M. Mason
1st edition from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-4th grade
in Introductory Geography (Location: GEO-INTRO)
$12.95
Fairy Ring
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Yesterday's Classics
$23.95
Faith Roots
Book 1 of 7: Tales of the Exodus
by Nicole Parker
Revised from Unknown Publisher
for 2nd-5th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Fifty Famous People
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.95
Fifty Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
$11.95 $7.00 (1 in stock)
God's Troubadour
by Sophie Jewett
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.95
Great Truths for Little Children
Children's Heritage Series
by Anonymous
from Old Paths Gospel Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Hexapod Stories
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Hive of Busy Bees
Stories That Help Build Character Volume I
by Effie Williams
from Sure Foundation
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
How God Used a Drought and an Umbrella
by Joel R. Beeke & Diana Kleyn
from Christian Focus Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Building on the Rock Series (Location: SER-BOR)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Hurlbut's Story of the Bible
by Rev. Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
from Yesterday's Classics
for Preschool-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$22.95
Insect Life
Eyes and No Eyes #6
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
King of the Golden River
by John Ruskin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-6th grade
$9.95
Little Jewel Bird
Little Jewel Books
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Rod & Staff Fiction (Location: REA-R&S)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Little Medicine Carrier
Children's Heritage Series
by Anonymous
from Triangle Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Lost Milk Jar
Little Jewel Books
by Lucy Ann Conley
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for K-2nd grade
in Rod & Staff Fiction (Location: REA-R&S)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Manual of Clay Modeling
by Hermione Unwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-12th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$11.95
Moses the Meekest Man
by Mary Miller, illustrated by Tabitha Higgins and Linda Shirk
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Rod & Staff Fiction (Location: REA-R&S)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Our Little Athenian Cousin of Long Ago
Our Little Cousins of Long Ago
by Julia Cowles
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$10.95
Our Little Frankish Cousin of Long Ago
by Evaleen Stein
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$10.95
Patty's Curiosity and Wants and Wishes
Children's Heritage Series
by Charlotte Elizabeth
from Old Paths Gospel Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan
Facsimile Ed from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$13.95
Plant Life in Field and Garden
Eyes and No Eyes #3
by Arabella Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Poems Every Child Should Know
by Mary E. Burt, ed.
from Yesterday's Classics
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$16.95
Reading-Literature First Reader
by Harriette Taylor Treadwell, Margaret Free
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-2nd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$10.95
Reading-Literature Second Reader
by Harriette Taylor Treadwell, Margaret Free
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-2nd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$11.95
Rescue at the Eleventh Hour
Children's Heritage Series
by William H. G. Kingston
from Old Paths Gospel Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Rescue with Penny the Mustang Pony
by Barbara Knight, Illustrated by Dale "Wink" Burgess
2nd printing, 2006 from Mustang Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Rob and Roland
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$7.95
Rob and Roland on the Farm
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for Preschool-2nd grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$7.95
Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-4th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Ruth a Faithful Daughter-in-Law
by Mary Miller, illustrated by Tabitha Higgins
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Rod & Staff Fiction (Location: REA-R&S)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Stories from the History of Rome
by Emily Beesly
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$10.95 $6.50 (1 in stock)
Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
Myth & Legend for 2nd-5th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$9.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans
by Edward Eggleston
from Yesterday's Classics
Narrative History for 1st-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$11.95
Stories of Robin Hood Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$9.95
Stories of Roland Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$9.95
Storm with Penny the Mustang Pony
by Barbara Knight, Illustrated by Dale "Wink" Burgess
from Mustang Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Storytime with the Millers
Miller Family Series
by Mildred A. Martin
from Green Pastures Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Miller Family Series (Location: SER-MILLER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Sweetest Fig
by Chris Van Allsburg
from Houghton Mifflin
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Teach Your Children Well
by Christine Allison
from Delacorte Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$12.95
Tract Primer
by American Tract Society
from Solid Ground Christian Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Trees and Shrubs
Eyes and No Eyes #5
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories - Volume 2
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Pacific Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Uncle Arthur's Stories (Location: FIC-WH07)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories - Volume 5
by Arthur Stanley Maxwell
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Uncle Arthur's Stories (Location: FIC-WH07)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories First Series Volumes 1-4
by Arthur S. Maxwell
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Uncle Arthur's Stories (Location: FIC-WH07)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Uncle Arthur's Bible Book
by Arthur S. Maxwell
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 2nd-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Uncle Happy's Cat
by C. Quercia, designed by C. Mongo
from Daughters of St. Paul
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
West African Folk-Tales
by William H. Barker
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-6th grade
$10.95
Wild Life in Woods and Fields
Eyes and No Eyes #1
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$13.95
Working with Wisdom - Workbook
from Green Pastures Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Miller Family Series (Location: SER-MILLER)
$3.00 (1 in stock)