Looking for the best children’s books on perseverance and courage? look no further! I have read hundreds of picture books on perseverance, determination, and perseverance, and these are the best. you can effectively teach perseverance to your elementary students without stress with these books! This is a great mix of true stories, realistic fiction, and fantasy books to dazzle and delight your kids. There are suggested lessons and activities included, as well as a free lesson and activities!
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You are reading: Picture books about perseverance
ashley spires most magnificent
a girl has a wonderful idea. she will do the most magnificent thing! she knows how it will look and she knows how it will work. all she has to do is do it, and she does things all the time. however, making her thing magnificent is anything but easy, and the girl tries and fails, repeatedly. eventually, the girl gets very, very angry. she is so angry, in fact, that she quits. But after her dog talks her into going for a walk, she returns to her project with renewed enthusiasm and succeeds. this book is also a great link to stem and is one of my favorite growth mindset books for kids!
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mae among the stars by roda ahmed
When little mae was a child, she dreamed of dancing in space. she imagined herself surrounded by billions of stars, floating, gliding and discovering. she wanted to be an astronaut. her mom told her, “if you believe it and work hard for it, anything is possible”. Little Mae’s curiosity, intelligence, and determination, along with words of encouragement from her parents, paved the way for her incredible success at NASA as the first African-American woman to travel in space. Mae perseveres and works from an early age to read her goals of touching the stars.
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kwame alexander’s undefeated
Originally performed for ESPN’s The Undefeated, this poem is a love letter to black life in the United States. highlights the unspeakable trauma of slavery, the faith and fire of the civil rights movement, and the courage, passion, and perseverance of some of the world’s greatest heroes. the text is also peppered with references to the words of martin luther king, jr., langston hughes, gwendolyn brooks, and others, offering deeper insight into past achievements while drawing attention to resilience and spirit of survivors and thriving in the present. the solid supporting material at the end provides valuable historical context and additional detail for those who wish to learn more.
this is a truly moving project by kwame alexander and kadir nelson, whose combination of verse and illustrations creates a thought-provoking work that students and teachers alike could spend weeks analyzing and discussing. this book is everything a mentor text that makes my lists of favorite children’s poetry books and books for black history month!
get the lesson plan and activities for the undefeated here
emmanuel’s dream by laurie ann thompson
born in ghana, west africa, with a deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people, but not by his mother, who taught him to achieve his dreams. When he was a child, Emmanuel skipped school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at thirteen to support his family, and eventually became a cyclist. in 2001 he rode an astonishing 400 miles across ghana, spreading his powerful message: disability is not disability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work for the disabled, and this book is one of my favorite disability books for children!
get the lesson plan and activities for emmanuel’s dream here
how this book was made by mac barnett
beloved and successful creators mac barnett and adam rex team up again, this time to reveal the nitty-gritty of making a book…with a few unexpected twists along the way!
You may think you know how this book was made, but you don’t. Sure, the author wrote a lot of drafts and the illustrator took a long time to create the art, but then what? How did he come into your hands? well, he opens the cover and reads these pages to find out. just watch out for pirates and angry tiger. budding writers and artists will laugh at the mixture of reality and absurdity as the story finds its way onto a shelf…and eventually a reader.
get the lesson plan and activities for the making of this book here
sam and dave dig a hole for mac barnett
sam and dave have a mission. a mission to find something spectacular. so they dig a hole. And they keep digging. and find. . . any. however, the day turns out to be quite spectacular after all. Attentive readers will be rewarded with a rare treasure in this witty tale of searching for the extraordinary and finding it in a way you’d never expect. readers will see that changing plans isn’t always the best idea, but never giving up is what really helps you achieve something spectacular.
See Also: The 5 VERY BEST Book Subscription Boxes For Little Kids in 2022
get the lesson plan and activities for sam and dave digging a hole here
akiak by robert blake
When he injures his leg on the fourth day of the race, Akiak can no longer compete in the Iditarod, the famous dog sled race across 1,151 miles of Alaskan terrain. his musher has no choice but to leave her behind. the rules say that once a dog is eliminated from the race, he cannot rejoin the team. But Akiak, the ten-year-old lead dog, doesn’t know the rules and nothing will stop her from catching up with his team. Akiak has never won the race before. Can he help his team win this time?
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caught by oliver jeffers
When floyd’s kite gets stuck in a tree, he is determined to get it out. but how? well, knocking him down with his shoe, of course. but strangely enough, he also gets stuck. and the only logical course of action. . . is throwing the other shoe at him. Only he is now stuck! surely there must be something he can use to launch his kite. an orangutan? a boat? your front door? yes, yes and yes. And that is just the beginning. Stuck is Oliver Jeffers’ most absurdly funny story since The Incredible Boy Eats Books. With a childlike concept and vibrant illustrations like only Oliver Jeffers could, this is a picture book worth rescuing from any tree.
get the lesson plan and activities for stuck here
allan drummond energy island
Hold on to your hats! It’s windy on the danish island of samsø. Meet the eco-conscious people who are now proud to call their home an energy island. at a time when most countries are producing increasing amounts of co2, the ordinary citizens of samsø have achieved something extraordinary: in just ten years they have reduced their carbon emissions. by 140% and become almost completely energy independent. A narrative tale and science book in one, this inspiring true story proves that with a little hard work and a big idea, anyone can take a big step toward conserving energy. this book is also one of my favorite earth day books!
get the lesson plan and activities for energy island here
potato’s mechanical fish by candace fleming
tinkle! clankety-bang! thump-buzz! that’s the sound of dad at work. Although he is an inventor, he has never made anything that works perfectly, and that’s because he hasn’t come up with a really cool idea yet. but when he takes his family fishing in lake michigan, his virena daughter asks, “ever wonder what it’s like to be a fish?”, and dad goes to his shop. With a lot of persistence and a little help, Dad, based on real-life inventor Lodner Phillips, creates a submarine that can take his family on a trip to the bottom of Lake Michigan.
get the lesson plan and activities for daddy’s mechanical fish here
the boy who made a forest grow by sophia gholz
As a child, Jadav Payeng was distraught over the destruction that deforestation and erosion were wreaking on his home island in India’s Brahmaputra River. so he started planting trees. What started as a small bamboo thicket grew over the years into a 1,300-acre forest filled with native plants and animals. the boy who grew a forest tells the inspiring true story of payeng and reminds us all of the difference one person with a great idea can make. Courage and perseverance consist in continuing when the effort is long or difficult, and creating a forest through years of daily work is certainly long and difficult.
get the lesson plan and activities for the boy who grew a forest here
how to heal a broken wing by bob graham
“no one saw the bird fall”. In a city full of rushing people, only the young will notice the bird lying wounded on the ground. With the help of her understanding mother, she gently wraps up the injured bird and takes it home. In classic Bob Graham style, the beauty is in the details: the careful care with an eye dropper, the bedroom filled with animal memorabilia, the keeping of a single feather as a good luck charm for the bird’s return to heaven. melancholic and uplifting, this is a story of possibilities, and of the souls who never doubt their power.
This book is truly a beautiful story about never giving up, even if no one else seems to care. also one of the best books for teaching empathy!
get the lesson plan and activities on how to heal a broken wing here
how to catch a star by oliver jeffers
Once there was a boy, and that boy loved the stars very much. so much so that he decided to catch one of his own. but how? waiting for them to get tired of being in the sky all night doesn’t work. climb to the top of the tallest tree? no, not high enough. the boy has a rocket. . . but it’s paper and it doesn’t fly well at all. Finally, just when the child is ready to give up, he learns that sometimes things are not where or how we expect them to be.
get the lesson plan and activities on how to catch a star here
get out in her shoes by deloris jordan
The mere mention of the name conjures up visions of basketball played in its prime. But as a kid, Michael nearly gave up on his basketball dreams, all because he feared he’d never grow up to play the game that would one day make him famous. That’s when his mom and dad stepped in and shared the priceless lesson of what building a champion really entails: patience, determination, and hard work. a classic story that truly makes for one of the best children’s books on perseverance!
See Also: 7 best cookbooks for clean eating – State of Salt
get the step out in their shoes lesson plan and activities here
the girl who ran by Frances Poletti
when bobbi gibb saw the boston marathon, her mind was made up: she had to be a part of it. but when it came time to apply for the marathon, he was denied entry. They told her that girls don’t run, girls can’t run. That didn’t stop Bobbi. This picture book tells the true story of how he broke the rules in 1966 and how, step by step, his courage and determination changed the world. Created in collaboration with Bobbi Gibb, The Girl Who Ran is perfect for aspiring runners, kids of all ages, and all sports lovers.
get the lesson plan and activities for the girl who ran here
storm led by libby riddles
In 1985, libby riddles made history by becoming the first woman to win the 1,100-mile iditarod dog sled race. This new edition of Riddles’ timeless adventure story is complete with updated narrative details, sidebars on all aspects of the race, all-new photography and illustrations by beloved illustrator Shannon Cartwright. An inspiration to children and adults around the world, this is a compelling first-hand account of the arctic storms, sub-zero temperatures, loyal sled dogs, and sheer determination that defined iditarod puzzle victory.
get the lesson plan and activities for storm run here
william steig’s brave irene
brave irene is irene bobbin, the dressmaker’s daughter. her mother, mrs. Bobbin, she is not feeling very well and she may not be able to deliver the beautiful ball gown she has made for the Duchess to wear that very night. So brave Irene volunteers to get the dress to the palace on time, despite the fierce snowstorm ahead, quite an errand for a little girl.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way, as Irene proves in the danger-filled adventure that follows. He must defy the wiles of the evil wind, his most formidable opponent, and overcome many obstacles before completing his mission.
get the lesson plan and activities for brave irene here
moses by carole boston weatherford
Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman hears these words from God one summer night and decides to leave her husband and family behind and run away. Taking only her faith, she must crawl through the woods with hounds at her feet, sleep for days in a potato hole, and trust people who could have easily given her up. but she was never alone.
tubman would make nineteen subsequent trips back south, never being caught, but none as deep as this first one. Courageous, compassionate, and deeply religious, Harriet Tubman, with her fearlessness and tireless pursuit of freedom, is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
get the lesson plan and activities for bassinet here
gibberish by karen williams
Kondi, a seven-year-old African boy, decides to make a Galimoto, a toy vehicle, out of pieces of wire. he finds a wire, but it’s not enough, so kondi looks for more. soft text and soft watercolors capture the essence of life in a contemporary African village as a young boy perseveres to make his gibberish.
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after the fall of dan santat
everyone knows that when humpty dumpty sat on a wall, humpty dumpty had a big fall. but what happened next?
Caldecott medalist Dan Santat’s heartwarming story follows Humpty Dumpty, an avid bird watcher whose favorite place to be is atop the city wall—that is, until after his famous fall. Now terrified of heights, Humpty can no longer do many of the things he loves most. this is a delightful book that reminds readers to always muster the courage to get back up. the message and the identification are without a doubt what makes it one of the best children’s books on perseverance.
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best children’s books on perseverance
What are some of your favorite children’s books about perseverance and courage? Is there a must-read children’s book on perseverance that you’ve missed? let me know in the comments and I’ll add it!
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