I have a son that is 2 years old and he is my pride and joy. I had a great father, and the dream of every father is that his son will be a better version of himself. Lately, I have been thinking about all of things that I want to teach my son, and all of the important life lessons that I want to give him. Believe you me, as much as I like to think of myself as great communicator, sometimes its hard to find the right words. But what if they were already written for you?

If you are looking to communicate a moral or life lesson to your child, but need a little assistance, why not use a children’s book? No matter the topic, odds are there is a children’s book that covers it. And the icing on the cake is that they discuss the subject in a developmentally appropriate way. Below you find my 15 of my son Matthias’s favorites, divided by the topic that it covers.

The True Meaning of Happiness

Matthew and the Money Tree by Matthew Lynch

Effective Communication

Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen by Howard Binkow

My Mouth is a Volcano! by Julia Cook

Sharing With Others

Llama Llama Time to Share by Anna Dewdney

It’s Mine! by Leo Lionni

Being Honest

The Empty Pot by Demi

The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot! by Scott Magoon

Etiquette

Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller

Rules of the Wild: An Unruly Book of Manners by Bridget Levin

Obeying the Rules

Bella’s Rules by Elissa Haden Guest

Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!  By Mo Willems

David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon

Being Kind to Others

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev

What books did we miss?