A Picture Book Is Worth a Thousand Words: Building a Character Literacy Library

Abstract

According to the U.S. Department of Education, character education refers to teaching “the habits of thought and deed that help people live and work together as families, friends, neighbors, communities, and nations.”

Character education has long been viewed as an essential part of the mission of schools, and some have even suggested that it may be the primary purpose of education in the future. In addition, meta-analytic studies have linked character education to decreased risk behaviors, increased prosocial behaviors, favorable school outcomes, and healthy social-emotional functioning.