Being Your Best: Character Building for Kids 7-10 [Paperback]

Barbara A. Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Text, anecdotes, and activities introduce and discuss how to build important character traits, such as caring, citizenship, cooperation, courage, fairness, honesty, respect, and responsibility.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6.This title defines 10 positive character traits, and offers children practical ways to develop and strengthen them. Each trait is first illustrated by a true story featuring a child hero and is then defined in child-friendly terms, followed by simple activities, mnemonics, open-ended "what if?" questions, and bibliographies of fiction and nonfiction books on the theme. Open, honest communication is stressed throughout, and youngsters are urged to approach caring adults with problems. The intent is admirable, but the book's audience is unclear. The younger range of kids, aged 7^-10, the readership targeted in the title, would find some of the material too difficult; most of the books mentioned in the chapter reading lists, which do include some well-considered choices, are for older readers, with comparatively few second-or third-grade titles cited. Character education is a growing trend in schools today, however, and practical, kid-centered books like this are needed. With its many activities, discussion springboards, and literature tie-ins, this offering will be especially useful to teachers or adult moderators. Catherine Andronik
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing (December 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575420635
• ISBN-13: 978-1575420639
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,195,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A "How-To" to help kids develop their character, June 24, 2000

By 

Mary Ann Kalis (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Being Your Best: Character Building for Kids 7-10 (Paperback)

Character education is a hot topic, and this book provides activities and resources that educators can easily adapt for use in the classroom. At our school, we began to develop our own program and were looking for a way to continue our activities.

What I liked best about this book was its emphasis on having the child evaluate his or her own character, and then selecting those "character muscles" to develop further, such as caring, fairness, honesty, etc. It also included several self-assessments for the child to complete that help in determining strengths and areas for improvement. Our school plans to use this book as a resource for teachers and students this coming year, and we look forward to the release of the Leader's Guide.

I'd rate it 5 stars for educators, but fewer stars for parents. While its activities are certainly adaptable in either setting, I wonder how effective it would be for a parent to work from a book in teaching a child about character. I prefer stories to read with your child and then discuss. This seems too academic for home use. Would be interested to see what parents think who've used this.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Social-emotional learning, October 31, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Being Your Best: Character Building for Kids 7-10 (Paperback)

This book is definately a plus for educators and requires adult facilitation, especially for the younger range. We use this book, along with the leader's guide (5 stars!) as a tool in our violence prevention curriculum in an after-school setting. Perhaps it's too "politically correct" to teach kids to respect each other and include others to build frienships, and to be reflective on their own behaviors, but some kids need to hear this message.