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  • Home
  • Our Approach
    • Program Overview
    • Why Stories?
    • Implementation
    • The Morning Gathering
    • Suggested Book Lists
    • Telling our Stories
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Mary Beth Klee
    • Board and Staff
    • Core Virtues Schools
    • Newsletters
    • Our First Champion >
      • The Portsmouth Declaration
    • Contact Us
  • Virtue of the Month
    • Virtue Cycle Definitions
    • September
    • October
    • November
    • December
    • January
    • February
    • March
    • April
    • May
    • June
  • Cycle of Virtues
    • Year 1
    • Year 2
    • Year 3
  • Heroes-Lives to Learn From
    • September Heroes
    • October Heroes
    • November Heroes
    • December Heroes
    • January Heroes
    • February Heroes
    • March Heroes
    • April Heroes
    • May Heroes
  • Holidays
    • Labor Day
    • Veteran's Day
    • Thanksgiving
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • Martin Luther King Jr
    • President's Day
    • Black History Month
    • Saint Patrick's Day
    • Women's History Month
    • Passover
    • Easter
    • Ramadan
  • Core Knowledge Connections
    • Kindergarten
    • First Grade
    • Second Grade
    • Third Grade
    • Fourth Grade
    • Fifth Grade
    • Sixth Grade
  • Poetry
  • Additional Resources
    • Links
    • Anthologies
    • Chapter Books
    • Parent Teacher Bibliography
  • Store
  • Privacy Policy
  • Schools of Faith
    • Jewish Schools
    • Christian Schools
    • Islamic Schools
    • Eastern Faith Traditions

What If We’re Just Starting the Program?
​
Core Books for Each Month – Year One

The Core Virtues program is surprisingly easy to implement and does not require dozens of hours of teacher training.  It is first and foremost about introducing the language of virtue and helping children fall in love with the good through quality literary exemplars.  Teachers who are preparing to make Core Virtues the springboard for their character education initiative are, however, sometimes over-awed by the sheer number of great literary choices available to them for twice or thrice weekly Morning Gatherings. 
 
Because each school and each class is unique, we make many choices available in our website “Virtue of the Month” recommendations.  But if your school is just starting the Core Virtues program, and you’d like a great fall-back list, we’re providing the following suggestions for each month, developed in conjunction with Team CFA Arizona schools. 
​
Please explore the site for additional or substitute works that you think may better meet your class’s needs.  For full descriptions of the books listed, click on the month, and you will find the titles highlighted in red.

​Click here for printable lists of the following suggested books.

Suggested Book List - Year 1 - Grades K-3


September -  Respect, Responsibility, Friendship
  1. Do Unto Otters*
  2. Dog Vs. Cat
  3. We Don't Eat Our Classmates
  4. The Firekeeper's Son
  5. Sister Anne's Hands
  6. Apple Pip Princess
  7. Enemy Pie*
  8. The Other Dog
  9.  Finding Winnie
  10. The Golden Rule
           *(animated storylineonline.net)

If your class loves a meatier tale consider, add or substitute:
The Ugly Duckling
Fritz and the Beautiful Horses (2)
Everyone Knows What A Dragon Looks like (2)
October – Diligence
  1. The Little Engine That Could
  2. The William Hoy Story
  3. Knots on a Counting Rope*
  4. Boy Who Held Back Sea​
  5. John Henry 
  6. Seeker of Knowledge
  7. Peppe the Lamplighter
  8. Ruby’s Wish
  9. Vinnie and Abraham
  10. Issunboshi
  11. Mary Anning and the Sea Dragon
  12. Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten 
November - Gratitude
  1. All the Places to Love
  2. Heetunka’s Harvest.  
  3. How Many Days to America 
  4. Andre, The Five Star Cat
  5. Sarah Morton’s Day
  6. Thanks for Thanksgiving
  7. Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving
  8. Passing the Music Down
  9. The Stonecutter: An Indian Folktale
  10.  Blessing Cup
December - Generosity
  1. Oskar and the Eight Blessings
  2. The Rainbow Fish*
  3. The Christmas Candle
  4. ​Erandi's Braids
  5. The Quiltmaker's Gift
  6. Winter Candle
  7. Stone Soup
  8. Moishe's Miracle: A Hanukkah Story
  9. The House That Jane Built*
January - Courage
  1. Brave Irene*
  2. If I Never Forever Endeavor
  3. Before She Was Harriet
  4. When Jessie Came Across the Sea
  5. Hansel and Gretel
  6. The First Marathon
  7. Martin’s Big Words:  The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
  8. Thunder Cake
  9. Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett
  10. Brave Margaret: An Irish Adventure​
February - Honesty and Justice
  1. Ruthie and the Not So Teeny Tiny Lie 
  2. Sojourner Truth’s Step-Stomp Stride
  3. The Boy Who Cried Wolf
  4. The Lying King
  5. Picture Book of Harriet Tubman
  6. The Empty Pot
  7. Frederick Douglass
  8. Honest Abe
  9. Elizabeth Leads the Way
  10. The Gold Coin
March - Compassion
  1. Beauty and the Beast
  2. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale
  3. Lotus and Feather*
  4. Nobiah’s Well: A Modern African Folk Tale
  5. The Rabbit Listened
  6. The Story of Jumping Mouse
  7. The Paper Crane
  8. Ivan. The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla
  9. The Selfish Giant
  10. Chicken Sunday
  11. The Queen's Necklace:A Swedish Folktale
  12. Great Gift and the Wish Fulfilling Gem. A Jataka Tale
April - Forgiveness
  1. King Solomon and the Bee
  2. Sorry
  3. The Story of Ruby Bridges
  4. The Prodigal Son
  5. The Unforgiving Servant
  6. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
  7. Under The Lemon Moon
  8. The Big Red Lollipop​​
  9. Desmond and the Very Mean Word. 
May - Hope
  1. Antsy Ansel: Ansel Adams, a Life in Nature
  2. Silent Lotus
  3. Saving Sweetness
  4. Raising Sweetness
  5. More Than Anything Else
  6. The Story of Holly and Ivy
  7. Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra
  8. The Rumor: A Jataka Tale from India
  9. Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez
  10. Sky Boys
  11. Miss Rumphius
June - Heroism, Lives To Learn From
  1. Johnny Appleseed
  2. Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride.
  3. New York's Bravest
  4. Planting the Tress of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai
  5. Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave.
  6. Brave Clara Barton
  7. ​Snowflake Bentley
  8. Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? The Story of Elizabeth Blackwell
  9. Lou Gehrig:  The Luckiest Man.
  10. Malala's Magic Pencil
  11. Shark Lady

Suggested Book List - Year 1 - Grades 4-6
September - Respect, Responsibility, Friendship
  1. Damon and Pythias
  2. Ruth and the Green Book
  3. The Devoted Friend
  4. When the Circus Came to Town
  5. The Hangashore
  6. Paperboy
  7. The Summer My Father Was Ten
  8. The Hundred Dresses 
  9. Bravo Tavo
  10. We the People: The Story of Our Constitution
  11. The Last Brother. A Civil War Tale
October - Diligence
  1. Ada Byron Lovelace
  2. Story Painter: Jacob Lawrence
  3. The Wright Brothers
  4. The Man Who Made Time Travel
  5. Seeds of Change: Wangari’s Gift to the World
  6. Lost City: The Discovery of Machu Picchu
  7. Caravan
  8. Vinnie and Abraham
  9. Michelangelo
  10. Uncommon Champions (many options)
  11. One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
  12. The World is Not A Rectangle
November - Gratitude
  1. Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot
  2. The Red Bicycle
  3. Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving
  4. The Tongue-Cut Sparrow
  5. John Muir
  6. The First Thanksgiving
  7. Home of the Brave
  8. Rettie and the Ragamuffin Parade
Veterans Day:
In Flanders Fields
America’s White Table
December - Generosity
  1. The Lady in the Box
  2. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
  3. The Well at the End of the World
  4. The Gift of the Magi
  5. A Christmas Carol
  6. The Trees of the Dancing Goats
  7. The Talking Eggs
  8. The Quiltmaker’s Gift
  9. The Gift
  10. In the Month of Kislev: A Story for Hanukkah
  11. The Girl, the Fish and the Crown: A Spanish Folktale
  12. The Ch’i-Lin Purse
January - Courage
  1. The Revolutionary John Adams
  2. Flight for Freedom
  3. Memphis, Martin and the Mountaintop
  4. Daring Dozen
  5. The Cats in Krasinski Square
  6. The Grand Mosque of Paris
  7. They Called Her Molly Pitcher
  8. Nothing to Fear 
  9. Remember Valley Forge
  10. Heart on Fire: Susan B. Anthony Votes for President
  11. St. George and the Dragon
February - Honesty and Justice
  1. Shh! We’re Writing the Constitution
  2. Susan B. Anthony
  3. Lincoln: A Photobiography
  4. Through My Eyes
  5. Sit-In. How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down
  6. Frederick’s Journey
  7. Streetcar to Justice
  8. Breaking Stalin’s Nose
  9. Robin Hood
  10. The Only Woman in the Photo
March - Compassion
  1. My Heart Glow
  2. The Happy Prince
  3. A Story Like the Wind
  4. Dangerous Jane
  5. The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks
  6. Mercy: The Incredible Story of Henry Bergh
  7. Tiktala
  8. The Cranes Gift
  9. Older Brother, Younger Brother
  10. Tiger Woman
  11. Good Griselle

April
- Forgiveness

  1. The Invisible Seam
  2. Nelson Mandela and the Long Walk to Freedom
  3. Desmond and the Very Mean Word
  4. This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness
  5. The Painter’s Cat
  6. The Hiding Place
May - Hope
  1. The Greatest Skating Race
  2. Traveling Man
  3. Bound for Oregon
  4. Coming on Home Soon
  5. Charlotte’s Web
  6. One Yellow Daffodil
  7. Robinson Crusoe

June - Heroism
  1. Monument Maker
  2. A Ben of All Trades
  3. What Was D-Day?
  4. Nurse, Soldier, Spy
  5. Jars of Hope (Irena Sendler)
  6. Malala, A Brave Girl from Pakistan
  7. Iqbal, A Brave Boy from Pakistan
  8. Kate Shelly: Bound for Legend
  9. Tiny Stitches

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