Picture Books About Pride and Humility

These great picture books will help you teach pride and humility to your kids.

Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories (also includes Gertrude McFuzz, The Big Brag) by Dr. Seuss

If you want to be ruler of all the turtles, you have to be Yertle. He knows that his kingdom only goes so far as he can see. So he starts to make his subjects pile up under him, giving him a better view from which to rule. But, in the end, his pride and greedy heart bring him down. Also, there are two other stories that show the dangers of being vain.

The Tower by Richard Paul Evans

In order to be the best in the land, a man must be able to look down on everyone else. So he builds a tower, climbs up to his perch, and realizes that he is the only person there. People who are helpful tell him that he should come down from his tower and work on meeting people where they are.

Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer, adapted by Barbara Cooney

Chanticleer the rooster is the most proud animal in the barn. Every day, he shows off his colorful feathers in the grass and crows. He wants to show off his beauty and skills. It's dangerous to be too proud, and Chanticleer learns this the hard way when a clever fox plays on his pride.

A Green Thumb: A Story About Being Humble by Jacqueline A. Ball

Sleeping Beauty is the star of a Disney princess story about being humble.

Hey, Al by Arthur Yorinks

Janitor Al and his best friend, a dog named Eddie, live in a small apartment in a city. They spend their days together. In this story, they are living in a small space and getting annoyed with each other. A magical bird comes and offers them a life that they could only dream of living. In the blink of an eye, the two are whisked away to an island paradise. Soon, pride and vanity start to get in the way of their happiness. If their previous life with very little was better than they thought, Al and Eddie start to think that maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

Humble Pie by Jennifer Donnelly

There are a lot of things Theo does that people don't like about him, but he usually gets away with it. In the hope that a piece of humble pie will help him stop eating bad things, his grandmother decides to make a huge dessert.

King Hugo’s Huge Ego by Chris Van Dusen

When a sorceress disguised as a king causes Hugo's head to swell, he learns a very important lesson about pride. The size of Hugo's head keeps getting bigger and bigger. He must decide if he will keep acting like he's better than everyone else, or if he will choose a different path and bring his head down to size.

King of the Golden River by John Ruskin

He lives and works on a big farm near a beautiful river. As it happens, two of the brothers are so proud that they don't want to do any work. They leave most of the work to Gluck, who is the youngest. It soon pays off for Gluck to be humble when a little kettle starts to work its magic. He is a hard worker with a kind heart.

The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson

He was so self-conscious that he only cared about how he looked. All of his time and money went into getting the best and best clothes for his wardrobe. One day, two scam artists came to town and claimed to be master weavers who could only make clothes that could be seen by the most important people. When the Emperor could not see the fabric but didn't want to admit it, he had a suit made of the invisible cloth and wore nothing but his underwear when he went around his kingdom.

Noddy Goes to School by Enid Blyton

It's hard for Noddy, a little wooden boy, to keep his head down because he is getting so many compliments from other people. He goes to school to learn humility.

Hare and Tortoise Race Across Israel by Laura Gehl

Friends It is at a train station, and Hare starts to boast about how he can move faster than the train. After some joking around, the two decide to have a race to the Dead Sea. In the beginning, Hare thinks that he has a lot of time to stop for treats and talk with people on the way. He will soon learn that he might have gone a little overboard with his boasting.

Fool Moon Rising by Kristi and T. Lively Fluharty

The moon starts to notice how bright he is, and soon his vanity makes him too much to stand. There's a good chance that a well-placed ray of sunshine will hide the moon. This makes him realize that his shine is just a reflection from the source of true brilliance and light.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

He shows up in the desert one day, next to a pilot who lost his flight over the sand. The prince tells the pilot about his adventures across the universe, landing on planets where strange creatures live. Each one has an undesirable trait that they wear like a badge of honor. The prince tries to show them how to let go of this weight and have a child-like view of life again.

Once a Mouse by Marcia Brown

A tiny mouse is about to be eaten until he meets a magical person and turns into a tiger. Pride in his new-found size and looks soon gets the tiger in trouble.

I’m the Best by Lucy Cousins

Dog always talks about how great he is to his friends, and they're getting tired of it. Friend: Dog's pals decide to help him learn about the value of humility in a gentle way.

The Big Boasting Battle by Hans Wilhelm

A lot of pride makes Horace the lion and Sylvester the snake talk about themselves all the time. They can't stop talking, even to each other. But when they have to work together to get out of a bad situation, both of them need to show a little more humility.

Loudmouth George and the Big Race by Nancy L. Carlson

Everyone on the block knows that George is the fastest rabbit on the block. His pride makes him not do as much training for the big race as he should. When the big race comes, George is shocked!

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