There are so many situations that require children to be brave. Recovering from a failure, meeting new people, trying something they’ve never done before, and speaking up about something unfair all require kids to draw on their courage. That’s hard enough for adults to do, and we have a lot more life experience to guide us! There are lots of things adults can do to help children develop courage. Children’s books about courage and bravery can also help guide and supplement other practices and conversations. This post includes 14 wonderful books about being brave for 3 – 14 year olds.
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Picture books about courage and being brave
After the Fall (How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again) by Dan Santat
Everyone knows Humpty Dumpty fell off a wall in a great fall, but what you probably haven’t thought about is what happened next. Dan Santat (one of my favorite illustrators) shows how the accident kept Humpty Dumpty from pursuing some of their favorite things. But one day, they create a gorgeous paper airplane that makes them really happy. That is, until they realize that they’ll have to face their fear of heights to keep the airplane around. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7. Thai-American author/illustrator).
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Bravo Anjali by Sheetal Sheth. Illustrated by Lucia Soto.
This book about courage shows that sometimes being brave is hard because others don’t want you to shine.
Anjali loves drumming on her tabla. But when her friend Deepak accuses her of showing off, Anjali is hurt. She makes a mistake on purpose, but that doesn’t stop Deepak from telling people Anjali is only getting attention is tabla class because she’s a girl.
Anjali is furious and hurt at the same time. She wants to win the upcoming music contest, but if she does will Deepak tease her even more? Anjali has to decide whether to “dim her light” or to shine like the star that she is. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8. Indian-American author. Spanish-born illustrator.)
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I Am Courage: A Book of Resilience by Susan Verde. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.
Following a child on an eventful bike ride, this book about courage is filled with affirming messages that children can repeat to themselves. Being courage means accepting the challenges of life, asking for support, and acknowledging our fear while still working to accomplish the things we want to do. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8. White author. White illustrator.)
Desmond Gets Free by Matt Meyer. Illustrated by Khim Fam.
Inspired by a quote from anti-apartheid leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu, this allegory not only teaches about courage, but also about the need for people to work together to conquer injustice. When a huge elephant falls asleep sitting on Desmond’s tail, some of the animals he asks for help don’t want to get involved. When another mouse tries to act by themselves to move the elephant, they realize that many more people will be needed to move the huge animal. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8. White author.)
Related post: 15 picture books about social justice and human rights
Antonio’s Card/La tarjeta de Antonio by Rigoberto González. Illustrated by Cecilia Concepción Álvarez.
Leslie is Antonio’s mother’s partner, and she’s a special person in Antonio’s life. But when the other kids in his class make fun of the way Leslie looks, he wants to avoid drawing attention to her. As Mother’s Day approaches, Antonio makes a special card for Mami and Leslie. But when he learns that all the cards will be displayed in the school cafeteria, Antonio will need all his courage. (Bilingual English/Spanish book. Recommended for ages 5 – 9. Gay Chicano author. Chicana illustrator.)
Related post: 17 LGBTQ affirming picture books
Something Happened In Our Park: Standing Together After Gun Violence by Ann Hazzard, Marianne Celano, and Marietta Collins. Illustrated by Keith Henry Brown.
In this realistic book written by three child psychologists, a young boy named Miles doesn’t want to return to his neighborhood park after his cousin Keisha is injured in a shooting. Miles’ family patiently works with him to confront his fears, while Keisha’s involvement in a community campaign to end violence grows. This is a book about courage that addresses bravery not just at the individual level, but the communal level as well. (Recommended for ages 5 – 9. Two of the authors are white, one is Black. Black illustrator.)
Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera. Illustrated by Lauren Castillo.
This evocative poem about U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera’s early life in his Mexican-American farmworker family begs to be read aloud. The book is filled with great acts of bravery, from moving to a new land to walking into a classroom where he could neither read or write the language. Herrera’s descriptions of how he became a writer, such as “I grabbed a handful of words I had never heard and sprinkled them over a paragraph so I could write a magnificent story” are repeatedly followed by an invitation to children to imagine what they can do. (Recommended for ages 5 – 9. Mexican-American author. Cuban and Puerton Rican illustrator).
Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth by Michelle Duster. Ilustrated by Laura Freeman.
Few leaders in American history have matched the bravery and boldness of journalist and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells. Written by Wells’ great granddaughter, this compelling account of her life includes countless acts of courage, from rejecting train car segregation to reporting about the lynching of her friends, to her challenge to the feminist movement’s exclusion of Black women. The bold illustrations, some of which include moving quotes by Wells, are striking and memorable. (Recommended for ages 6 – 10. Black author. Black illustrator.)
Related post: Best picture books about Black women leaders
Middle grades chapter books about courage and bravery
Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
Since Amina started middle school, so much seems to be changing. Her best friend Soojin is hanging out with Emily, who used to make fun of the girls’ Pakistani and Korean lunches. Soojin even wants to change her name to something “American” when her family becomes citizens, a desire Amina can’t understand.
When Amina’s uncle arrives for a long visit from Pakistan, she overhears him questioning her love of pop music to her father. Her parents have always said that music pleases God, but Thaya Jaan thinks otherwise.
When someone carries out an attack on the community’s mosque, Amina wonders how her voice can help her community, and how she can find the courage to use it. (Pakistani-American, Muslim author. Recommended for ages 8 – 12)
Related post: 12 books to help children understand Islamic faith and culture
Partly Cloudy by Tanita S. Davis
Starting at a new school where you don’t know anyone is hard for any child. But for Madalyn, it also means moving in with Papa Lobo, her kind but odd great uncle, for most of the year. Meanwhile her father finds work in another city and her mother is putting in so many hours at work that there’s not enough time for the heart-to-heart conversations Madalyn wants to have.
As a newcomer and the only Black girl in her class, Madalyn is trying to navigate the waters of middle school friendship. When her new friend Natalie makes assumptions about a boy based on racial stereotypes, Madalyn must decide whether their friendship is worth being honest or not. (Recommended for ages 8 – 12. Black author.)
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The Insiders by Mark Oshiro
When his family lived in San Francisco, Héctor always felt comfortable in his own skin, but in his new town, nothing feels right. The school has no drama program, Mike (a homophobic bully) torments him at school, and a harsh teacher blames him for Mike’s actions.
Héctor starts hiding in the janitor’s closet, but one day finds it transformed into a space filled with whatever he needs in that moment, eventually including two other queer kids from other states who face their own struggles. Oshiro’s carefully crafted narrative will, at various times, make your heart both break and explode with joy. They don’t simplify how difficult it is to stand up to bullying, or how much it takes for young teens to realize that they are never alone. (Latine non-binary queer author.)
The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani.
Being who you are, even when others don’t understand your indentities, requires courage.
When Sonia leaves her tiny laid-back private school for public school, she wrestles with her identity in a way that she’s never had to do before. Everyone at school seems to be Black or white, and she’s Indian. Or is she part Indian? And is she Jewish, or part Jewish?
At home, her family is struggling to deal with her father’s job loss and his deepening depression, and Sonia’s mother seems alarmed about her new friends and the sport they’ve led her to: cheerleading. Sonia’s struggles around ethnic and religious identity, shifting friendships, and a completely new school environment are at times painfully realistic, yet this authenticity is what will make the novel so appealing to young teens. (Recommended for ages 10 – 14. Indian-American, Jewish author.)
Loteria by Karla Arenas Valenti
As 11-year-old Clara helps her mother make Oaxaca City’s best hot chocolate, she has no idea she’s the subject of a Loteria game between Life and Death (who prefers to go by Catrina.) Whoever wins the game will determine whether Clara lives long or fades quickly.
As Life and Catrina play the Loteria cards, Clara is absorbed into saving her younger cousin Estaban. Overwhelmed by grief for his recently deceased mother, Estaban is tricked into traveling to the mythical Kingdom of Las Pozas, where danger awaits at every turn. Clara, who has never considered herself brave or skilled, must summon her courage time after time to protect her cousin. (Recommended for ages 10 – 14. Mexican-American author.)
