Want the kids in your life to embrace generosity and giving? Our family loves these ten picture books for the moving stories they tell about giving from the heart. They’re also my top picks for exploring generosity with kids because they show people of many different ethnicities as givers, not just receivers.
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10 Diverse Children’s Books about Generosity and Giving
Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
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Omu (pronounced AH-moo) is the Igbo word for “queen.” In a diverse American city, Omu is making a thick red stew that’s so delicious, she’s sure it will be the best meal she’s ever had. The delicious fragrance wafts out of her apartment, attracting admirers who knock on her door one by one.
Omu has made such a large pot that she doesn’t mind sharing with a young neighbor, a police officer, and the hot dog vendor from downstairs. Eventually, even the mayor stops by! But when it’s finally time for dinner, Omu discovers that there’s no stew left in her pot. Fortunately, Omu’s generosity will inspire a second wave of giving. (Recommended for ages 3 – 7)
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Stone Soup by Jon J Muth
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The version of Stone Soup I knew as a child was more about trickery as it was about sharing. I prefer Jon Muth’s re-telling, where three Buddhist monks remind a village that generosity can overcome mistrust.
Because the villagers have been through hard times, they work hard, but only for themselves. When the monks arrive, they hope to be fed, but they also have a mission of helping the people know happiness through preparing stone soup. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8)
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Under the Lemon Moon by Edith Hope Fine and René King Moreno
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Rosalinda dearly loves her lemon tree. She’s understandably devastated when a man appears in the night and steals all the lemons, leaving the branches broken. Rosalinda, accompanied by her noisy chicken Blanca, set out to ask all the wise people she knows what she should do to heal her lemon tree.
Her abuela encourages her to look for La Anciana, the Old One, who is known for helping crops grow strong and tall. When La Anciana finally appears, she not only guides Rosalinda on how to heal her tree. She also gives her insight into why the man might have taken her lemons. This is a beautiful story not only about generosity, but also about forgiveness. (Recommended for ages 5 – 9)
Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chinn, Cornelius Van Wright, and Ying-Hwa Hu
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It’s New Year’s Day and young Sam cannot wait to spend the lucky money his parents gave him! As they wander through the crowded celebrations in Chinatown, Sam thinks about all the ways he could spend his $4. Sam literally stumbles over a man sitting on the street, and he’s puzzled about why the man would have bare feet during winter.
As they continue their celebrating and shopping, everything that Sam wants costs more than his lucky money. After Sam complains he doesn’t have enough, his mother reminds him to appreciate what he’s given. When they again cross paths with the man who doesn’t have any shoes, Sam finally knows what he wants to do with his lucky money. (Recommended for ages 5 – 9)
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Shoebox Sam by Mary Brigid Barrett and Frank Morrison
Every Saturday, young Jesse and Delia visit Shoebox Sam, who operates a shoe repair store at Magnolia and Vine. In between waiting on paying customers, Sam and the children also provide shoes, snacks, and warm conversation to people who come in off the streets.
When the children want to know why one man eats six doughnuts, Sam cheerfully reminds them “when you’re hungry, you eat!” The story conveys generosity and deep respect for every person who walks through the shoe repair shop door, without being preachy. (Recommended for ages 4 – 9)
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One City, Two Brothers: A Story from Jerusalem by Chris Smith and Aurélia Fronty
This tale has been told by Jews, Muslims, and Christians in the Holy Lands for centuries, and it’s one of our family’s favorite stories of generosity. Two brothers, one single and one with a family, work their family lands on neighboring farms. Both brothers are content with their lives, yet worry a bit about the other.
So one year, when the harvest is particularly good, the older brother decides to surprise his younger brother by loading extra grain into his barn at night. What he doesn’t know is that the younger brother, on a different path, is doing the exact same thing in the older brother’s barn.
The next day, when each brother counts his grain sacks, he’s baffled. They continue their attempts at generosity, until one night, the full moon is bright enough for the brother’s to recognize each other while carrying out their secret missions. (Recommended for ages 4 – 9)
14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy and Thomas Gonzalez
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I was excited to learn about this true story for a couple of reasons. First, the compassion shown by a group of Maasai people towards the United States after the September 11 attacks is moving. Second, it turns stereotypes upside down about all African people being needy and the recipients of help.
This gorgeously illustrated story tells of how Kimeli, a Maasai young man attending graduate school in New York, returns to Kenya. He tells his people of the 2001 terrorist attacks. (The reference to the attack is muted, which I appreciated because my youngest son is easily frightened.)
Because “to the Maasai, the cow is life,” Kimeli and the elders of the tribe decide to set aside 14 of their cattle for America. When the U.S. Ambassador comes to witness the blessing of the cattle, all are reminded that “there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer might comfort.” (Recommended for ages 5 – 9).
Chik Chak Shabbat by Mara Rockliff and Kyrsten Brooker
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Goldie Simcha’s neighbors love Saturday afternoons. That’s because the delicious smells of her cholent waft through the apartment building (all the way down 4 floors!) When they join her for the Shabbat meal of cholent, each neighbor has a different theory on why it is so delicious. But Goldie doesn’t think it’s the ingredients themselves that gives the stew its taste. The taste comes from the experience of togetherness and peace that happens on Shabbat.
One Saturday, it doesn’t smell like cholent through the apartment building. But Goldie’s neighbors are determined to find a way to make it feel – and taste – like Shabbat for Goldie. (Recommended for ages 4 – 8)
The Red Bicycle by Jude Isabella and Simone Shin
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I’ve treasured each one of the CitizenKid books I’ve read, including this one of a bicycle that is shared again and again. Leo, who lives in North America, has lovingly taken care of “Big Red,” his bicycle. When he outgrows it, he wants someone else to have it who’d love it as much as he does. The bike shop owner tells her where he can donate his bicycle, so that someone else who needs it for transportation can use it.
Big Red is carefully packed up and shipped to Burkina Faso. First it’s ridden by Alisetta, whose friends teach her how to ride for the first time. She and her family also use the bike to get their goods to market for several years. Eventually the bike gets damaged, but another man in her village knows of a way her bike can serve even more people in her country. (Recommended for ages 7 – 12)
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Don’t Say a Word, Mamá/ No digas nada, mamá by Joe Hayes and Esau Andrade Valencia
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I suspect this somewhat humorous story of two sisters is inspired by the older tale shared in One City, Two Brothers. Rosa and Blanca love each other so much that their mamá knows she is the luckiest mother in the world. Even when they grow up, the girls each have a house in the same neighborhood as their mother.
When Rosa has a bumper crop of tomatoes, she takes extra to Mamá. Then she swears her to secrecy that she is going to leave half her tomatoes at Blanca’s house as a surprise. Of course, Blanca is doing the same thing and also tells Mamá she must keep her secret. But when the sisters discover their extras, they simply give them to Mamá instead of keeping them.
Mamá keep their secrets, until they try to leave extras of something that can be too much of a good thing! (Bilingual English/Spanish, recommended for ages 4 – 9)