From the Scholastic Bookshelf: How to Talk to Your Child About Honesty

Every parent wants their child to grow up honest, whether it means avoiding the temptation to cheat on a test or taking responsibility for returning home after curfew. Fortunately, storytelling makes teaching your child about the importance of honesty more relatable.

Books depict the many benefits of living honestly, one of which is earning trust. Characters with honest intentions have happier, more loving relationships, while those who deceive and lie damage their ties with others. 

For its 100th anniversary, Scholastic spoke with experts to identify a set of tips, articles, and books that make starting a conversation with your child about honesty easier. These resources are part of a broader initiative, called the Scholastic Bookshelf, created for Instagram to raise awareness around contemporary issues affecting children today.

Whether you are communicating the basics of honesty to your toddler — like telling the truth and sharing important information with a trusted adult — or want to give your older child a glimpse of the consequences of deception, these books will make an impact.

Picture Books About Honesty

In Pig the Fibber, readers meet Pig the Pug, who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants — even if it means getting Trevor the sausage dog in trouble! After Pig’s master plan to get all the treats gets Trevor thrown out of the house, Pig thinks he’s in the clear, but his lies catch up with him.

The best-selling No, David series also hones in on honesty with David Gets in Trouble. Mischief-maker David always has an excuse ready to get himself out of trouble. While you and your child will laugh at the familiar fibs — the dog is still to blame for missing homework, in case you were wondering — the book will ultimately encourage your child to choose honesty. 

Chapter Books About Honesty

After reinventing themselves, sisters Abby and Sydney find themselves at opposite ends of the social ladder at middle school in She’s the Liar. Sydney heads the Committee, an all-powerful student organization that more or less controls student life. As the sisters vie for power and influence, and get caught up in a web of lies of blackmail, it becomes clear that honesty will be the only way both personalities can coexist peacefully.

The novel That’s Not What Happened strikes a more serious tone, taking place in the wake of a high school shooting. While the incident galvanizes the public, it divides, and different parties lay claim to the story of one student’s fate who died during the massacre. The narrator of the novel knows the public account isn’t what went down and is determined to set the record straight. Author Kody Keplinger weaves a tense tale of finding the courage to speak the truth.

Be sure to visit the Scholastic Bookshelf for more resources on honesty and other must-discuss topics.

Here are more ways to start important conversations with your child:

• How to Talk to Kids About Rejection
• How to Talk to Kids About Empathy
• How to Talk to Kids About Online Safety