First Virtues for Toddlers: 12 Stories in One Volume

There should have been ones on charity, diligence, chastity, humility and temperance, but that is okay; it's still good for small children.

My 20 month old daughter and I love this book. The rhyming stories are cute and simple. We read several everyday. I like having a book that introduces the concepts of honesty, obedience, patience, and others. I love that there are simple Bible verses at the end of each story.

We really enjoy reading this book to our two year old. I first saw a copy in our nursery at church and loved the content. We continue to read from it and our daughter enjoys it very much. The pictures are cute and colorful and the content is just right to teach valuable lessons on good manners and being helpful.

If you want help instilling good qualities like generosity and patience in your toddler or preschooler, First Virtues for Toddlers by Dr. Mary Manz Simon is a great addition to the family library. This fat book contains 12 stories (originally published as individual books), each emphasizing a different virtue: kindness, truthfulness, loving nature, patience, forgiveness, friendliness, thankfulness, obedience, joyfulness, generosity, politeness, and a desire to do the best job possible. Each story is short, written in strong rhyme, and has cute pictures of animals drawn by Linda Clearwater, Dorothy Stott, Kathy Couri, and Phyllis Harris. Here's an example of the text: "If I make a great big mess, I'll be honest and confess. I will not steal from a store. I will pay at the door." Each chapter always refers back to the Bible, offering a simple biblical quote for children to memorize. The last few pages of the book contain notes for parents, with ideas on promoting virtues. What I Like: This book is well written and has adorable illustrations. What's not to like? What I Dislike: My only complaint is that the parental notes would be more useful directly before or after the stories they pertain to, rather than squeezed in at the end of the book. Overall Rating: Excellent. Kristina Seleshanko Managing Editor Christian Children's Book Review

This is a wonderful book. My own child enjoys this book very much. There are many stories within the book. Even though the book is fairly thick, my daughter loves for us to read the whole book through. I love that it teaches her good virtues. The pictures are great, too. I've given this book as gifts. It is wonderful.

The Easter bunny brought this to our 2-1/2 year old this Easter. It has 12 short rhyming stories about various virtues specific to toddlers- sharing, patience, love, kindness, etc. Each ends with a short Bible verse relating to the story, simple enough for a small child to repeat after you and even memorize. I had intended to read each story every day for a week each so that my son could memorize the verses. However, he loves the book so much, he wants to read the WHOLE thing every night! Needless to say, it's been a hit at our house. What a great way to begin "hiding the word" in their little hearts!