The Best Children’s Books About Good And Bad Behavior

“What are the best Children books about Behavior?” We looked at 168 of the top Kids Behavior books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 15 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Children’s Behavior” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 150+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

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Top 15 Childrens Books About Behavior

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15 .) Calm-Down Time written by Elizabeth Verdick and Marieka Heinlen

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes And Noble
• Rhythms Of Play

Simple text and illustrations explain to young children how to calm down.

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14 .) Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners written by Laurie Keller

Lists It Appears On:

• Romper
• Scholastic

Mr. Rabbit doesn’t know how to treat his new neighbors the Ottes who have moved next door. The story highlights how to be a good neighbor and friend–by simply following the golden rule!

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13 .) Enemy Pie written by Derek Munson

Lists It Appears On:

• Doing Good Together
• We Are Teachers

Hoping that the enemy pie which his father makes will help him get rid of his enemy, a little boy finds that instead it helps make a new friend.

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12 .) Last Stop On Market Street written by Matt de la Peña

Lists It Appears On:

• Romper
• We Are Teachers

A young boy rides the bus across town with his grandmother and learns to appreciate the beauty in everyday things.

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11 .) Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse written by Kevin Henkes

Lists It Appears On:

• Pragmatic Mom
• We Are Teachers

Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing her new purse, she does something for which she is very sorry later.

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10 .) Millie Fierce written by Jane Manning

Lists It Appears On:

• Read Brightly
• We Are Teachers

Tired of being overlooked, Millie takes on a loud and obnoxious personality, which makes people notice her–for a little while.

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9 .) My Mouth Is a Volcano! written by Julia Cook

Lists It Appears On:

• Fatherly
• We Are Teachers

This book teaches children to manage their thoughts and words without interrupting.

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8 .) No Hitting!: A Lift-the-Flap Book written by Karen Katz

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes And Noble
• Rhythms Of Play

Children learn alternative actions to hitting when they are mad as they say NO to hitting and YES to fun!

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7 .) Rude Cakes written by Rowboat Watkins

Lists It Appears On:

• Fatherly
• Romper

A story about a rude cake who never says please or thank you or listens to its parents, and a Giant Cyclops who is polite.

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6 .) Stand In My Shoes: Kids Learning About Empathy written by Bob Sornson

Lists It Appears On:

• Doing Good Together
• Romper

After Emily asks her big sister what the word empathy means, Emily decides to pay closer attention to others during her day.

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5 .) Teeth Are Not for Biting (Best Behavior Series) written by Elizabeth Verdick and Marieka Heinlen

Lists It Appears On:

• Barnes And Noble
• Rhythms Of Play

Early Years series providing simple words and colourful illustrations designed to guide children to choose peaceful, positive behaviour.

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4 .) Those Shoes written by Maribeth Boelts

Lists It Appears On:

• Romper
• We Are Teachers

Jeremy, who longs to have the black high tops that everyone at school seems to have but his grandmother cannot afford, is excited when he sees them for sale in a thrift shop and decides to buy them even though they are the wrong size.

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3 .) Llama Llama Mad At Mama written by Anna Dewdney

Lists It Appears On:

• Fatherly
• Parents
• Read Brightly

Mama has just a little shopping to do but Llama Llama isn’t happy at all! He wants to be playing, not shopping and soon everything is flying out of the shopping cart! It’s another llama drama. Can Mama Llama fix it?

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2 .) The Way I Feel written by Janan Cain

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Read Brightly
• We Are Teachers

Illustrations and rhyming text portray children experiencing a range of emotions, including frustration, shyness, jealousy, and pride.

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1 .) When Sophie Gets Angry–Really, Really Angry written by Molly Bang

Lists It Appears On:

• Childhood 101
• Pragmatic Mom
• Read Brightly
• Rhythms Of Play
• We Are Teachers

A young girl is upset and doesn’t know how to manage her anger but takes the time to cool off and regain her composure.

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The 150+ Additional Best Good Behavior Children’s Books

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#	Books	Authors	Lists
16	100th Day Worries	Margery Cuyler	e2e Publishing
17	A Book of Feelings	Amanda McCardie	Childhood 101
18	A Sick Day for Amos McGee	Philip C. Stead	We Are Teachers
19	A Volcano in My Tummy: Helping Children to Handle Anger	Eliane Whitehouse (Author) and Warwick Pudney (Author)	Rhythms Of Play
20	Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day		Read Brightly
21	All Kinds of Feelings	Sheri Safran	Childhood 101
22	Angry Octopus: An Anger Management Story introducing active progressive muscular relaxation and deep breathing	Lori Lite (author) and Max Stasuyk (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
23	Argyle Fox	Marie Letourneau	We Are Teachers
24	Bear says “thank you”		Playful Notes
25	Because Amelia Smiled	David Ezra Stein	We Are Teachers
26	Best, Best Friends		Pragmatic Mom
27	Big Tree is Sick: A Story to Help Children Cope with the Serious Illness of a Loved One	Nathalie Slosse	We Are Teachers
28	Clark the Shark	Bruce Hale	We Are Teachers
29	Clifford’s manners		Playful Notes
30	Cool Down and Work Through Anger	Cheri J. Meiners M.Ed.	Rhythms Of Play
31	Crabby Pants	Julie Gassman	We Are Teachers
32	Cry, Heart, But Never Break	Glenn Ringtved	We Are Teachers
33	Curious George		Pragmatic Mom
34	David and the Worry Beast	Anne Marie Guanci	e2e Publishing
35	David Gets In Trouble	David Shannon	We Are Teachers
36	Don’t Think About Purple Elephants	Susanne Merritt	We Are Teachers
37	Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music	Margarita Engle	We Are Teachers
38	Duck & Goose		Parents
39	Emily’s Sharing and Caring Book		Playful Notes
40	Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah	Laurie Ann Thompson	We Are Teachers
41	Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students: Helping Kids Cope with Explosive Feelings.		Parent Books
42	Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle	Chris Raschka	We Are Teachers
43	Extraordinary Jane	Hannah E. Harrison	We Are Teachers
44	Feelings	Aliki	Childhood 101
45	Feet Are Not for Kicking	Elizabeth Verdick (Author) and Marieka Heinlen (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
46	Finally		Pragmatic Mom
47	Finn Throws A Fit		Fatherly
48	First Day Jitters	Julie Danneberg	Scholastic
49	Five Nice Mice		Parents
50	Genius! Nurturing the Spirit of the Wild, Odd and Oppositional Child.		Parent Books
51	Giraffes Can’t Dance	Giles Andreae	We Are Teachers
52	Glad Monster Sad Monster	Anne Miranda and Ed Emberley	Childhood 101
53	Grumpy Bird		Parents
54	Hands Are Not for Hitting	Martine Agassi Ph.D. (Author) and Marieka Heinlen (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
55	Hey Warrior!	Karen Young	e2e Publishing
56	Hippo says “Excuse me”		Playful Notes
57	How Big Are Your Worries Little Bear?	Jayneen Sanders	e2e Publishing
58	How Do Dinosaurs Say I’m Mad?		Fatherly
59	How I Became a Pirate		Pragmatic Mom
60	How To Speak Politely And Why	Munro Leaf	Romper
61	How to Take the Grrrr Out of Anger	Elizabeth Verdick	Rhythms Of Play
62	I Am so Angry, I Could Scream: Helping Children Deal with Anger	Laura Fox (Author) and Chris Sabatino (Author)	Rhythms Of Play
63	I Hate Everything! A Book about Feeling Angry	Sue Graves (Author) and Desideria Guicciardini (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
64	I Want My Hat Back	Jon Klassen	We Are Teachers
65	I Was So Mad	Mercer Mayer	Rhythms Of Play
66	I’m a Girl!	Yasmeen Ismail	We Are Teachers
67	I’m Furious	Elizabeth Crary (Author) and Jean Whitney (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
68	I’m Mad	Elizabeth Crary (Author) and Jean Whitney (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
69	I’m Not Bad, I’m just Mad: A Workbook to Help Kids Control Their Anger	Anna Greenwald (Author), Zack Pelta-Heller (Author), and Lawrence Shapiro Ph.D. (Author)	Rhythms Of Play
70	In My Heart: A Book of Feelings	Jo Witek	Childhood 101
71	It’s Okay to Make Mistakes	Todd Parr	e2e Publishing
72	Jabari Jumps	Gaia Cornwall	We Are Teachers
73	Lacey Walker, Nonstop Talker	Christianne C. Jones	We Are Teachers
74	Learning to Listen, Learning to Care: a Workbook to Help Kids Learn Self-Control and Empathy.		Parent Books
75	Life	Cynthia Rylant	We Are Teachers
76	Little Dinos Don’t Push	Michael Dahl and Adam Record	Barnes And Noble
77	Little Dinos don’t yell		Playful Notes
78	Little elephant listens		Playful Notes
79	Little lion shares		Playful Notes
80	Little Monkey Calms Down		Fatherly
81	Llama Llama Time to Share		Playful Notes
82	Lying Up a Storm	Julia Cook	We Are Teachers
83	Mad Isn’t Bad: A Child’s Book about Anger	Mundy Michaelene (Author) and R. W. Alley (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
84	Maddi’s Fridge	Lois Brandt	Romper
85	Manners time		Playful Notes
86	May I please have a cookie?		Playful Notes
87	Mending the Broken Bond: the 90-Day Answer to Developing a Loving Relationship with Your Child.		Parent Books
88	Miss Nelson is Missing	Harry Allard	Scholastic
89	Missing Mommy: A Book About Bereavement	Rebecca Cobb	We Are Teachers
90	Mouse says sorry		Playful Notes
91	Mouse Was Mad		Fatherly
92	My Many Coloured Days	Dr Seuss	Childhood 101
93	My Very Own Space	Pippa Goodhart	We Are Teachers
94	Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still	Karlin Gray	We Are Teachers
95	No More Meltdowns: Positive Strategies for Managing and Preventing Out-of-Control Behavior.		Parent Books
96	No, David!		Pragmatic Mom
97	Officer Buckle and Gloria	Peggy Rathmann	Scholastic
98	Oops, Sorry!: A First Book Of Manners	Richard Morgan	Romper
99	Optimistic Parenting: Hope and Help for You and Your Challenging Child.		Parent Books
100	Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed	Emily Pearson	We Are Teachers
101	Pablo And His Chair		Fatherly
102	Parenting with Positive Behavior Support: a Practical Guide to Resolving Your Child’s Difficult Behavior.		Parent Books
103	Pass It On	Sophy Henn	We Are Teachers
104	Penguin says please		Playful Notes
105	Pippi Longstocking		Pragmatic Mom
106	Rulers of the Playground	Joseph Kuefler	We Are Teachers
107	Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie	Laura Rankin	We Are Teachers
108	Sam’s Pet Temper		Fatherly
109	School Success for Kids with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.		Parent Books
110	Seeing Red: An Anger Management and Anti-Bullying Curriculum for Kids	Jennifer Simmonds	Rhythms Of Play
111	Soda Pop Head		Fatherly
112	Sorry, I Forgot to Ask!	Julia Cook	Romper
113	Stick and Stone	Beth Ferry	We Are Teachers
114	Sunday Chutney	Aaron Blabey	We Are Teachers
115	Tails Are Not for Pulling (Best Behavior Series)	Elizabeth Verdick and Marieka Heinlen	Barnes And Noble
116	Taming the Spirited Child: Strategies for Parenting Challenging Children Without Breaking Their Spirits.		Parent Books
117	The Adventures of Stretch More: Pick-Your-Path Stories for Solving Problems Together.		Parent Books
118	The Book of Mistakes	Corinna Luyken	We Are Teachers
119	The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge	Tim Huff	Romper
120	The Color Monster	Anna Llenas	Childhood 101
121	The Crayon Box that Talked	Shane Derolf	We Are Teachers
122	The Dark	Lemony Snicket	We Are Teachers
123	The Defiant Child: a Parent’s Guide to Oppositional Defiant Disorder.		Parent Books
124	The Dot	Peter H. Reynolds	We Are Teachers
125	The Feelings Book	Todd Parr	Childhood 101
126	The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes	Mark Pett	We Are Teachers
127	The Great Big Book of Feelings	Mary Hoffman	Childhood 101
128	The Grouchy Ladybug		Read Brightly
129	The Heart and the Bottle	Oliver Jeffers	We Are Teachers
130	The Huge Bag of Worries	Virginia Ironside	e2e Publishing
131	The Invisible Boy	Trudy Ludwig	We Are Teachers
132	The Invisible String	Patrice Karst	We Are Teachers
133	The Kazdin Method for Parenting the Defiant Child: With No Pills, No Therapy, No Contest of Wills.		Parent Books
134	The Memory String	Eve Bunting	We Are Teachers
135	The Quiet Book	Deborah Underwood	Childhood 101
136	The Recess Queen	Alexis O’Neil	Doing Good Together
137	The Sneetches and Other Stories	Dr. Seuss	Romper
138	The Tale of Pip & Squeak		Parents
139	The Teacher from the Black Lagoon	Mike Thaler	Scholastic
140	The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon		Read Brightly
141	The Very Frustrated Monster	Andi Green	Rhythms Of Play
142	The Way I Act	Steve Metzger and Janan Cain	Barnes And Noble
143	Theo’s Mood	MaryAnn Cocca-Leffler	Childhood 101
144	There Are No Animals In This Book		Childhood 101
145	There Might Be Lobsters	Carolyn Crimi	We Are Teachers
146	Thing-Thing	Carly Fagan	Romper
147	This Is The Rope: A Story From The Great Migration	Jacqueline Woodson	Romper
148	Tight Times	Barbara Shook Hazen	Romper
149	Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods That Make My Day	Jamie Lee Curtis	Childhood 101
150	Too Shy for Show-and-Tell	Beth Bracken	We Are Teachers
151	Two Bad Ants		Pragmatic Mom
152	Voices Are Not For Yelling	Elizabeth Verdick (Author) and Marieka Heinlen (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
153	We’re All Wonders	R. J. Palacio	We Are Teachers
154	What if everybody did that?		Playful Notes
155	What to Do When You Worry Too Much	Dawn Huebner	e2e Publishing
156	What to Do When Your Temper Flares: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Problems With Anger	Dawn Huebner (Author) and Bonnie Matthews (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
157	What Were You Thinking? Learning To Control Your Impulses	Bryan Smith	Barnes And Noble
158	What Your Explosive Child is Trying to Tell You: Discovering the Pathway from Symptoms to Solutions.		Parent Books
159	When I Feel Angry	Albert Whitman	Rhythms Of Play
160	When I’m Feeling books	Trace Moroney The Five Mile Press	Childhood 101
161	When Miles Got Mad	Sam Kurtzman-Counter (Author) and Abbie Schiller (Author)	Rhythms Of Play
162	When Mouse Was Mad	Linda Urban (Author) and Henry Cole (Illustrator)	Rhythms Of Play
163	When My Worries Get too Big	Kari Dunn Buron	e2e Publishing
164	When Worry Takes Hold	Liz Haske	e2e Publishing
165	Will Powers: Where There’s A Will, There’s A Way	Coy Bowles	Romper
166	Wilma Jean the Worry Machine	Julia Cook	e2e Publishing
167	Words Are Not for Hurting	Elizabeth Verdick	Rhythms Of Play
168	YOU WILL BE MY FRIEND!	Peter Brown	We Are Teachers

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14 Best Children’s Behavior Book Sources/Lists

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Source	Article
Barnes And Noble	7 Picture Books to Help Kids With Hitting, Biting, or Shoving
Childhood 101	16 Awesome Kids Books Exploring Feelings and Emotions
Doing Good Together	A Growing List of Picture Books about Bullies, Bystanders, and Being
e2e Publishing	10 Best Children’s Books to Help Kids with Anxiety
Fatherly	10 Children’s Books That Teach Kids How to Handle Tantrums
Parent Books	Children with Behaviour Challenges Booklist
Parents	5 Books to Promote Good Behavior
Playful Notes	13 children books about manners that are great for toddlers
Pragmatic Mom	Top 10 Children’s Books: Trying Out New (Bad) Behavior
Read Brightly	All the Feels: 7 Books to Help Kids with Their Emotions
Rhythms Of Play	Children’s Books About Anger Management for Toddlers to Teens
Romper	15 Children’s Books That Teach Your Child Not To Be Entitled
Scholastic	5 Back-to-School Books That Teach Classroom Behavior
We Are Teachers	50 Must-Have Picture Books About Emotion