Self Esteem and Confidence Story Time!

The first book that I read for this story time was How To Find a Fox by Nilah Magruder. The kids absolutely loved this book! The fox is always several steps ahead of our heroine and leads her on a merry chase. I would ask the children where the fox was on each page and they had great fun telling me where the fox was! Sometimes the fox hid under a bush, was in the tree with an owl, was with a family of raccoons, or was standing below a tree. I love the message of the story because just as our heroine is ready to give up on finding the fox the author says, "Take deep breaths. Close your eyes. Take a walk in your mind. Now's not the time to give up." Then our heroine finds the fox as he looks into our heroine's camera lens. After all, "Some days, he(a fox) wants to find you!"

I had high hopes for Love Monster by Rachel Bright, I really did. But the kids were just not focused on the story, so I stopped reading it. That said it is a wonderful story about a funny looking monster who feels lost in a world of cute fluffy kittens, puppies, and bunnies. Our monster feels like he doesn't belong. As the author says, "But nobody loves a slightly hairy, I-suppose-a-bit-googly-eyed monster". So our monster sets out on a search to find someone who would love him just the way he was. His search is long, hard, and unsuccessful. He is ready to give up. But when our monster decides to give up and take the bus back home he finds out that the bus driver is a girl monster who looks just like him!

After I stopped reading Love Monster, I started reading Be Who You Are by Todd Parr. The children enjoyed listening to this story. This story features bright, bold, and colorful illustrations. It was interesting to find out that the art for the book was created on a drawing tablet using an iMac, starting with bold black lines and dropping in color with Adobe Photoshop. The book contains positive messages such as:
"Be who you are."
"Be a different color."
"Speak your language."
"Learn in you own way."
"Be proud of where you're from."
"Stand up for yourself."
"Be the best that you can be."

Read Aloud Stories about Self-Esteem and Confidence

The following is a list of books that I ordered from other branches for my self-esteem and confidence story time, but when I received them I realized they were too long for story time and would be better as one on one read alouds, for example a parent reading a book to his or her child.
One on One Read Alouds

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell is the story of Molly Lou Melon, a short girl with buck teeth and a voice "that sounded like a bulldog being squeezed by a boa constrictor". In spite of that, her grandmother told her to stand tall, smile big, and sing out loud and clearly. So she does even when she is teased by the school bully, Ronald Durkin. Molly Lou Melon's cheerful optimism and "can do attitude" turns a bully into a friend.

Dragon Was Terrible by Kelly DiPuccchio tells the story of a dragon who stomps on flowers, plays tricks on the guards, spits on cupcakes, and takes candy from baby unicorns! Who can possibly tame this dragon? A young boy writes a story about a brave dragon who saves a princess! He reads the story aloud so Dragon can hear it. Dragon realizes that he is finally appreciated and accepted, smiles and sits down with the boy to hear how the story ends.

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, a timeless classic, tells the story of a little mouse who loves and adores her name until she gets to school and her classmates tease her relentlessly about her name. With the help of her parents and her teacher, Delphinium, she learns to love her name again.

Princess Truly in I Am Truly by Kelly Greenawalt is an amazing and wonderful story! Princess Truly is a strong and self-confident girl who tells the reader throughout the story about all the things she can do! In Princess Truly's own words, "I am strong, I am skillful, I am a born leader." I had really wanted to read this book for my story time, but reluctantly decided that it was too long.

Red A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall tells the story of an unfortunate blue crayon who is labeled as a red crayon. His teachers, mother, and grandmother all try in vain to get him to color blue instead of red. One day, he meets a new friend, a berry crayon, who asks him to draw a blue ocean for his berry boat! And the crayon draws a big, beautiful, blue ocean! Now, his family and friends come to appreciate and accept him as a blue crayon.

Meet Spork in Spork by Kyo Maclear. His father is a fork and his mother is a spoon. Neither the forks or spoons accept him and Spork never gets chosen to be at the table. But when the baby of the family starts to eat on his own, only Spork can help him.

In Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andrea, Giraffe dreads the annual Jungle Dance in Africa. Why? Because he can't dance! The other animals make fun of his attempts to dance. Then he meets a cricket who tells him, "But sometimes when you're different you just need a different song". Then the cricket picks up his violin and starts playing and Giraffe begins to dance! The other animals are amazed and ask him how he did it. Gerald replies with, "We all can dance when we find the music that we love".

In Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall, Jabari is ready to jump off of the high diving board! After all, he has finished his swimming lessons and he's passed his swim test and he's ready to jump! Or is he? When he hesitates his dad tells him, "It's okay to feel a little scared. Sometimes if I feel a little scared, I take a deep breath and tell myself I am ready. And you know what? Sometimes it stops feeling scary and feels a little like a surprise." After his dad's encouraging words, Jabari climbs up the ladder, walks all the way to the end of the board, curls his toes around the edge of the diving board and jumps!

In Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts, Jeremy wants a pair of brand new shoes and not just any pair of shoes. He wants the pair that's currently in fashion - black high-tops with two white stripes. When he asks his grandmother for a pair she replies, "There's no room for want around here - just need. And what you need are new boots for winter. When Jeremy's shoes come apart, Mr. Alfrey, the guidance counselor, gives him a Velcro pair of shoes - just like the ones Jeremy's little cousin wears. All of his classmates, except Antonio, laugh at him. Jeremy finds the shoes that he wants at a thrift store, but they are too small. When Jeremy's feet are covered with band aids from shoes that are too tight and when he sees that Antonio needs a pair of shoes, he gives his shoes to Antonio.

In A Small Thing .... but Big by Tony Johnston, Lizzie is playing happily in a park, but then she sees a dog and suddenly stops. Lizzie is afraid of dogs. The dog's owner, a kind and elderly man, convinces Lizzie to pet the dog (Cecile). With his encouragement, she and Cecile's owner walk together through the park. Then Lizzie walks Cecile! At the end of the story, Lizzie tells the dog's owner, "Before today, I was very afraid of dogs" and he replies "Before today, I was very afraid of children".