Our favourite picture books and stories

You don’t have to look hard to find children’s stories with morals and sentiments that are supported by humanists. What we highlight below are some books that contain a more particular humanist message. That is not to say that they can’t be enjoyed by non-humanists, just that they provide especially helpful resources for teaching about the humanist approach to life. The examples below are particularly useful at Key Stage 1 and 2, although picture books and stories can also be a powerful stimulus in secondary RE.

When using picture books to teach about humanism, there are various approaches one might take. One could start with the book and use it as an initial stimulus to raise discussion about humanist beliefs and values. Alternatively, one might teach something about humanism first, then use the book as an activity to see what students have learned: where can they find characters, actions, or messages that connect to the humanist approach to life and in what ways do they do so?

Picture books

One of our favourites is Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth (Harper Collins Children’s Books) by Oliver Jeffers. Written as advice from a father to his newborn child, it is filled with musings many humanists would have sympathy with, on what we know, how we should live, and how we should treat other people. These include the wonders of the natural world, the pleasure of curiosity, thinking about all people as human beings first, making the most of the here and now, and our responsibilities to other people and the planet. It is a great book to explore with children who have already learned something about humanism, asking them how they might connect the messages in the book to the humanist understanding of the situation in which we find ourselves, and how we might discover positive ways to live. Our resource on Understanding Humanism highlights how the text links to humanist beliefs and values.

Most People (Tilbury House Publishers) by Michael Leannah and Jennifer E Morris makes the claim that, while we are not all happy or good all the time, most people want to be happy, and most of us want to make other people happy – we want to be good. A humanist understanding of ethics is one that says morality evolved through our nature as social animals who have long lived together in communities. We evolved capacities for empathy, compassion, and reciprocity that have enabled us to treat other people well and support us to live peacefully together. We are able to recognise our shared needs and values. There is no claim that we are naturally good all the time or that we always act in positive ways (we also have other less savoury natural instincts), just that our capacity to be good comes naturally to us – humanists believe we don’t need anything outside humanity to tell us how to behave.

I Have the Right to Be a Child (Groundwood Books) by Alain Serres (translated by Sarah Ardizzone) describes the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in an accessible way. It’s a great way to explore human rights with children. Humanists are typically strong supporters of human rights and see them as a product of our recognition of the dignity of each individual person and the value in collaborating for the good of all. Human rights acknowledge how we are all similar and have shared needs to be satisfied (e.g. for health, education, and peace), but they also acknowledge the ways in which we are different and therefore need the freedoms to live our own lives as we wish, as long as we are not causing harm to others or infringing on their rights. Of particular note is the right to freedom of expression… even if our parents disagree.

There are not many children’s books specifically about humanists. Belonging and Believing: My Humanist Family (Books at Press) by Gill Vaisey fills that need. It tells the story of Wilf, a young boy whose parents are both humanists. As Wilf describes his family we learn about their and his own beliefs. Two things are, however, important to note if reading the book. Firstly, many humanists don’t believe in labelling children with a particular religion or worldview: Wilf’s parents are humanists, but they believe Wilf should be free to decide for himself what he believes and how he identifies himself. Secondly, while many humanists will share the beliefs and values expressed in the book, Wilf’s parents represent just one example of a humanist approach to life. We have resources connected to the book available for Early Years teachers.

It can be difficult to find children’s books about death that don’t include some implication that death is not truly the end of our lives. Humanists believe that, when we die, the impact we had in our lives on other people can survive us. We can live on in the memories of others. But humanists are wary of creating any impression that the deceased person themselves survives somewhere else or that those who survive them may have the opportunity to see them again. There are a number of books that take a more humanist approach to how we might understand death. Many humanists believe it is of vital importance that young people have the opportunity to learn about and discuss death as the death of a loved one is something many are likely to encounter in childhood. They believe this can be done in a naturalistic but also a positive way.

We love Fox: A Circle of Life Story (Bloomsbury) by Isabel Thomas. While fox dies, her cubs live on. Her body returns to the natural world, supporting the growth of new life: ‘every particle that once was fox finds a new place in the world.’ It’s a great way to explore the cycles of the natural world of which we are all a part. We’re not sure why foxes are so popular in stories about death but a nice companion to the above is The Memory Tree (Orchard Books) by Britta Teckentrup. After the fox in this story dies, the other animals take turns to share their memories, while a new tree grows where Fox lay. There are strong parallels with common rituals at humanist funerals and the recognition that we live on in others. If foxes aren’t your thing, you might also want to check out The Boy and the Gorilla (Candlewick Press) by Jackie Azua Kramer.

Other stories

The Two Wolves provides a great way to illuminate a humanist understanding of human beings. The story uses a metaphor of two wolves fighting inside us and describes how these give rise to our negative and positive instincts (selfishness, anger, and greed: bravery, honesty, and kindness). For humanists, these both evolved naturally to help us survive. We cannot ignore the bad wolf, but it is our responsibility to try to keep it under control. Humanists believe we should feed the good wolf and encourage others to do the same. We should try to promote our positive capacities and their potential – that way we can live good lives and make the world a better place. The story, of Native North American origin, also provides a good way to demonstrate that, for humanists, what gives a story value is not where it comes from, but is whether it can help reveal something about us – something that fits with our experience and understanding of human nature or the way we think we should live. Wisdom and inspiration can be found in many different places.

Many will be familiar with The Emperor’s New Clothes. It can help to illustrate a humanist approach to deciding what to believe. Many humanists would admire the actions of the young boy in the crowd who speaks up as the Emperor parades naked through the streets, and challenges the claim that the Emperor is wearing fantastic new clothes and only the foolish and blind cannot see them. Humanists believe we should think for ourselves, we should be prepared to ask questions when things don’t feel right, we should look at the evidence, and we should be brave enough to speak up when we disagree (and have the freedom to do so).

The Starfish Thrower was written by the humanist Loren Eiseley. A young girl is helping starfish back into the sea so they don’t die on the hot sand. On being told that she can’t possibly make a difference given the thousands of starfish washed up on the beach, she throws another starfish back into the ocean and says, ‘I made a difference to that one.’ Humanists believe it is up to human beings to make the world a better place. They don’t believe that help will come from anywhere else. If we want things to get better, we need to take responsibility and take action ourselves. The difference we make might be small, but it can still be significant to somebody and so we should do what we can. Our actions can also influence others and how they choose to live and it’s always nice to ask at the end of the story whether the girl’s actions might have an impact on the man who questioned her behaviour, or on others on the beach.

The list above is by no means exhaustive. You can find more of our favourite picture books here. If you can recommend more, then please get in touch on education@humanists.uk.

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