Hello! I’m Lauren, a mom to two young kids with a background in education and book publishing. When the pandemic first closed our schools in early 2020, my kids and I began exploring character strengths at home. Reading books turned out to be a fun and effective way for us to learn about these strengths and see them in everyday life.

The character strength book guides on this website started as our personal lists for library pick-ups and our home library. Over time, I’ve whittled them down to our favorites—and I’m excited to share them with you! I’ll continue updating the lists and creating resources that support character education and social-emotional learning on the blog.

If you enjoy the content here and wish to support the site, please consider using the BookShop or Amazon affiliate links when adding books to your shelf. These links help keep Character Reads running at no extra cost to you, and I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase.

This is a passion project, and my hope is to provide resources that help families raise kind, principled, and resilient little humans.

All content on this website is copyrighted. You’re welcome to share book lists, blog posts, and information, but materials may not be downloaded, reproduced, or distributed in any form without written permission.