The Value of Honesty: The Story of Confucius

ValueTales Series

by Spencer Johnson, Steve Pileggi (Illustrator)

The life and teachings of the Chinese philosopher are presented as a paradigm of intergrity and dedication for young readers following his successes and failures

Genres: Biography, Childrens, History, China, Asia

63 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1976

About the author

Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Patrick Spencer Johnson was an American writer. He was known for the ValueTales series of children's books, and for his 1998 self-help book Who Moved My Cheese?, which recurred on the New York Times Bestseller list, on the Publishers Weekly Hardcover nonfiction list. Johnson was the chairman of Spencer Johnson Partners.

Reviews

[Sophie Plouffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful children’s book. Hands down the best i’ve ever read. Confucius is such an inspiration and I admire his morals. I will definitely be learning more about him :)

[Erik Akre · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Value Tales fail to do their job, in my opinion. They teach "values" pedantically, talking down to their young readers/listeners and making simple and dumb the lives of their subjects. (The illustrations complete the process.) They seemed quite dated even fifteen years ago. The books definitely have a schtick that is consistent among them, but they have been quite well replaced by biographical children's books that exhibit artfulness, grace, honesty, and beauty. This is one that I remember reading to my first daughter when she was young, and as far as I can remember I put the series down after that. We have a small collection in my classroom, given as a donation, and it never gets touched.

It might refute my point to mention that the above daughter, when she learned to read, could sometimes be found paging through the Value Tales series, apparently engaged. There may be more in these books than a critical adult might see, and if so I stand corrected.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this series of books when I was a kid, and I have really fond memories of them. I found a few updated versions of the stories and now read them to my kids. They actually ask for them pretty frequently. They each include an "inner voice" that speaks to the main character and encourages them to use positive values and traits in their lives. The story of Confucius seems a bit simplified to me, but I really like the message of this book, not only about honesty but about treating others how you would like to be treated.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the books that really stuck with me from childhood, as if I read it yesterday!

[C.G. Fewston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was a kid and remember it fondly, and will have to revisit it with my children.

[Elizabeth Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread this book as I was packing this series in a box to give away. I remember my mother reading this book and the rest of the series. I learned about a famous person in history and a character trait. I truly enjoyed this series when I was younger.

[Pretzel Penpal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a few of these books as a kid. I read them over and over. Love the illustrations. The messages are over simplified as I reread as an adult but I can’t wait to share the stories with my little nephew

[Jecel Cortes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Would read again

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprised it wasn’t called the Value of Wisdom.

[Kristyan Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the entire ValueTales collection when I was younger, and the story of Confucius was one of my favorites. Although the actual biographical account is shallow, young students can at least gain an idea about Confucius' character with this book. This story could be used during a unit on Chinese history or Eastern religions. Since Confucius is usually only discussed in textbooks (if at all) in relation to Confucianism, this book is a great way to give students a little background knowledge about some of the events of his life. And the honesty moral is a very nice bonus.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what an amazing man Confucius was. I love how this book shows how a rival Duke tricked the Duk of Lu with a present of entertainment so he wasn't as concerned about his people any more. I think that many people in the world today are being taken out of the game by entertainment.

[Makenzie]

Great