The Little Virtues – Books That Teach Virtues
I recently came across a set of amazing books for children. The Little Virtues book collection uses books and learning to teach kids emotions and help develop character. The book collection includes the below characters and virtues (don’t forget to shop their adorable plush dolls too!) you can find all the books to buy here.
- Little Love, the girl who learns self-worth
- Little Brave, the knight who learns courage
- Little Faith, the girl who learns resilience
- Little Charity, the elf who learns selflessness
- Little Envy, the mermaid who learns self-acceptance
- Little Honest, the baker who learns honesty
- Little Honor, the sun prince who learns humility
- Little Patience, the fairy who learns patience
Rose Sprinkle is the passionate author & founder of The Little Virtues. For years she thought she would become an elementary school teacher, but instead pursued another love of graphic design. The Little Virtues is a marriage of these two passions, education & art. She’s been fascinated by human relationships, development & what makes people happy. Each Little Virtue was written at a time when she was struggling to learn that particular principle.
Let’s learn more about Rose and her company below
Let’s talk about you! What is your story? What made you start The Little Virtues?
I started The Little Virtues after I suffered a mental health crisis. I was diagnosed with PTSD after the sudden and traumatic loss of a best friend. I struggled to regulate my emotions and felt completely isolated. It was during this journey through my grief that I found healing in practicing virtues; how to rebuild my self-worth and choosing hope when I had none.
I learned that mental illness has no respect for anyone, even those in the best of circumstances. If anyone had good odds, it was me. I had the support of great families and friends, a successful career at Amazon, and the help of mental health professionals
I started writing each book as I was trying to learn that particular virtue and going through a hard time as a means of healing. It was then that I felt a calling to help kids and families learn how to build self-respect and character in the face of adversity through meaningful stories and characters.
I invested and bootstrapped $50k of my own money into writing the books while working full-time at Amazon. And now I’m expanding it to include a curriculum and other social-emotional learning tools.
Where do you get the creative ideas from to write your books and design your matching plush dolls?
I find inspiration everywhere from my past to the mundane everyday things. During COVID my husband and I were watching a ton of baking shows and I thought it would be hilarious to write a book about a baker that cheats. That’s when I had the idea for Little Honest. The idea for Little Charity came from my mom. Growing up my sister and I used to sneak around and open up our Christmas presents early, so we loved the idea of doing a Christmas book about a naughty elf. If I start to get excited about an idea, that’s typically my first clue that it’s a story worth writing to me. Then the story and characters kind of start to form after I have the basis of the story in my mind.
The plush dolls were a challenge. It took me about 2 years to find a vendor that I could work with. They’re really fun to design and it’s fulfilling to see these original characters be brought to life as a doll. Sometimes we have to take out details so we can simplify the dolls or problem-solve in a different way. It’s a totally different medium to play with.
Your books are so unique and powerful to so many different childhood development virtues, why is it so important for you to teach children about these virtues through your book?
I think virtues are important because they teach kids how to properly love themselves and recognize true love from others. I didn’t grow up understanding boundaries in any way and was constantly prioritizing other people over my own needs. I thought that was “kindness.” It led me down a path of trying to validate my worth through over-achieving. I’ve had to unravel and understand a lot of these things and how they’ve affected me as an adult. I love these virtues not because I’m perfect or great at them, but because it’s a reminder to me of what I’m striving for and what I want to pass on to my kids so they can live a better life. Plus, there are just so many cool virtues! There are dozens, so learning about the nature of virtues and how important they are has been really fascinating and helpful to me.
