American
Young Abraham Lincoln and the Books by Firelight
A frontier boy walks miles to borrow a book, and when rain ruins it he could stay quiet — instead he owns up to the owner and works off the cost.
This Week · Honesty · Presidents' Day lead-in
Honesty — is it ever hard to tell the truth?
For littler ones: Sometimes the truth is hard to say. Why say it anyway?
This week we're wondering about honesty — and not the easy kind. Anybody can tell the truth when it costs nothing. The harder question, worth turning over in the car or at the dinner table, is what happens when the truth is expensive: when owning up means trouble, or when standing behind your word means real danger. With Presidents' Day coming, here are three true American stories where someone told the truth anyway.
This week's stories
American
The Room Where the Words Were Written
The men of the Continental Congress signed their own names to the Declaration of Independence, knowing that if the cause failed those signatures could cost them everything.
American
Audie Murphy, the Farm Boy Who Went to War
A poor Texas farm boy, Audie Murphy lied about his age to enlist — and went on to earn more medals for bravery than any other American soldier of World War II.
Talk about it
- Has there ever been a time when telling the truth was going to get you in trouble? What did you decide to do?
- Lincoln could have said nothing about the ruined book. Why do you think people own up even when no one would catch them?
- The signers wrote their names where everyone could see them. What makes putting your name on something feel different from just saying it?
A new question every week.
Listen together in the app — short audio stories for kids 4–10, at bedtime, on the drive, in the drop-off line.
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