The University of St. Thomas

Catholic Social Teaching in K-8 Literature

Resources in Catholic Social Teaching for Elementary and Secondary Schools

Catholic Social Teaching in K-8 Literature

 

Major themes of Catholic Social Teaching

Dignity of the Human Person

 

Title

Author

Type

Pages

1. Holes

Louis Sachar

Chapter

233

2. The Music of Dolphins

Karen Hesse

Young Chapter

181

3. Sadako & 1000 Paper Cranes

Eleanor Coerr

Young Chapter

77

4. I Have a Dream

Martin L. King, Jr.

Non-fiction

40

5. Children Just Like Me

UNICEF

Non-fiction

79

6. Whoever You Are

Mem Fox

Picture

 

7. Hope

Isabell Monk

Picture

 

8. All the Colors of the Earth

Sheila Hamanaka

Early Picture

 

9. Another Important Book

Margaret W. Brown

Early Picture

 

10. To Everything

Bob Barner

Early Picture

 

Community, Family, and the Common Good

Title

Author Type Pages

1. Because of Winn-Dixie

Kate Di Camillo Chapter 182

2. Our Only May

Amelia Jennifer Holm Chapter 251

3. Fig Pudding

Ralph Fletcher Chapter

4. So Far From the Sea

Eve Bunting Older Picture 30

5. Family

Isabell Monk Picture

 

Rights and Responsibilities

Title

Author Type Pages

1. One-eyed Cat

Paula Fox Chapter 216

2. Behind the Bedroom Wall

Laura Williams Chapter 169

3. Peace Begins With You

Katherine Scholes Older Picture

4. Riding the Tiger

Eve Bunting Older Picture 30

5. The Butterfly

Patricia Polacco Older Picture

 

Option for the Poor

Title

Author Type Pages

1. Jip His Story

Katherine Paterson Chapter 180

2. A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska

Diary 217

3. The Great Gilly Hopkins

Katherine Paterson Chapter 148

4. Sweet Clara & the Freedom

Deborah Hopkinson Older Picture

5. Fly Away Home

Eve Bunting Older Picture 32

6. The Quiltmaker's Gift

Jeff Brumbeau and
Gail de Marcken
Older Picture

7. How Many Days to America:
A Thanksgiving Story

Eve Bunting Older Picture

 

Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers

Title

Author Type Pages

1. Where the Red Fern Grows

Wilson Rawls Chapter 180

2. Mary on Horseback: Three Mountain Stories

Rosemary Wells Chapter 48

3. A Day's Work

Eve Bunting Older Picture 30

4. Beatrice's Goat

Page McBrier Older Picture

5. Jeremiah Learns to Read

Jo Ellen Bogart Older Picture

6. My Rows & Piles of Coins

Tolowa M. Mollel Older Picture

 

Solidarity

Title

Author Type Pages

1. Flying Solo

Ralph Fletcher Easy Chapter 138

2. Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez

Margo Sorenson Biography 137

3. Number the Stars

Lois Lowry Chapter 103

4. The Turnip

Harriet Zieffert Easy Reader

5. Smoky Night

Eve Bunting Older Picture

6. We All Sing with the Same Voice

Philip Miller and
Sheppard Greene
Early Picture

 

Care for God's Creation

Title

Author Type Pages

1. The Talking Earth

Jean C. George Chapter 151

2. There's an Owl in the Shower

Jean C. George Chapter 134

3. An Elm Tree & 3 Sisters

Norm Sommerdorf Older Picture

4. Behold the Trees

Sue Alexander and
Leonid Gore
Older Picture

5. In Every Tiny Grain of Sand:
A Child's Book of Prayers and Praise

Reeve Lindbergh Older Picture 73

6. Old Turtle Text

Douglas Wood Older Picture

7. A Gift From the Sea

Kate Banks Picture