Age 5 · 19 stories
Kindness stories for 5-year-olds
Kindness is nearly impossible to teach by instruction. It transfers by example, especially when the example costs the character something. Five-year-olds are starting to predict what happens next, which makes a small twist land properly for the first time. These stories give them one.
Stories to read now
Ages 3-6 · 4 minutes
The Sleepy Lighthouse
A lighthouse that has never once slept finally gets a night off.
Ages 4-7 · 6 minutes
Eleven Ducklings and a Crossing
Eleven ducklings, one busy road, and a town that stops.
Ages 3-7 · 5 minutes
The Smallest Dinosaur in the Valley
Everyone in the herd is enormous. Compsognathus is not.
Ages 3-6 · 5 minutes
The Dinosaur Who Was Afraid of Thunder
The loudest animal on earth is terrified of a loud noise.
Ages 5-9 · 7 minutes
A Whale Called Maybe
He sings at the wrong frequency, so nobody answers.
Ages 5-9 · 6 minutes
The Apology That Took Three Tries
"Sorry you're upset" is not an apology, and both of them know it.
Ages 4-7 · 5 minutes
Two People, One Umbrella
The umbrella is small. The walk is long. The rain does not care.
Ages 4-8 · 6 minutes
The Dragon Who Was Scared of Fire
Every dragon in the valley breathes fire. Ember breathes steam, and only when nobody is watching.
Ages 3-6 · 4 minutes
A Dragon in the Recycling
Something is eating the cardboard, and it is not the neighbor's goat.
Ages 3-6 · 5 minutes
Teaching a Dragon to Whisper
A dragon has exactly one volume, and it is bedtime.
Ages 4-8 · 6 minutes
The Unicorn With a Crooked Horn
Every horn in the herd points straight up. Hers points slightly left.
Ages 3-6 · 4 minutes
The Unicorn Who Could Not Sparkle
Everyone's magic arrives on their fourth birthday. Juno's is running late.
Ages 5-9 · 7 minutes
The Unicorn and the Borrowed Rainbow
She only borrowed it for one afternoon. It is now Thursday.
Ages 4-8 · 6 minutes
The Unicorn Who Stayed for the Rain
Unicorns always leave before the rain. This one didn't.
Ages 3-6 · 4 minutes
A Triceratops Learns to Share
There is one fern patch and two very hungry dinosaurs.
Ages 4-7 · 5 minutes
The Astronaut Who Forgot Her Lunch
You cannot pop home for a sandwich from four hundred kilometers up.
Ages 4-8 · 5 minutes
Counting Sheep Went On Strike
The sheep have made a sign. The sign says NO MORE JUMPING.
Ages 4-7 · 5 minutes
The Swing With Two Names
Two children. One swing. Twenty minutes of break left.
Ages 4-8 · 6 minutes
The Cat Who Only Visited Tuesdays
The cat comes every Tuesday, and only Tuesday, and nobody knows why.
How to get the most from these
Kindness needs a cost
If being kind is free in the story, nothing is learned. Watch for the moment the character gives up a turn, a seat or a secret — then say it out loud afterwards.
What works at five
Five is the age where children start guessing the ending out loud. Pause before the turn and ask what they think happens — then read on. Being wrong in a safe story is excellent practice.
Make a kindness stories for 5-year-olds with your child in it
Type a first name and Imagiverse writes, illustrates and narrates a brand-new story around them in about a minute. Free to try, no card needed.
Frequently asked questions
Do kindness stories actually change behavior?
They supply language and a rehearsed example, which makes the behavior available in the moment. Pair them with naming the same behavior when you see it in real life.
Should a 5-year-old be reading along?
Following the words with a finger while you read is plenty at five. Handing over a repeated line — one the story comes back to — gives them a win without turning story time into a lesson.