Encourage a Growth Mindset in Kids with these Books

Do you ever come home from a long day at work and find yourself worrying about a minor mistake instead of connecting with your family? I have a little bit of a perfectionist streak, because when I make a misstep, I just can’t let it go. It worries me while we’re eating dinner. Nags at me when I’m giving the kids a bath. Even while I’m reading bedtime stories, I’m fretting over the now long-forgotten issue. Then I discovered that there are tons of great books that encourage a growth mindset in kids, and their messages have helped both me and my kids deal with mistakes a little better!

On one of those days, my mouth was reading Rosie Revere, Engineer but my mind was still 100% focused on something that had happened at work. Then, Rosie’s Great Great Aunt Rose grabbed my attention:

Your brilliant first flop was a raging success! Come on, let’s get busy and on with the next!

I stopped, and read the line again. My girls were wondering what was going on, but I was having a light bulb moment. Here I was, mired in a fixed mindset. I thought that my most recent performance was a referendum on my professional competence. I needed to embrace a growth mindset. When you have a growth mindset, you see challenges as learning experiences – bumps in the road on ultimate journey.

Having a growth mindset is a major predictor of future success. It’s important for students to have a growth mindset. This is the knowledge that one bad grade doesn’t make them unsuccessful. It’s a bump in the road – something that they didn’t understand well for some reason, or just didn’t work hard enough to grasp. One failure at school does not predict a student’s entire academic path, and one small mistake at work does not derail an adult’s career. One study showed a significant improvement in the math grades of students who participated in growth mindset training.

The book that changed my mindset wasn’t a lengthy professional development book written by a PhD.

It wasn’t a Harvard Business Review or New York Times article.

It wasn’t even meant for adults. Rosie Revere, Engineer actually contained the critically important message I needed to hear that day. And Rosie Revere isn’t the only book on our shelf that teaches kids and adults about the brain’s capacity for learning.  I’ve rounded up our favorite five books to encourage a growth mindset in kids and grown-ups, straight from our personal library!

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These five children’s books teach a growth mindset to children and adults.

1. Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beatty

Rosie Revere is an aspiring engineer. When a beloved uncle laughs at one of Rosie’s inventions, she is discouraged and hangs up her engineer hat. (Pssst don’t miss this critical mini-lesson, adults). Rosie’s Great Aunt arrives for a visit, and inspires Rosie to create a new invention. When her helio-cheese-copter fails to fly for more than a few seconds, Rosie is about to quit again when her Great Aunt intervenes. With the help of Great Aunt Rose, Rosie learns that failure is a critical part of success and that everyone fails before they succeed. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying!

2. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

Vashti sits in her art class in front of a blank piece of paper. After being prodded by her art teacher, Vashti makes one tiny dot on the paper. She leaves class frustrated, but the next week her dot is hanging in a frame on the wall in art class. Suddenly, Vashti’s mindset shifts. This little dot is art!  She is flooded with inspiration, making more and more dot art! Before she knows it, Vashti has created an entire gallery of beautiful dots. From Vashti, we can learn that the first step is always the hardest. When you feel stuck, you should always start – even if your first effort isn’t what you want it be. From that first action, another will flow, and another, until you have a flood of activity and ideas. When in doubt – just start, like Vashti.

3. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

A little girl and her dog set out to make something magnificent! At first, they are energetic and inspired. But, after many tries, they end up creating some “not so magnificent” things. The girl and her helper are getting more and more frustrated. Finally, the girl explodes in anger!  Fortunately, her doggy friend inspires her to go for a walk. When they return, the little girl’s mind is clear. Looking at each of her many failures, she sees a bit of success in each. Taking pieces from each of her earlier efforts, the little girl and her dog finally create their most magnificent thing. This story shows us that there is a little bit of success in every failure. Failure is sometimes more valuable than success because it teaches us what to do – and what not to do – next time. And, if you’re getting frustrated, it never hurts to take a walk!

4. Your Fantastic, Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak, Ph.D.

This is one of my kids’ favorite non-fiction books! Dr. Deak takes us on a wonderful trip through the brain – the parts of the brain, how the brain grows and how we learn. The illustrations are fun and the message is perfect for all ages. Dr. Deak’s overarching theme your brain is growing and developing when you struggle with new things – both physical and mental. The more you practice, the more your brain grows and the better you get! You shouldn’t be discouraged by how clumsy you are when you first start soccer, long division, or a new job!

5. It’s OK to Make Mistakes by Todd Parr

This sweet book, recommended by my daughter’s kindergarten teacher, explores the happy side of mistakes. Forgot your umbrella? You can meet a new friend! Sometimes what you perceive as a mistake isn’t really a mistake at all. It’s just that you’ve done things a little differently than the crowd! This book challenges you to flip your thinking. The illustrations and the message are both lighthearted, making this a perfect easy read for kids (and parents) who may be a little too hard on themselves.

Time to Read!

Check these books out on your next library trip, or order them for your own collection! You can encourage a growth mindset in kids during your nightly reading ritual. When you get a hold of one of these books, I encourage you to talk with your child after you read the book aloud. What is the message of the book? How can your child apply the message to a challenge from school? What about you? How can you apply the message to an issue at work? Once you embrace the growth mindset, you realize that you’ll get better and better at it the more your practice it. Go out and grow with your kids through reading!