7 Clever Books About Tattling: Breaking Your Child's Tattling Habit

Discover 7 of my favorite books about tattling that you can read with your kids. These children’s books are not only entertaining but also educational, helping your children understand the important difference between tattling vs. telling.

Spoiler: Here’s my favorite book about tattling! “A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue” by Julia Cook

Hey there, fellow homeschool parents and teachers! Over the last few weeks, my son and I have been reading A LOT of SEL read alouds about social emotional skills.

But how do we teach about tattling? It’s understandably hard for kids to understand the difference between tattling and reporting big problems.

That’s why today, I’m going to share with you my favorite tattling books so you can teach this important skill without the confusion.

Let’s start with my favorite one, the tattle tongue book! ↓

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Top Pick: Tattle Tongue Read Aloud

“A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue” by Julia Cook

The A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue read aloud is a great way to explain to your child the difference between tattling vs. telling. This cute Julia Cook read aloud about a young boy named Josh, who just can’t seem to stop tattling.

His mother was tired of hearing his tattles and warned him of the tattle tongue sickness. This sickness is when your tongue starts to itch, turns yellow with purple spots, and grows longer and longer.

This made Josh a bit nervous so he was more reluctant to tell an adult when a bully was being mean to a young girl on the playground. Josh should have told someone but he was nervous about catching tattle tongue.

In his dream that night, he looked in the mirror and realized that he caught tattle tongue sickness! In his dream, the tattle Prince helped Josh see the difference between tattling vs. telling with the tattle rules. From then on, Josh could see when it was appropriate to tell and when not to tattle and his case of tattle tongue sickness disappeared.

Other Epic Books About Tattling

“The Great Math Tattle Battle” by Anne Bowen

In “The Great Math Tattle Battle,” readers are introduced to Harley, a math prodigy who has a habit of tattling on his classmates for making math mistakes. His constant tattling annoys his friends and teacher, who urge him to find a better way to use his math skills.

One day, a new student named Emma arrives in class, and she is just as good at math and tattling as Harley.

The two kids soon find themselves in a tattling competition, trying to one-up each other at every turn. However, when their teacher assigns a challenging math problem, they realize they must work together to solve it and become friends.

This book is a great resource for teaching children about the negative effects of tattling and the importance of working together to achieve common goals. It emphasizes the value of using one’s skills to help others rather than to put them down.

“A Tattle-tell Tale” by Kathryn Cole

The book is about a boy named Joseph who is being bullied by another boy who wants to take his lunch at school. The bully threatens Joseph, telling him that if he tells anyone, he will be sorry.

Joseph is unsure who to trust and whether he should tell anyone. He eventually confides in the principal and learns the difference between tattling and telling when a problem is serious enough.

The principal helps both Joseph and the bully, and Joseph learns the importance of speaking up and seeking help when dealing with bullying.

Tattling Vs. Telling / Reporting: Teaching The Difference

“Miles Mchale Tattletale” by Christianne C. Jones

Miles is a young duck who had a lot of trouble with tattling. He’d tell tattles on his classmates, friends, and his family all day long.

One day his teacher decided to start a no-tattling competition where Miles and his classmates worked in teams to see who could tattle the least amount of times. Even with the competition, Miles struggled not to tattle because he didn’t quite understand the difference between tattling vs. telling. His team was upset with him because he was causing them to lose the tattling competition.

After a little coaching from his teacher, Miles eventually learned the appropriate times to tell an adult. One day, his sister fell and got hurt. Through this experience, he realized that he could tell an adult and it wouldn’t be tattling. Even though Miles and his team lost the competition, tattling was no longer a problem for him and his class.

“Don’t Squeal Unless It’s A Big Deal” by Jeanie Franz Ransom

Mr. McNeal’s class had a problem with tattling. One by one, each of her students took turns tattling on each other with problems that they could have solved on their own. This trend started to build and build until at once, all the children ran up to her desk with their own tattle to tell her.

Mrs. McNeal decided to give her students a new class rule using her special word for tattling, “squeal”. Their new class rule was, don’t squeal unless it is a big deal. As the class discussed kid-sized problems vs. big problems that need to be brought to an adult’s attention.

Even though the class had their new class rule, they still had trouble with tattling. Suddenly, Mrs. McNeal slipped and fell over and got hurt. The class called the nurse and the office because of this emergency. With the help of Mrs. McNeal’s accident, the class learned the difference between tattling vs. telling.

“Diamond Rattle Loves to Tattle” by Ashley Bartley

In this charming children’s book, Diamond the snake has a bad habit of tattling on her friends. She can’t help but notice everyone’s little mistakes, and whenever she does, she rattles her rattlesnake rattle.

But Diamond’s teacher helps her to understand the difference between tattling and telling. She learns that it’s important to solve her own small problems and help others solve theirs without always resorting to tattling.

As Diamond practices this new skill, she begins to notice the benefits. She has an easier time making friends, and she’s even promoted to safety patrol at school because of her improved ability to report and not tattle.

Through Diamond’s story, children will learn about the importance of thinking before speaking and the difference between tattling and telling. It’s a valuable lesson that can help children develop strong relationships and become responsible members of their communities.

Books About Gossip & Tattling

Tattling is in a category of its own but it can lead to a more juicy habit like gossip. We all know how easy it is to get caught up in a bit of gossip, but it can lead to some serious consequences. That’s why I’m excited to share with you one of my favorite playful and clever children’s books about gossiping that teaches children to avoid the pitfalls of gossiping.

“Armadillo Tattletale” by Helen Ketteman

This story helps children learn about tattling but it is also one of the best children’s books about gossiping.

It tells the story of Armadillo, who was born with large ears that allow him to eavesdrop on his animal friends’ conversations, and he would tattle on them.

However, his tattling caused problems among his friends, and they became angry with him and each other. Alligator was especially upset and bit off most of Armadillo’s ears, leaving them tiny.

Although Armadillo was initially sad about losing his ability to eavesdrop, he soon realized that he could run faster to the watering hole without tripping on his long ears. From then on, he enjoyed fresh water whenever he wanted.

Through this experience, Armadillo learned an important lesson about the value of keeping secrets and not gossiping about others. The story also teaches important lessons about the negative effects of tattling and the importance of respecting others’ privacy.

Conclusion: 7 Clever Books About Tattling

I hope you enjoyed our top 7 books about tattling! By reading these books with your kids, they will not only learn the difference between tattling and reporting but also gain a deeper understanding of how their actions can affect others.

Add these books to your reading list and make learning about tattling a fun and interactive experience for your children. Happy reading!

What’s Next?

As I mentioned above, my son and I have been spending a TON of time reading books about teaching social emotional skills over the last month or so. If you want to see the other books that we’ve loved to teach more important skills, here is the full list!

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