Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie

Name: Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie
Author: Laura Rankin

A story that explores integrity and opens a conversation with your child.

★★★★★ Loved by families

Read the Guiding Questions Find this book →

♥ This book teaches: Integrity. doing what is right when no one is watching.

Before, During & After Reading

Guiding Questions for Parents.

Definition: Integrity means being honest, and responsible and respectful all the time, whether or not people can see what you’re doing. In short: Do the right thing, even when no one's looking. Summary: Ruthie likes things that are tiny. One day she finds a teeny, tiny camera on the school playground. She claims it as hers even though her classmate Martin says it is his. Their teacher keeps the camera until they can figure out who owns it. Ruthie feels bad about lying until she confesses to her parents about lying. The next day she tells her teacher the truth and apologizes to Martin. Ruthie’s surprised when her teacher hugs her and thanks her for telling the truth. How does Ruthie feel after that? She feels happy and realizes she doesn’t miss the camera, not “one teeny tiny bit.” Lesson Objectives:

Students are more inclined to tell the truth not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because you’ll feel good about yourself when you do.

Guiding Questions:

What does Ruthie like?
When she finds a camera on the playground, she wants to keep it even though Martin says it’s his. Why does she like it so much?
Do you think she wanted to keep the camera because she didn’t believe Martin or because she just wanted it for herself, even though she knew it was probably Martin’s?
How do you think Martin felt when Ruthie refused to give the camera back?
What were some of the consequences Ruthie imagined happening after she lied about the camera? How did that make her feel? Why did Ruthie not eat dinner or breakfast after she lied?
Did it help Ruthie when she confessed to her parents about the lie?
What did Ruthie do to make up for her mistake?
Did you ever find something that didn’t belong to you? Did you keep it or did you try to find the owner?
Can you think of something you might find that would be very hard to give up to the proper owner? Would you give it back anyway, even if you really, really wanted to keep it?
Ask your parents or a family member if they ever were in a situation like Ruthie’s where they found something they wanted to keep. What happened?

🌿 Virtue Connection: Integrity means doing what is right even when no one is watching.

About the Story.

This guide is part of the Values & Virtues library, a free collection of 400+ book guides and activities organized around 12 core virtues for children from pre-K to 6th grade. Each guide includes Guiding Questions designed to open a real conversation with your child in 10 minutes or less.

Read-aloud video · Best with headphones

Find this book at your library or bookstore →

Integrity · Family Discussion Guide

Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie

by Laura Rankin

Guiding Questions

Students are more inclined to tell the truth not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because you’ll feel good about yourself when you do.

Guiding Questions:

What does Ruthie like?
When she finds a camera on the playground, she wants to keep it even though Martin says it’s his. Why does she like it so much?
Do you think she wanted to keep the camera because she didn’t believe Martin or because she just wanted it for herself, even though she knew it was probably Martin’s?
How do you think Martin felt when Ruthie refused to give the camera back?
What were some of the consequences Ruthie imagined happening after she lied about the camera? How did that make her feel? Why did Ruthie not eat dinner or breakfast after she lied?
Did it help Ruthie when she confessed to her parents about the lie?
What did Ruthie do to make up for her mistake?
Did you ever find something that didn’t belong to you? Did you keep it or did you try to find the owner?
Can you think of something you might find that would be very hard to give up to the proper owner? Would you give it back anyway, even if you really, really wanted to keep it?
Ask your parents or a family member if they ever were in a situation like Ruthie’s where they found something they wanted to keep. What happened?

valuesandvirtues.org · Made possible by our supporters

Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie

Guiding Questions for Parents.

About the Story.

More Integrity guides.

A Bike Like Sergio's

A Hen for Izzy Pippik

Bartali's Bicycle

Cookies ~ Bite-Size Life Lessons

Explore more guides for Pre-K & Kindergarten.

Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie

Guiding Questions