Be Your Own Hero Activities

What makes someone a hero? Lisa King explores this topic in the book, Be Your Own Hero. This story shows that being a hero has a lot more to do with character and kindness than anything else! I want to share some activities you can pair with this story.

I received a copy of this book from the National Center for Youth Issues (NCYI) in exchange for an honest review.

About Be Your Own Hero

Written by: Lisa King
Illustrated by: Colleen Madden

It’s Hero Week at school, and Quinn Wilson can hardly contain her excitement! Each day, her class will meet a real-life hero, and on Friday they get to dress up as their favorite hero from the past or present. Every other kid in the class knows who they want to be, except for Quinn! There are so many heroes she looks up to! How can she choose just one?

But when Quinn’s teacher, Mr. Finley, teaches the class some important truths about heroes, Quinn discovers something unexpected. In her search to find a hero in someone else, she actually finds the hero in herself!

We often teach children that heroes are famous because of something they did, but it’s just as important to teach them that heroes are remembered for who they are. In Be Your Own Hero, Lisa King reveals what it takes to be a real-life hero. And it has a whole lot more to do with character and kindness than anything else! Being a hero takes having the courage to believe in yourself, overcome obstacles, and make the world a better—and brighter—place for everyone around you. And the good news is, we all can do that!

I think this book sends a great message to kids about what it really means to be a hero. The lessons learned from each hero in the book are ones that kids will remember. Another thing I love about this book is how it features class photo pages in the back of the book. There is a page showing each class member as the hero they chose to dress up as for Hero Week. On the opposite page, the author and illustrator take a sneak peek 20 years in the future to see what became of each student. Some matched their heroes, and some went in a different direction – much like true life!

Be Your Own Hero Activities

I have put together some resources to help guide your students through this book.

There are 8 discussion question cards to help guide your students through the text. In addition, I have also included a Hero Week activity page. This activity helps students focus on each hero introduced as well as the lesson learned from each hero.

In the story, Quinn brought a watering can to school to show which heroes were helping her grow into the person she was meant to be. Students can decorate their own watering can with the names of the heroes in their lives that are helping them grow.

You’ll also find these writing template pages. Students can respond to one of the discussion questions, share what it means to be a hero, or write about a hero in their life.