You can be forgiven if, in recent times, it’s gotten harder for you to show and tell your kids stories that reflect goodness and a spirit of community. My boys, now teens, are old enough to absorb not just negative news stories, but my reactions to them. So I find myself casting about for the good stories to counterbalance the bad. We got lucky last winter when, while walking through a local park, we saw a bird in a pond, struggling helplessly, its wing tethered to a tree by a length of fishing line. My husband — a more intrepid person than I (this was winter, remember) — waded chest-deep into the mucky pond to free the bird. My husband’s a good guy, but he’s hardly alone. Just a few weeks ago at a beach in Florida, scores of beachgoers formed a human chain in the surf, saving a family that was in danger of being swept out to sea in a rough riptide.

But you don’t have to wait for heroic avian saves or heartwarming news tidbits, especially if you have little ones. Tons of books provide opportunities to bring to life inspiring stories of the innate goodness of our fellow humans. Start with these eight simple tales.