Buddhanet is a website started before 1995, dedicated to using technology to make the Buddha’s teachings available to all. This collection of free downloadable children’s ebooks in pdf format contain many gems.

• This 86-page version of the story of Angulimala, written by G.K. Ananda Kumarasari is written for a wide range of ages. For children as young as three years old, the author suggests you may choose to simply explore the illustrations and captions. For an interesting lesson with older students, consider comparing and contrasting this story with the chapter on Angulimala (Chapter 53) from Old Path, White Clouds.
• In the Dead of Night is a parable about fear, narrating the story of a man who imagined scary monsters in the night, and in the end, after the sun rises, discovers what each of his hallucinations was in reality. A story children are sure to relate to and enjoy, it illustrates core Buddhist teachings, including that phenomena are not as they seem to be and that mind and emotions color or even create our everyday experience.
• Dhammapada Stories is a collection of 29 simple stories retold by Bhikkhu Gambhiro. The Dhammapada is one of the earliest texts with a recording of the Buddha’s own words. In the introduction, the editor writes, “There are 423 verses in the Dhammapāda, and behind each one of them is a story which bears a lesson of great moral value whether they concern such human flaws as pride and greed, or such virtues as compassion and generosity.”
• If you have to choose just one to download, the Stories of the Buddha balances a diverse collection of important moments from the Buddha’s life, and pairs them with simple line drawings, which are included with just their captions in the coloring book version, for printing and coloring.  Again, as with the Angulimala story above, there are multiple opportunities for comparing these stories with other versions found in Old Path, White Clouds. Comparing and contrasting is a challenging cognitive task which develops critical thinking.
• Other notable resources include Guided Meditation for Primary Students and Life of the Buddha for Secondary Students.

You can find these and many other resources on the Buddhanet webpage dedicated to Buddhist ebooks for children.

⚠️ Please note: Some of the other resources on this webpage from Buddhanet are very traditional and even controversial in their attitudes towards child-raising and do not necessarily reflect the views of Middle Way Education. Please select and choose resources from that page with care, to ensure that the texts are appropriate for you and the children you work with. 

If you find others you’d like to recommend, let us know by reaching out to [email protected]