As schools mandate character education, teachers face the dilemma of crowding another requirement into their teaching schedules while continuing to meet increased accountability for academic performance. Therefore, teachers are seeking the most effective approach to teaching character education and one that conserves time in their classrooms. Teaching character principles that apply to children’s literature is a character education strategy that conserves classroom time because it does not infringe upon the academic schedule. The principles of character education are an effective match for guided reading activities to enhance reading comprehension and character.