(and adults)
Books for Mama's
(coming soon)
“I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story. The good ones last. ~ C.S. Lewis
I didn't truly discover children's literature until I had children of my own. I find it hard to admit, and truly to even believe, that I didn't grow up a reader. I read a little here and a little there... but it never amounted to much. Since that time I have made up for all the time that was lost and have fallen deeply in love. Read alounds have become the very fabric of our home. What a joy it has been to discover Anne Shirely, Laura Ingalls and countless others alondside my children.
There is no substitute in childhood for a well written children's book. My standards are quite high. They can afford to be. There is no lack of amazing literature available to us and our children. We simply need to know how to sift through the rubbish to find them.
"If we read 10 books every day, it would take more than 35,000 years to read all the books that have been written in moder history. Since we are not going to live that long, we can only choose some books to read. And the books we choose are important - very important."
~ Jenny Phillips, The Good and The Beautiful Language Arts & Literature Level 3, unit 2.
All books have a message and agenda. We are fortunate enough to have amazing resources to help us navigate this endless sea of books. It is up to us as parents to provide a healthy feast of of good literature to our children. Left unattended, they will be drawn to every cover that sparkles and shines. It has been my experience the the books with the shiniest covers are the least brilliant. It may feel like a dauting task, but it is well worth our while. The value of what can be gleened from reading good literature is priceless.
Books with excellent book recommendations include:
- Honey for a Child's Heart, Gladys Hunt
- The Read-Aloud Family, Sarah Mackenzie
- Read Aloud Revival
- The Read-Aloud Handbook, Jim Trelease
- Give Your Child the World, Jamie Martin
There are countless resources for book reviews and recommendations. Some of my favorites are:
- Redeemed Reader
- Common Sense Media
- they recently added a fee to use their website, $3/month, $30/year
Happy reading!