Picking Books for Children

I tend to be cautious about the books I let my children read. I remember curling up in the big chairs of our house and slowly reading the Ramona books and imagining reaching out my hand and pulling the curls of the girl in front of me. I felt her angst as she looked for that one person in her class that would be her friend. I joined in the story with I spent long hours pretending to be Ramona.

So as my children have begun reading I want to encourage the growth development of Godly character. I do not believe that this alone will produce righteousness but I know our Lord wants us to think on the beautiful things and it is my hope to facilitate this. Since it is our belief children are born sinful I do not believe they need any additional examples of children disrespecting their parents, being ugly to their siblings, calling names (which may be acceptable if the names are not curses and the child is rebuked!), disrespecting teachers, practicing magic etc...

So I have spent some time reviewing Children's literature books.First, thing I do is try to pick a book that is part of series written by on author. An example of this is the Box Car Children, the first 20 are written by Warner the last 100+ are written by a variety of authors. Thus, we would stick with the first twenty books. Second, I have found that for me one of the easiest ways to do so is to listen to the books on CD. I do this while I am cooking or cleaning and the kids are otherwise occupied, normally outside.  so I can listen to 2 or three complete books by the author and I will be aware of any things I may not want my precious ones to pretend. If I am unable to find the book on CD then I will ask Wayne to read the book because he is a much faster reader then I am. Finally, I tend to choose older books written at a time when children respected their parents. Now, keep in mind just because a book is old does not mean it is a book that needs to be read.

We are currently reviewing B is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood. Perhaps, soon it will be a part of our list of recommended reading for our children. I have listed a few books below that we have enjoyed and I think you will too.

Here are a few of the books we have enjoyed:

• Brighty of the Grand Canyon
• The Five Little Peppers and How they grew (this is a series)
• The Boxcar Children (Books 1-20)
• The Boppsey Twins (they use the world negro, instead of black due to the time frame. This should be discussed with your children because it is insulting/inappropiate to be called a negro nowadays.:) )
• Understood Betsy (amazing book we cried, we laughed, we cried again!)
• Sign of the Beaver (girls will like it BOYS will LOVE it. The kid basically becomes an Indian for a time!)
• The Moody Family Series by Sarah Maxwell (Fall with the Moody's, Winter with the Moody's, Spring with the Moody's & Summer with the Moody's)

If you have run accross some wonderful series please leave us a note in the comments so we can also enjoy your finds!

May the Lord guide you as you too seek His will for your children.