Good Books for your Kids to Read

As a mom of younger children...ie. I don't have teenagers that are beginning to make their way in the world and have had 14+ years of loving parents pouring their time and God's Word into their heart so that they can accurately discern right from wrong and make decisions that would please God's heart....I am often confused and disheartened to hear other parents and teachers say that "classic literature" is boring, or too difficult for young children to understand, not relevant, not interesting, etc, etc.

I will not be disrespectful and "book bash" here; but, instead, I will start putting up blog posts and reviews of what I consider to be good literature for younger kiddos to read.  I don't expect to change anyone's mind...rather, I feel that by offering time tested options that are interesting, that are full of adventure, that I don't have to turn the other way because there is bad language or intense love/violent scenes, that have lessons of character that are good for the young and old to read, that by doing this and offering these options, that maybe, just maybe you might pick up a few for your own kids and realize that there are really some excellent "classic" books out there for your children to read, or have read to them.

1.  To start off, I'll tell you about some collections that we personally have purchased.  Here alone is a library to get you started and would keep any avid reader busy for quite some time.

http://www.yesterdaysclassics.com/o/ebooks.php

Last year, Yesterday's Classics ran a deal where 225 of their books were available for purchase on Kindle for just $99.  That's less than .50 a book!  They are currently for sale for $150.  If you scroll through the link listed above, you can see pictures of all the books included and brief paragraphs about what each book is about.  The books are divided into more than 20 genres/topics.

Krypto is currently reading "Boys and Girls of Colonial Days" for our Tapestry of Grace curriculum. After he read 2 chapters of it this morning, he came out talking all about the story of the girl that was making soap while her mother went to visit a sick neighbor with her herbs.  The Indians came to visit and they had turkeys for sale.  Knowing that her family would want a turkey for their holiday dinner; but, having no money, she traded her soap for the turkey and then realized that she didn't have anymore soap.  She made another batch and Krypto said it was a whole "How to" on the process of making soap.  He wanted to try it, right then, and see if the hen's egg would float on the top like the girl in the story said it would.

That is a great story in my mind!  You have history, education, it's exciting, and there is moral development going on as well.  From this series we've read several other books, mostly history; but, they were all enjoyable to an 8/9 year old!

2.  Another large collection that would keep most any child busy for months on end...

http://www.henty.com/s86p1428.htm

Have you heard of GA Henty?  Even the other day when I was watching Downton Abbey, they mentioned him in the show!  Yes, a British Author that had boys and wanted them to have character building, adventure stories.  He tied them all into a historical time period and so you get some history, a character lesson, lots of adventure, and a gospel message at the same time.  Interested... you can get the individual books for free on Amazon OR pay a couple of dollars (maybe $4) and buy a collection of all of them together.  There is also the option to buy them in paperback and hardback if you so desire.  Let's just say, we have the entire collection on Kindle and about 20 of them in hardback in storage.

3.  http://www.visionforum.com/browse/product/complete-rm-ballantyne-adventure-library/

In the same vein as Henty...what about RM Ballantyne?  A Scottish man who traveled to America, worked in publishing, and was an artist.  Again, adventure stories, more geared to boys; but, I've heard of lots of girls that have enjoyed this series of books.  On Amazon, I think you can get the whole series for about $2.

4.  http://www.lamplighterpublishing.com/

Another group of hundreds of good books would be the Lamplighter Series.  We have probably more than 30 of them, mostly in storage...and a few on Kindle.  I've incorporated them into the kids' free reading time and this summer I had Krypto read and write a review on "Sir Knight of the Splendid Way."  Also this past summer, at the homeschool convention in Winston-Salem; Krypto spent his own money to buy one of them, "The Lost Ruby."  Here's what the website says in a review of "The Lost Ruby"...

This is the story of young Lieutenant Wildberg and the heavy price he paid for succumbing to the subtle temptation of wordly logic.  Though at first his "indiscretion" seemed to accomplish a great and noble good, it eventually brought grief  and harm to those he loved.  He learned that "Even the most trivial lie is an evil seed."


5.  If you want something that was published in the past 20 years or so.... :), here is a series we recently found and truly enjoyed.  The Landon Snow series.  Let's just say Krypto was carried away, he loved the Narnia series and this reminded him of it and a bit of "Alice in Wonderland", too.  He instantly noticed the Biblical allegory, it wasn't subliminal in anyway and we had some great conversations about the books.  In no way am I saying that modern publishing can't put out good books; but, I do feel they are much fewer and farther between.

Here's a review of the Landon Snow series from "The Old Schoolhouse Magazine"

http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschool_Reviews/3577.php

There are so many other good books out there.  As a family we've listened to the Narnia audio series done by  Focus on the Family.  We're reading through the Little House books as a family too, currently, we've been reading "Little House by Silver Lake" though there's been a bit of a hiatus as we read "Amon's Adventure" for Lent.

I'm planning on posting more about good books that we read.  Awesome options that your children will want to read.  You won't have to say "No, you can't read that" anymore or "Well, at least they're reading", or even worse "Well, they're going to read it anyway"...instead, when you question a book that your child has picked up at the library (and as parents we should be careful what those little eyes, ears and minds take in...remember the children's song "oh be careful little eyes what you see...") and aren't convinced it's worthy of a read, don't think it's inevitable that they'll read it anyway, have a substitute...an option for them.

As a parent, we have to be involved, we have to question everything that goes into making them the person they are going to become.  Once those images or ideas are in there, it's much harder to get them out.  My children dream vividly and take most things at face value, they are too young to be overly analytical at this stage.  That is why God gave children parents, to do the analyzing and shield their children from the inappropriate material that is bombarding them in this world.  They'll have time enough as teenagers and young adults to spread their wings and discern right from wrong; but, if we've spent those first 14 years pouring the good in, I'm convinced that they will be much better able to make the "right" decision without much help from us.  We'll be there, and I hope they will come back to us for wisdom and advice; but, I'll feel comfortable and sure that my little birds will soar!!!!