Ah books, are they not lovely things!? I have always had a particular fascination with children’s books. While never a ferocious reader myself, I have long collected and cherished certain children’s books. My favorites are the ones which both an adult and child can find truth and meaning from.
Literature is the foundation of learning, as far as I’m concerned. All of the curriculum and products developed through In Harmony Kids, have beautiful literature at their core. As an English major and former Language Arts teacher, this is a no brainer – high quality literature is incredibly important to the education of a child.
Over the years I have started to form a pretty strict criteria for picking books to be included in my own homeschool library, as well as for In Harmony Kids. I’ve developed this criteria to ensure children are getting valuable literature, stories which are spiritually nourishing & mentally rich, to engage their brains and souls.
Now, of course all of this criteria can vary on the reader. What I find beautiful, you may not. What I find moral, you may not. And, we likely have a different sense of humor as well. So while this is the criteria I use, our libraries and the books our families favor will likely vary largely, which is to be expected.
For a good place to start when searching for books to fill your home library, here are the four criteria I use (plus a bonus):
It Must Be Beautiful
I want the books I own and share to feel like a work of art. Therefore, the first thing I look for is beauty. If it’s a picture book, the images must be artfully done. If it’s a chapter book, the cover and pages should be designed in a pleasing way. As for the words, they must move me.
Why is this so important and the first thing I look for? Because beautiful things are things which have been cherished. Beautiful books are thought through and carefully created. Beautiful words are inspired. Beauty is engaging, it draws you in, and I want to share books which lift the soul. A book which was slapped together quickly without care – instead of made delicately and for the love of the craft – is not one I find worth sharing with children I adore, nor one I will enjoy myself.
It Must Be Alive
I look for books which have life in them. They are not dull or stale. Even if they are informative in nature, they are interesting, and never text books. These books have characters who jump off the pages, and designs or concepts which surprise and intrigue the readers. While I don’t take as strict a stance as the Charlotte Mason philosophy may, the vast majority of the books I pick will be considered Living Books.
What is a Living Book? This is a term Charlotte Mason used to describe the type of books that offer both information and prose. Books where you can learn about a topic, through story. These books are deeply engrossing, and also filled with layers of information.
It Must Be Moral
This is a HUGE category, and can vary greatly by family, and even by child. The books chosen for In Harmony Kids are moral to the standards of traditional Ancient Christianity and traditional agrarian values. However, we will not always throw out a book due to differing morals (if the book meets all the rest of our criteria) because this is often a great way to engage in discussion about the topic at hand and use it as a teaching tool.
Whenever we use books which have something questionable in it, we will always mark it on our values list within the book review page, so you can decided if it’s a good fit for your family. I also think it is important to mention, I do not choose books with questionable morality for Seeds or Roots – for they are not developmentally ready to separate poor morals from good ones, and benefit greatly by having good morals modeled consistently throughout those first seven years.
It Must Be Enjoyable
For everyone! If a book is only funny to my son, then it becomes his book, and it stays in his room. However, if a book is funny or enjoyable to our entire family, then it gets a spot in the family library.
Parents deserve to enjoy the books they read to their family. If my husband or I can’t get through the book, we aren’t adding it to any favorites list. If parents are reading the books, then book choice can not be about the children’s tastes only. My goal is to make sure any Family Read Aloud books chosen are enjoyable to both the children and the adults reading.
BONUS – It Must Be Vintage
This is an additional criteria I often use. While I don’t only chose older books for my library and for In Harmony Kids, I will say I have a preference for vintage works. There is a large soft spot in my heart for the work of authors past, who lived in a simpler time, and who often share more wholesome values than the norms of today.
While you do not need to share my love of traditional works, they do serve an additional function which not all new publications can. They are often a history lesson into the ideals and culture of a different time period. I love to use old writings to teach history so children get to learn history from the perspective of someone who actually lived it. For those times when history proves how cruel humans can be, it’s a wonderful opportunity to remind our children that there is nothing new under the sun, evil has been here since the beginning.
As an added bonus (to me, at least) finding older books is like a treasure hunt. Many are out of print and difficult to find, not easily available as are newer books today. This adds a layer of mystery and excitement for me when I find a vintage book at a thrift store!
Whatever criteria you choose to use to create your homeschool library, may you enjoy the process!
