How to select books for our children

Reading is the BEST and arguably the only reliable way to transfer great ideas. Words can be lost in conversation; only sound bites are often offered through radio or television. We need the FULL context to soundly judge if an idea is good or bad and to continue the transfer of good ideas properly.

Our decisions are made based on the ideas presented to us. We give ourselves far too much credit for creating something NEW; we as humans are moved mainly by propaganda, which is all around us. What is propaganda but a bundle of ideas packaged up and presented to the viewer and or listener?

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Books must remain a priority in our lives. If not, history is lost; without an account, we are bound to make the same mistakes as our ancestors.

Children are our future and our legacy; if you are a mama, you know nothing in the world matters more than our children’s well-being. Connecting them to ONLY the best literature is the KEY that unlocks the doors of education. It is also the key that reveals deception.

Children learn to get ideas and knowledge. They also learn so fruitful ideas are sown into the fertile ground of their minds. The knowledge a child receives during their early years significantly impacts their life more than at any other time. It sets the foundation for everything else learned later. It only makes sense to be overly selective about the material being presented to them and pour in only the best knowledge.

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Much like an adult, a Child’s mind must have an eager attitude of attention to be receptive to an idea. Providing good, thought-provoking, interesting literature will get and keep a child interested. A child may take a single idea and become fixated on it, so we can not afford to leave this to random chance. Providing children with a wide range of good literature and exposing them to only great writers allow them to flourish!

Giving a child one solid, valuable idea through good literature is better than stuffing a bunch of information into their minds.

“A child who grows up with a few dominant ideas in his mind has his self-education taken care of, and his career marked out.” – Charlotte Mason.

Charlotte Mason (1842-1923) is best known for improving children’s education quality. She has much say about reading and the importance of children’s love for it. You can read more about her teaching in her 6 volume series.

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Our children were born with the desire to learn; sit back and listen to them; they are filled with questions. Many times they ask questions that leave us stumped. They, too, can have complex thoughts, and the more we listen to them, the more we can understand they are born persons.

I marvel at their love for life and their desire to learn!

Their love for books can begin early and grow if we present them with the best literature. A great book brings them back, wanting to re-read the book over and over.

A good book can expand their minds and imaginations during their early elementary school years. As they grow and mature, they learn to apply logic and reasoning.

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Stories About Normal Children vs. Tales of Imagination

“Stories about Christmas holidays, John and Emily, or the fun times, peculiarities, upright morality of children just like themselves, living in the circumstances like their own, leave nothing to the imagination.

Children are so familiar with that kind of thing that it rarely occurs to them to play at the situations in any of those stories. They wouldn’t even read it a second time.

But they love tales of the imagination, people from other lands and other times, heroic adventures, death-defying escapes, and wonderful fairy tales in which they can suspend reality and believe the impossible. They can surrender to it and believe even when they know the story is implausible.” – Charlotte Mason.

We want our children to think for themselves as young adults and carry a love for education well into adulthood. I have created a list of children’s books from the ages five through seven (kindergarten & first grade).

Most of these are well-written classic books; you can borrow them from the library or purchase them. Hardcover books are great to buy if you have a home library or want to keep these in your family for future generations. Children often love to re-reading books that prompt their imaginations, and these books do just that! This list is to connect you with some of the best authors’ all-time.

Our book list is not to tell a parent what their child should read. That choice is, of course, solely left up to the parents. This was created to share our family favorites and introduce some of the greatest authors of all time, if not yet known.

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Here is a list of some Great Classic Books your children may long remember well into their adult years. Nothing could be more precious than a child remembering reading time with their mother.

Children’s Booklist

Social Studies

Social Studies can also be referred to as social sciences. The specific topics within social studies that are studied generally include the following: history, government, economics, civics, sociology, geography, and anthropology. These topics often time overlap as they are all connected.

Geography

“The peculiar value of geography lies in its fitness to nourish the mind with ideas and furnishing the imagination with pictures… Here as elsewhere, the question is, not how many things they know, but how much does he know about each thing.” -Charlotte Mason.

As the Crow Flies by Gail Hartman

There’s a Map on My Lap! by Tish Rabe

Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska

Mapmaking with Children by David Sobel

Place-based Education: Connecting Classrooms & Communities by David Sobel

Mapping the World: Stories of Geography by Caroline Laffo

The Blackbirch Kid’s Almanac of Geography by Alice Sieg

History

Brad Meltzer has a series of f books called “Ordinary people change the world.” To name a few world changers and wonderful books Brad Meltzer has written: Helen Keller, Rosa Parks, Neil Armstrong, Amelia Earhart, Martin Luther King, Jane Goodwell, and Benjamin Franklin.

I have linked one book below; they can be purchased individually or in a bundle. These wonderful living books can be a great source to teach history, science, social studies, and art. Living books translate the story well versus textbooks; children remember the person and their story much more than dry facts.

I am George Washington by Brad Meltzer

The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh

Material World: A Global Family Portrait by Peter Menzel

Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel