Choosing Books

The next few posts come from handouts I am creating for a talk on reading comprehension my husband is doing for our homeschool group.

Three ways to find quality reading material:

Internet:
1000 Good Books List
Great Books Academy
Summer Reading List
My lists! Picture books and Grade-level list

Catalogs:
Sonlight
Veritas Press

Books:
The Book Tree: A Christian Reference for Children’s Literature (Elizabeth McCallum & Jane Scott) – divided into preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels with complete indexes by author, subject, and title; each listing include the title, author and illustrator, and a brief description

Books Children Love: A Guide to the Best Children’s Literature (Elizabeth Wilson) – books categorized into over 20 different subject areas; general index; each listing includes the title, number of pages, age recommendation, year published, and a detailed description

Honey for a Child’s Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life (Gladys Hunt) – Part One contains advice for choosing and using books in the home, Part Two contains a list of nearly 1,000 recommended books divided into age ranges from 0-3 up through 12-14 years; index of authors and of book titles; each listing includes title, author, and sometimes a brief description (also Honey for a Teen’s Heart by the same author)

Who Should We Then Read? (Jan Bloom) – contains biographies and bibliographies of 152 of the best children’s authors who wrote books in line with a Christian worldview

Best Books for Kindergarten through High School (Donnalynn Hess) – hundreds of books categorized by grade level from kindergarten to 12th grade; author and title index; each listing includes title, author and illustrator, date published, and a brief description

Books to Build On: A Grade-by-Grade Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers (E.D. Hirsch Jr. & John Holdren) – divided into seven subject areas and then subdivided by grade level; general index; each listing includes title, author and illustrator, year published, and a brief description

How to Grow a Young Reader (Kathryn Linkskoog and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker) – several chapters on choosing and using books, followed by a list of over 1,800 books by type of literature; includes age recommendations and book descriptions

And the Winner Is… A Guide to Newbery Medal Winners from a Christian Perspective (Barb Brandes and Deb Ekstrand) – evaluates each Newbery winner from a Christian perspective

Reading Between the Lines: A Christian Guide to Literature (Gene Edward Veith Jr.) – teaches how to evaluate books of various genres within a Christian worldview; includes suggestion for worthy authors and a brief book list

Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination (Vigen Guroian) – teaches parents how to discuss books with their children from a Christian perspective, included detailed analysis of ten children’s classics