I absolutely love to read. One of my reasons for homeschooling is to instill a love of reading in my children. There are so many wonderful books to read but none of us have unlimited time. How does a homeschooling mother choose the best books for her children?
If you sometimes struggle choosing the best books for your children, I highly recommend Sarah Clarkson's book, Read for the Heart Whole Books for Wholehearted Families. Written from a strong Christian perspective, reading Sarah Clarkson's book is like getting wonderful advice from a trusted mentor at church.
Read for the Heart Whole Books for Wholehearted Families is a delightful book written by a lover of book for those who love books and want to choose the best books for their children. But this book is much more than simply lists of recommended books. Starting in Chapter 1 - Reading to Live, the author's vision for the life-altering power of reading is given. Clarkson argues that reading good books leads to a wakened heart, a strong mind, and a steadfast soul.
- Wakened Heart - Reading good books leads to a greater awareness of the beauty and good in the world and a greater desire to resist evil.
- Strong Mind - Vocabulary and comprehension development is gained through reading good books. Our thoughts are shaped by our vocabulary.
- Steadfast Soul - "Great literature has a unique power to reveal the epic spiritual nature of all human life."
If you're not completely motivated to do even MORE reading of great books after reading chapter one, chapter two will definitely have you looking for ways to fit more reading into your days with your children. In "Reading Lost: The State of Literacy in America," Clarkson argues that we live "in an age marked by distraction." While reading engages the mind, electronic media encourages a passive acceptance of ideas.
Chapter 3 is full of practical suggestions to incorporate more reading into the lives of our children. Chapter 4 includes practical information about how to use the recommended book lists and how the books were chosen.
The rest of the book is devoted to annotated book lists organized by subject and type of book. The annotated book lists are organized in the following manner:
- Picture Books
- The Golden Age Classics
- Children's Fiction
- Fairy Tales and Fantasy
- History and Biography
- Spiritual Reading for Children
- Poetry
- Music, Art, and Nature.
Lastly, the book ends with a host of very helpful appendices. Included are Caldecott Medalists, Newberry Medalists, G. A. Henty books, Landmark History books, The Trailblazer Series, and Sarah Clarkson's favorite books.
If you ever need a bit more guidance to pick the very best books for your children, I highly recommend purchasing Sarah Clarkson's wonderful book. Read For The Heart is available for $17.00 from Apologia.
I received a copy of Read for the Heart in exchange for my honest review of the book. No other compensation, monetary or otherwise was given in exchange for my review.
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