Jun 4, 2016

Kids, Books, and Summer Reading (Off-site Highlights)

(Compiled by Anna)

Oh, how I would love to have this shelf (image found here).


Sadly, I lack all carpentry skills. Perhaps I can instead make a little house house like this one by artist Zach Franzen (the portrait is of Reepicheep).


Summer is upon us. It's a good time to think about the way we approach books and about the role of reading in our children's lives.

Did you see  "8 Family Read Read-Alouds All Ages Will Enjoy" by Joy Pullmann? She includes wonderful tips on making read-aloud time happen, as well as resources on finding great books.

You may be hearing buzz about the movie Me Before You and the book on which it's based. Sadly, it's yet another propaganda piece in favor of euthanasia. You might want to check out this brief review.

I've written about the dangers of reading only modern books. As you help your kids find good stories, though, it's worth considering "The 6 Risks of Reading Old Books"--immersing ourselves only in old titles and failing to see any merit in what is new can be unhelpful.

On a related note, I posted some time ago about why we shouldn't educate our kids within too narrow of a literary bubble.

On the other hand, not all books are equal. In "Read This, Not That" Leila Lawlor talks about some old books that are better than a particular (and popular) new one. I heartily second her recommendation of Swallows and Amazons.

How do we handle it when it turns out that beloved picture books can be interpreted in a more adult way than we would like? In "Frog and Toad are just friends" Catholic writer Simcha Fisher makes a case for seeking out the good, the true, and the beautiful in good books even if we might disagree with the lifestyle or values of the author.

Are you familiar with the Lutheran radio show book talk? It's recommended by Mary J. Moerbe, and I look forward to checking it out this summer.

Happy reading!

2 comments:

  1. I really like these Off-site Highlights posts. I just don't have time to find things for myself. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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