The debate over “banned books” has plagued school board meetings and cable news for years. Parents have the right to object to sexually explicit content and ideological books that exploit the innocence of childhood as a vehicle for adult political agendas.
But opposition is not enough. When it comes to our children, we shouldn’t ask “What’s the worst that they should avoid?” but “What’s the best we can offer them?”
Unfortunately, most children’s books—even innocuous, popular, widely recommended ones—are not the best. Here’s how to identify which books are not only worth your child’s time now, but will benefit them throughout their lives.
1. Acknowledge that simply reading is not enough
Before we choose a great children’s book, we have to let go of the idea that reading itself is always worth it. The text on the back of a cereal box and Homer’s “Odyssey Completely two different types of reading. This is because reading is more than just decoding English. This is how children encounter ideas, encounter characters worthy of imitation or pity, and begin to understand what it means to be human. The content is no accident. That’s the point.
2. Find beautiful illustrations
Illustrations captivate children long before they can recognize a letter or spell a word. Yet many of the most popular picture books feature bright, cartoony, deliberately simple characters. Scan the children’s book shelves in front of your local library and you might find Such as “Captain Underpants” “Tyrannosaurus Dripping” “2 Pirates + 1 Robot”,” or”bad guy” series. Their characters are often misshapen and ugly, their titles are sloppy, their colors are harsh, and their content is irresistible in the short term but annoying in the medium term, even to children. Young people are so obsessed with it that we think that’s what they really want, but it’s not. They are human, and like us, they can judge what is good enough and sustainable—especially if we help them learn. Children may be drawn to these titles like candy, but just as we teach them to appreciate real food, we can also teach them to appreciate beauty.
Think about what a great illustrator does. Peter Spear’s book is a favorite with children and contains pages and pages of incredibly detailed watercolor illustrations. exist”“The Circus”, an almost wordless book, He depicts the animals, people, and activities under the big top with such warmth and precision that children can spend hours studying them. Or there’s Steven Kellogg, who meticulously retells “Jack and the Beanstalk” and”Pecos Bill” Mixing beautiful, sweeping landscapes with subtle humor and heroism. These books don’t scream at your kids. They invite them in and lure them out; the illustrations inspire young readers to notice things so they can notice the rest of the world, too.
3. Stick to substance
Beyond fancy books, there’s a more insidious category: books that are mediocre or subtly damaging. These books are not necessarily “awakening.” They are just empty, mindless or crude. Take a look at the Scholastic Book Fair flyers ubiquitous in kids’ backpacks each year and you’ll notice “Super Diaper Babies: Invasion of the Potty Snatchers,” “Chatty Dollhouse: Happy Owen the Cat! ” There are countless licensed characters designed to generate revenue for businesses, titles related to Dude Perfect or other YouTube channels, and of course, Taylor Swift.
And then there are social-emotional learning books that attempt to inculcate the virtues taught by great children’s literature. Todd Parr’s “It’s okay to be different“, for example, conveys a simple title message with simple declarative sentences and original illustrations. Even young children crave realistic stories and lessons. However, such books give children nothing to stimulate growth – no story, no conflict, no characters who face anything and have to decide how to deal with it.
Such as the extremely popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid There is a more subversive problem. Its protagonist, Greg Heffley, navigates his way through middle school by complaining and manipulating his friends, rarely suffering real consequences for his selfishness. The prose is written well below the level of its intended audience, and the drawings are crude, and intentionally crude. Kids say this book is relatable, and it is – by emulating traits that parents spend years raising their children to overcome.
4. Choose stories worth remembering
Children’s books don’t need art worthy of the Louvre, nor do they need stories with “moral depth.”Crime and Punishment” become valuable. But a truly great children’s book is one that is beautiful and truly draws young readers beyond themselves to a fuller understanding of the world and the people in it.
Thankfully, parents and teachers don’t have to figure it all out alone. There are “excellent resources” like Sarah McKenzie’sReading Revival”, A List of a Thousand Good Books by John Senior, and Hillsdale College Core Virtues Website, A catalog of classic children’s books to form moral imagination. Watch Hillsdale online for free Classic Children’s Literature Course Delve into some great classics: “this The complete collection of Winnie the Pooh stories,” “this the wind among the willows,” “treasure island“wait.
You can read to your children”“little house” Written by Virginia Lee Burton, it tells the story of a country cabin that is engulfed by urbanization, then rescued and moved back to the countryside. The book captivates young readers with its striking illustrations and approachable warmth, while exploring profound questions like the cost of progress and what it means to belong.
Or there’s Jill Buckham’s “Thorn Hedge” The show follows a group of mice living in an English hedge as they experience the changing seasons. Kids come for the charming mice. They stick around because these books quietly celebrate the things to love most in the world: community, family, the rhythms of nature, and the beauty of small things well cared for.
Ultimately, a great children’s book is easy to spot but difficult to create. This is a beautiful, simple and profound story that faces life’s questions, problems, trials and joys in a way that even the youngest children can understand.
With this in mind, next time you choose a book for your child, try a test: read it first. Are you inspired? Have you ever enjoyed it yourself? If so, so will your children.
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Kathleen O’Toole is Vice President for K-12 Education at Hillsdale College and a high school teacher at Hillsdale Academy.
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