“Do you think they’ll like this?”
I squinted at the picture of a book cover my kids’ godmother sent me via text. At first glance, I understood why my friend had plucked it off the shelf: the cover featured a cartoonish mythical creature soaring across a salmon-pink sky. The dramatic lettering of the title shouted promises of mystery and adventure, perfect for young minds crackling with eagerness for good stories.
Sadly, I recognized the book and had to decline the gift. Unbeknownst to her, she had scooped up a children’s novel that indeed delivers adventures and fantastical creatures but also interweaves these classic elements with unbiblical sexual ideology.
“I had no idea!” my friend said, shocked as I explained my concern. I sympathized with her. In the past year alone, I’ve had to squirrel away three sets of books from well-meaning friends who gave them to my children with love, completely unaware the covers with grinning protagonists and bubblegum pink lettering housed ideas contrary to our faith. One series embraced a sexual ideology both contrary to biblical doctrine and developmentally inappropriate for my elementary-aged kids. The other two depicted characters lying, cheating, and even murdering, without denouncing such actions as clearly wrong.
Visits to the children’s section of the bookstore were once a cherished opportunity to inspire a love for words and shape kids’ hearts. Now, for Christian parents, grandparents, and educators, those trips are complicated.
Changing Landscape
My anecdotal experience occurs at a time when political controversy has gripped public and school libraries across the nation. Libraries that once quietly curated books have become battlegrounds between liberals and conservatives, with Kirk Cameron and drag queens feuding for coveted story-hour space. Calls to protect children from age-inappropriate content are countered with outrage over book bans and bigotry.
This controversy highlights the need for discernment as we point our kids to books. In an era when ideas counter to Christianity have woven themselves into every avenue of our culture, parents can’t assume the children’s literature section features appropriate offerings. And yet, the practice of infusing our kids’ days with great books is more critical than ever.
Parents can’t assume the children’s literature section features appropriate offerings.
As fewer and fewer children seek out books for enjoyment, we need to actively encourage them to discover the echoes of God’s love reflected in beautiful language and the themes of courage, sacrifice, and compassion that spring from great stories. Ample research reveals how read-alouds nourish children’s minds; for the Christian family, they can also nourish a child’s soul.
How do we lead our kids through the firestorm to rich stories while also guarding their young minds and hearts?
Shepherding Our Readers
The call to shepherd the content of our kids’ backpacks and bookshelves is a biblical one. We’re to infuse our kids’ moments with God’s Word, teaching them when they rise, and when they lie down, and when they walk in the way (Deut. 6:6–7). Instruction in God’s Word occurs not only on Sundays in the church pews but daily, even hourly, including when our children read books under the covers with a flashlight at night. The goal isn’t censorship or coddling; it’s discipleship—to acknowledge that what our children read shapes their minds and to guide them tenderly and deliberately through that sculpting.
In many cases, shepherding our kids with regard to literature simply requires us to crack open the spine of a book and preview it before we put it into their enthusiastic hands. In such instances, Paul’s words of discernment can guide us: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8).
Seek books with pages that overflow with the true, pure, and lovely. Search for books that explore our sinful nature with humility, point to our hope in Christ with reverence, and highlight the victory of good over evil.
Resources to Help
Thankfully, not every book requires hands-on perusal. Several ministries offer parents a welcome compendium of resources to help choose children’s books with wisdom and discernment. Such books and websites can be vital for the busy parent, whose hectic schedule and ever-growing list of obligations preclude careful previewing of books.
Gladys Hunt’s classic Honey for a Child’s Heart has aided Christian parents for decades. Updated over several editions, Honey—the title of which derives from Proverbs 16:24—offers lovely reflections on reading well with children, as well as book recommendations for all ages. In the same vein is the newly published Wild Things and Castles in the Sky, a group of essays by Christian writers, editors, and teachers that offer guidance on choosing books for children. Each chapter ends with a list of five recommended books pertinent to the discussion.
When you’re not seeking book ideas but rather need a quick, reliable summary and assessment of a book that arrives shrink-wrapped in the mail, Redeemed Reader is an invaluable resource. Editors Betsy Farquhar and J. B. Cheaney started this fantastic book review website in 2011 “to shine a gospel light on children’s literature so that Christian parents, educators, and the children they nurture may read in a more redeemed and redeeming way.”
The team prioritize books most likely to populate children’s shelves now. They not only post summaries detailing content but also assess each book with a rating system based on both worldview and literary merit. It’s an incredible resource from a biblical, Christ-centered group, and one I’ve turned to again and again to make decisions about which books to welcome into our home.
Seek books with pages that overflow with the true, pure, and lovely.
Another great review site is Good Book Mom, the labor of love of Korrie Johnson, a mom in Minnesota with a heart for sharing good literature with other Christian families. She offers helpful categorizations for the books she reviews and is impressively detail-oriented in her summaries. Other helpful sites include Read-Aloud Revival, an exhaustive site with book recommendations across broad genres and age groups, and Story Warren, a blog pioneered by S. D. Smith focused on nurturing children’s imaginations for Christ’s glory.
In an era when accepted values daily slip further from the teachings of Christ, redemptive, inspiring, lovely books that focus on the good and the true are as vital as air. Thankfully, as you navigate bookshelves for your children, you’re not alone. Brothers and sisters have gone ahead of you to offer sound and wise counsel, to help point your children to the One who has gone ahead of all of us and will make all things new.
The Gospel Coalition