I love books. Anyone who knows me for more than two hours will know this too. When I find a good one, which is about every third day, I love sharing it with anyone who will listen. Turns out, there’s a market for this – books about books. And, it turns out I really like these.
So, without further ramblings about my devotion to the written word, I’m going to share four titles that are presently on my shelf. If you have any other suggestions in this arena that you’d like to pass along, I have one more fifteen dollar plastic card from Barnes and Noble that is just waiting for this sort of transaction.
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
This is my most recently acquired title of this sort and has fast become my favorite in the kid department. Author Anita Silvey certainly has the publishing credentials to be taken seriously within this genre. Still, even more impressive to me is her clear passion for literature that inspires and ignites a child’s imagination – from their earliest years forward. The grouping is organized by age (from two to twelve) with a one to two page essay for each title; here Silvey shares interesting background information as well as substantial context and storyline details.
If you happen to be goal oriented, this resource is also one you could literally move through until seeing it to completion. Likewise, if you are just not sure where to turn with your elementary or junior high child when you head to the library or bookstore, this would be an invaluable guide.
I was given this title as a gift when Hannah was born from a woman who’d spent her entire career teaching elementary school. The first one hundred pages are devoted to casting a vision in both inspirational and practical terms as to how you can help foster a love of literature in your children. For me, this was certainly foundational as I started down the road of parenting and I still find myself referring to it often with new eyes depending on my present vantage point.
The back half (another 100 pages or so) provides you with lists (again by age) starting at 0 and working all the way through to 12. The descriptions for each title are concise but also give you enough of a picture to know whether or not it would be something you’d like to pursue. This resource and I have spent many late evenings together at the computer as I’ve poured over it in order to reserve titles from our local library online.
I’ve spent the least amount of time with this final resource. Still, the moments I have glanced through it have left me impressed and wanting for more. In its introduction, author Elizabeth Wilson sums up her purpose and intention quite well. “It is a book that was written with love: love for children with their wonderful questing minds, their lives of yet-undreamed, unshaped possibilities; love for language, for ideas, for imagination, for knowledge, for all that is a part of the inexhaustible richness of the world of books; and, above all, with a love for God, and for all He has made and done and given - truth, beauty, love, infinite diversity – for He called it very good.”
A BOOK FOR THE ADULT READERS IN THE ROOM
Besides the Bible: 100 Books that Have, Should, or Will Create Christian Culture
I first came across this one on Donald Miller’s blog. He began featuring essays from this resource and I was immediately taken – both by the words themselves and the titles they were calling upon. This list is more diverse than one might imagine (ranging from The Rule of Benedict to Anne Lamott’s Traveling Mercies) and frankly will keep me busy for several years I’m sure.
Each book is introduced through a short essay penned by an impressive collection of authors. These provide both background and insights that may even lead readers to revisit old friends. Most recently I’ve been inspired to take a second look at Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird since the last time I mistakenly assumed that the yellow and black version told me everything I needed to know. The authors behind these essays tend toward dry humor and wit which is fine by me. In all, a great guide to move you through familiar and new titles with fresh and engaging commentary along the way.
From one book lover to another, there is also “Honey for a Woman’s Heart” that you may like to puruse too. Talk to you in an hour…
this is awesome, I cant tell you how many times I have been disappointed by a children’s librarian when I ask, what is a must read for such and such age and they point me towards the board books. argh.
[...] procured spotless Usborne titles, some great classics that I’ve identified in my books about books and a good showing of the American Girl series. I’ve never spent more than $2.00 on a single [...]