by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and my website, www.patlambchristianauthor.com)

Train up a child…

Children’s Books Should be Chosen Wisely

         It is so important that children have good books to read, and that children have good books read to them by parents, teachers, grandparents or others.  There is value in reading almost any book in that a child will improve reading skills.  However, there can be much more value obtained than just improving reading skills if careful selection of those books is made.

         What makes a book especially good for a child?  There are some things to consider in making a wise choice of a book.  Whether a child is to read the book for self or an adult is to read the book to the child, content should be considered.  If the child is to read the book, a book should be selected that is easy enough for the child to read to be enjoyed. Also, illustrations in books are more important than one might think.

         Every day thousands of books come from publishers.  There is a great amount of competition in the marketplace.  Quite often children’s books are written to sell rather than written for the real benefit of the child.  Publishers do not want to go to the expense of publishing a book unless they think it will sell.  This results in book content that is popular and may not do very much to help the child’s character or knowledge.  Personally, I like books that do more than simply improve reading skills.  Why not “kill two birds with one stone” and teach valuable lessons while entertaining the child and developing reading skills.  Some of the older stories in books in school did just that.  I was in one school library that had four copies of The Boxcar Children.  The covers were almost off and the books were ragged because they had been checked out so much.  The Boxcar Children teaches resourcefulness and lets the child’s mind wander into the area of “what if I had to take care of myself?”  It stimulates a great deal of thinking. 

         To choose a book for a child to read, a good rule of thumb is to have the child read one page in the book.  If the child misses five words, the book is too difficult for that child.  It is better to choose books easy enough for a child to enjoy than to try to force the child to learn too many new words all at once.  The more a child reads, the more fluent s/he becomes in reading, and new words will be picked up a few at a time.

         Illustrations in books can greatly affect the concepts children get from the reading.  I am appalled at some of the illustrations in Bible story books that I have seen.  Some of those illustrations border on being ridiculous and give children warped ideas of what Bible characters were really like.  It seems that in an effort to make the books interesting, outlandish illustrations are created.  In my opinion, those illustrations affect the child’s learning of the truth of the Bible.

         Children’s books are very expensive.  Some are worth the money, but many are not.  Going to the library is a good alternative to spending the money, but sometimes a child will cherish a book as a personal treasure and want to own it.  At any rate, whether a book is purchased or checked out from the library, we need to be sure it is worth the time, money or effort involved.

Note:  Next Saturday, Feb. 1, I will have my books at the Meet the Author Festival at Kimberling Library from 9:30 AM until 2 PM.  My latest book, “My Thinking Book”, is a children’s devotional book that children on third grade reading level or above can read for self.  It is also good for parents to read and discuss with a child.