that are out of print but also available
through your library, interlibrary loan,
used bookstores, and online retailers.
Bethlehem Book’s Living History Library series has several titles from various
time periods. Joy Hakim’s series, A History
of US, is one of the most complete volumes
describing the history of our country. You
may also enjoy The Landmark History of
the American People. Scholastic’s If You
series includes several volumes of fact-filled historical nonfiction from the early
history of the United States for younger
readers. The Lamplighter collection and
books by G. A. Henty are based on true
stories and historic events that will inspire
your family.
With so many books available and so
little time to read them all, how do you
select the best books to read? There are
a number of resources that may provide
the guidance you need. We have used the
following books to help us select titles for
family reading time in the evening, read-
alouds during the day, and independent
reading for various age levels:
•;All Through the Ages—History Through
Literature Guide by Christine Miller
• Who Should We Then Read? by
Jan Bloom
•;Honey for a Child’s Heart by
Gladys Hunt
•;Books Children Love: A Guide to the
Best Children’s Literature by Elizabeth
Laraway Wilson
•;Lives in Print by Ava Bluedorn
•;Hand That Rocks the Cradle:
1
Britches: Father and I Were Ranchers by
Ralph Moody; Lassie Come Home by Eric
Knight; Freckles and Laddie: A True Blue
Story by Gene Stratton-Porter; The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle; Mother Goose
in Prose by L. Frank Baum; Little House on
the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder;
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis;
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkein; and the list goes on!
You may want to consider Newbery
Medal Winners. Some of our favorites
Filling your child’s mind
with well-formulated
sentences and descriptive
words creates a reservoir
from which he or she can
draw in the future.
have included these fine books: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
(1923); Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by
Rachel Field (1930); and Miss Hickory by
Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (1947). These are
delightful books to share with your children. Use the Resource links to search
the Newbery and Caldecott Medal and
Honor books to find something that may
be of interest for your family.
While it is good to read to your children stories that are at a higher level than
their independent readers, what do you
do if your child doesn’t seem to be listening? It’s easy to lose the interest of younger readers when you are reading a work
with intricate setting descriptions and
character development. Taking a break
and asking questions about what you
have just read helps pull children back
Resources
•;Newbery;Medal;and;Honor;Books
from 1922 to the present
•Caldecott Medal and Honor
Books from 1938 to the present
•;Landmark;and;World;Landmark
books
• A History of US by Joy Hakim
into the story. Try allowing your children
to draw quietly while you read. You may
be surprised to learn how much detail
they will be able to tell you, even though
it appears that they are not listening.
Cathy Diez-Luckie, author and illustrator at
Figures In Motion, is thankful for being able to
educate her three children at home and loves
to study history and literature along with
them. Her award-winning children’s book
series (Famous Figures) integrates art and
history and engages children with hands-on
activities and movable action figures as they
learn about the great leaders of the past. www
. FiguresInMotion.com
Endnote:
1. Jane Healy, Endangered Minds: Why Our Children Don’t Think and What to Do About It, Simon
and Schuster, 1991.