What Makes Literature so Powerful for Enduring Faith (Element 4: Questions to Ask When Selecting Books)
How do I, as a parent, help find books that will help fortify my child with the hopes of an enduring faith? How can I determine if literature is likely to capture their hearts, to provide context to their own personal experience, and to demonstrate a world of conduct and order? While there is no failproof method, the 8 questions below can help guide you in your selection process.
8 Guiding Questions
A quick note: the questions represented below were generated based upon thoughts provided by Books that Build Character by William Kilpatrick, Gregory Wolfe, and Suzanne Wolfe (1994). Much has been re-oriented around the format of questions and opinions of the author of this post, but it is important that credit for the concepts be provided to the original source.
(1) Do I remember this book and/or author from my childhood?
Odds are if it made that strong of an impression upon you, it will on your child too. Plus you can then re-read it and engage in the book with your child as they encounter a story you loved!
(2) Have I read this book?
While a bit hypocritical, since we will soo be providing book reviews at times of our own, do not rely upon the reputation of a book. When possible, read it yourself; failing that, find a trusted source and verify with them. I have started several books for my son only to stop reading them myself and not passing them on to him. While at times this was because of the content of the book, many times it was because I knew that much better books were available and I wanted to protect his time; I often knew there were other books he would enjoy more. If we run out of books (we won鈥檛) I can always circle back to any I initially put to the side. Furthermore, whenever you can read the book (or at a minimum a good synopsis) you can engage in conversation with your child, which helps them apply the book towards developing an enduring faith.
(3) Does this book have a great story as the baseline?
As mentioned in Element 3, focus on books with great stories and not books that are based upon fads or specific issues. Books with great stories and characters will more likely capture their heart, relate to personal experience, and show them how to conduct and order their lives in a meaningful.
(4) What is the focus of the book 鈥 people or problems?
Put another way, does this book focus on opinions of what we should do or examples of character? We want our children to grow in character and from that to form opinions, not the other way around. Books written to help guide someone through a specific problem typically end up failing to meet the three elements that make literature powerful; they can often confuse morals/character with opinions, whereas books focused on people tend to have great examples of character and problem solving as a by-product. Think about books that stuck with you 鈥 was it characters or problems that did it? Why is Darth Vader saying to Luke, 鈥淣o, I am your father鈥 so powerful? Not because of the problem alone but because of what that problem means to a character we have connected with.
(5) Is this book complex and is my child ready for that complexity?
Books that will lead to enduring faith will not always be cookie-cutter and filled with rainbows, puppies, and flowers. However, when the book displays a lack of truth, goodness, or beauty, does it display it in a way that upholds it as great? Or does it help point to the Biblical outcomes of those choices? In one example, the tales of Sir Arthur often show how an over-emphasis of one virtue, such as beauty, over another one, such as truth, produce negative consequences for characters as a result of the misalignment. Books that produce enduring faith will have complexities 鈥 that is a good thing 鈥 but make sure your child is ready for that complexity. A pertinent reminder is that children can understand at a higher level than they can read, so you may wish to consider reading aloud complex books to help your child process the complexity; as they become more proficient with that level of challenge, you can shift towards independent reading when the time is right.
(6) Is the complexity and/or vulgarity useful and practical or is it unnecessary and prevalent?
Some books will have realistic elements, where vulgar language or situations will be presented; this is in addition to the complexity discussed above as you can have complexity without vulgarity. While we need our children to be exposed to complexity, we must be cautious they do not become numb to vulgarity by overexposure, while still recognizing that the world can at times be vulgar. If it is an age-appropriate book, and the realism is appropriate in volume and context, some vulgarity can help make the book more powerful. While we desire for our children to be in a safe bubble, we are raising them to leave home, so we need to prepare them for life; one way we can do this is through carefully selected literature that does expose them to appropriate and usefully applied vulgarity.
(7) Does the main character grow?
If the main character does not grow and develop in the story, it is unlikely your child will grow and develop by reading the book. This does not mean the character needs to have linear or exponential growth 鈥 the complexity of a book can lead to falls as well as growth, but the overall arc of the character should be growth.
(8) Do I think my child will enjoy reading it?
While as parents we should make sure our children are surrounding themselves with books that help equip them, there are plenty of those books available. If there is a book that is excellent but is not of interest to your child, let them stop reading it and move on to another book of equal value they enjoy.
Inspired by the three elements but at a loss on how to select books? Read the final post in this mini-series which helps outline questions to ask when selecting literature. Or, if you missed out on joining us earlier in the series, you can read more by continuing below:
- Introduction
- Element 1: Capturing the Heart
- Element 2: Personal Experience
- Element 3: Conduct and Order
- Questions to Ask When Selecting Books (you are here!)
- Also, for a review of books for children (focusing on books often not reviewed), visit our book reviews!听(coming soon)
A note from the author: Much of the content of this mini-series was generated based upon thoughts provided by Books that Build Character by William Kilpatrick, Gregory Wolfe, and Suzanne Wolfe (1994). Much has been re-oriented around the format and opinions of the author of this post, but it is important that credit for initiating the concepts be provided to the original source.
