There are four prongs to my autumn children’s book library. First, apples for early autumn. Next, the peak autumn classics (no demons or witchcraft). Third, this very post for Reformation Day! And, forthcoming is the Thanksgiving curation. I have separated them all, for organization, in blog posts, and in my home I bring them out and put them away in respective phases. But if you toss them all together and keep all of them out for all of fall, truly who could blame you.
I love the work of a librarian – maintaining a home library collection and passing on book lists and curations to my friends and readers. One of the most central, beautiful, and important parts of being a librarian is the preserving and passing on of information. And, there is something incredible happening, I think, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually when a child (or adult) has cozy shelves of beautiful and interesting books to look through. I believe it is a great gift for my children to grow up around a big home library. I believe it makes David and I better parents and people.
In general what I look for in children’s literature (and all art forms) is a piece that somehow captures some of whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, of any virtue, praiseworthy – meditate on these things. (That list is from Philippians 4.)
Books that come out into the house annually for a season are going to be pretty powerful for family culture so I want to find good ones. I consider this work to be refining a child’s palette. What is excellent? I am helping shape an appetite for what is beautiful, as defined by God.
Reformation Day is the celebrated anniversary on October 31st of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses, and what you might call the start of the protestant reformation. My Reformation Day collection is mostly picture book biographies of heroes like Martin Luther, Katie Luther, John Knox, Lady Jane Gray, and John Calvin. Another point of note in all my curations is our family does not do images of Jesus (second commandment).
- The Adventures of Martin Luther by Carolyn Bergt
- John Calvin: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr
- John Knox: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr
- Lady Jane Gray: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr
- Martin Luther: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr
- Reformation Heroes by Diana Kleyn and Joel Beeke
- John Calvin: What is the Truth? by Carine Mackenzie
- John Knox: Who Will Save You? by Carine Mackenzie
- Johann Gutenberg and the Printing Press by Kay Melchisedech Olson
- The Woman Who Helped a Reformer by Rebecca Vandoodewaard
All of these on amazon (at time of posting) would be $141 to have the whole slate. Each of these are strong and over a long time I have sifted many ugly or poor ones, even just within the Reformation Day niche!
If from this list you know of one I’ve missed that sounds like I’d like please tell me!!
This post is a part of my very selective curations series of books and movies.
