Just like a healthy body, a healthy mind and heart need good food! Our children need books that engage their minds, inspire their imaginations, and thrill their hearts.
"Oh, well, at least he's reading," isn't spoken here. If that's the best we can say, maybe he should be climbing a tree instead.
Or building a village from blocks. Or helping his family.
The Golden Age of Children's Literature was from about 1945 to 1965.
Some of the best children's books ever written were published during that time.
Most are long out-of-print and waiting to be rescued at library book sales.
I'm Valerie Jacobsen, mom of eleven children aged 22 to 6, 8 girls and 3 boys.
I'm a lifelong bibliophile and love to share great books with my children. We read and review the books and share lists and reviews of our favorites.
The best and most wonderful book in all the world is the Bible, the living word of our Creator. Longer readings of just 45 minutes a day, or so, will take you through the whole Bible in four months.
Read each chapter of the Bible with some memory of all the other chapters.
Patterns emerge from the pages of Scripture.
Children develop a listening habit.
Mom gets to read the whole Bible aloud. Our family uses this reading plan.
Our first book list was posted to the Internet in October 1998.
Our virtual library continues to grow.
I mark recent additions as "NEW".
I'm currently working through my lists adding pictures, adding titles to some lists, and generally editing and updating. Pages with recent additions and changes are marked "UPDATED".
I do not collect Childhood of Famous Americans for my children, but have a list available for you, as many homeschoolers enjoy this old series. Since little is known about the childhoods of most of the characters, these are fiction and provide very little information on the characters' deeds in adulthood. I consider their educational value limited, but they are clean, fun reading for kids.
Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson (print resource)The Children's Reading by Frances Jenkins Olcott (print resource)
This book is long out-of-print, but I recommend reading it. It includes a thought-provoking and thorough discussion of the use of children's literature in the Christian home as well as excellent book lists!
While you are visiting my pages, be sure to see my Resources for Book Collectors for links on cleaning, repairing, evaluating, storing, and USING collectible books.
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You are welcome to keep a single paper or electronic copy of any pages from this site for personal, noncommerical use.
You are welcome to make up to 50 single paper copies of any or all pages from this site--
provided that each page is labeled with this notice,
provided that the pages are given as a gift for no compensation of any kind,
provided that no charge should be made for copying, distribution, shipping, handling, or any other costs related to transfer.
ANY QUESTIONS? Just ask. I love to say, "Yes".
WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME!
