Literature

We teach our children to read, primarily that they might read the Scriptures, but there are many other things that the student may read and derive benefit from. Non-fiction works are also important, but in this post I shall discuss fiction works. Fiction can be encouraging, cautionary, uplifting or otherwise beneficial. Fiction can also, righteously, be read purely for fun, as long as our enjoyment of the entertainment does not interfere with our duties. Of course, if we can combine entertainment and edification in one piece of literature, all the better.

Young readers need lots of practice to increase their abilities. The books that they use to practice must, of necessity, have a small vocabulary and simple sentence structure, however, they need not, and should not, be boring! The McGuffey Readers, the Little Bear series of books and the Frog and Toad series of books are all perfect for those learning to read. They have simple words and sentences, but still contain interesting, whimsical stories, edifying lessons or both. The Early Reader Books by Dr. Suess are also largely good.

These early readers, in order that they become familiar with good literature, should be read to often. I plan on having my children in 1st and 2nd grade read to me Monday through Thursday; I will read to the child on Friday. I should read books to them that they could not read themselves, books that contain well-written and God-honoring prose and poetry. The classical curriculum that I was planning on using before I read Rushdoony's The Philosophy of Christian Curriculum, suggested reading historical fiction and fiction written during the period being studied to supplement the non-fiction history readings. I think this is a great idea. It helps the history come alive for the child and makes for a more cohesive school day. For 1st grade, Old Testament History, I could not find many such books, but I did find three:

The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty
Pillar of Fire by J. H. Ingrahm
Cyrus the Persian by Sherman Nagel

I located all three books at www.graceandtruthbooks.com They have a wide selection of historical fiction for children, although I am not crazy about the way it is organized on their website.

Here are some other books that I am planning on reading to my students or having them read to me during first grade:

Three Billy Goats Gruff, Stone Soup: An Old Tale, Once a Mouse, and Dick Whittington and His Cat by Marcia Brown
A Child's Treasury of Poems by Mark Daniel (beautifully illustrated!)
A Child's Garden of Verses by R. L. Stevenson
Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter
The Babar stories by Brunhoff
The Frances stories by Russell Hoban

I welcome suggestions from you, the reader.