I came across Read for the Heart in a homeschooling magazine last year. Even though I am not a home schooling parent I saw a free magazine at the library about education, so of course I grabbed it! Read for the Heart is a must have if you enjoy reading with your children and have exhausted your own list of must read children's books.
Teaching my kids to read and exposing them to a variety of quality literature continues to be one of my highest priorities in their educational development. The study of great literature was not in my college repertoire, unless you consider Organic Chemistry and Structural Bio-Chemistry quality reading. In light of this I found my parenting desires and my abilities at odds. I often found myself frustrated with what to read next with my children. I also struggled to find that which would be wholesome and rich in content for their growing minds and hearts.
This is when I came across this book. It has a wonderful introduction to the history of children's literature and the author's early experience with books. The chapters are nicely organized by type of book: Picture Books, The Golden Age Classics, Children's Fiction, Fairy Tales and Fantasy, History and Biography, Spiritual Reading for Children, Poetry, and Music, Art, and Nature. There are hundreds of books listed in the pages of this book, each with a short description of the recommended book.
My goal is to read my kids through this entire book. I am starting with the very first chapter and working myself through from there. I picked up my first batch of books today from the library. Hope you can join me in reading through this great resource.
Happy Reading!
