Favorite Books for Children

A Quote by Emily Dickinson

He ate and drank the precious words

His spirit grew robust

He knew no more that he was poor,

Or that his frame was dust.

He danced along the dingy ways

And this bequest of wings

Was but a book.

What a liberty

A loosened spirit brings!

This quote was found in a resource book that I just LOVE. "Honey for a Child's Heart" by Gladys Hunt.I think every household with children should own this book! She talks about the importance of reading to our children and also has recommended book lists by age and also has a brief review of the book along with warnings if there are things parents might not like. I love her opinion of Disney Books.

BEGINNING QUOTE FROM HONEY FROM A CHILD"S HEART " The bookshelves in many homes hold only Disney verions of classics, Sesame Street stories, Barney tales, or whatever is currently on televison and in children's films. Disney's books are produced to help market their movies and which often bear little likeness to the original story. Kari Jensen Gold, A New York columnist, highlights on of the most offensive examples of this that occurs in "The Little Mermaid" Hans Chrisitan Anderson's original story begins like this"Far out to sea the water is blue as the petals of the loveliest cornflower and as clear as the purest glass; but is deep, deeper than any anchor can reach. Countless church steeples would have to be piled one on top of the other to stretch from the sea bed to the surface. That's where the sea folk live."That's the way a fairy tale ought to begin. Think of what a child can see and feel as this is read. The cadence of the words is like a song and set the mood for the story.IN Contrast, the Disney version begins like this (it is almost painful to read)"Ariel was sixteen, the age when a mermaid was supposed to be thinking about marrying a merboy and settling down. But Ariel had other things on her mind." From the start this becomes a different story not the classic. First, the Mermaid is named. Could there be some reason Hans Christian Anderson did not name her? Was it an oversight or was it because it is more mysterious not to be named, and that nameless she would have a universal appeal, and could maybe even be me? The hints are in the Disney version. Politically correct Ariel is not going to settle down with a merboy. (whatever that is!) . She has bigger plans than that the little mermaid seems a desperate girl looking for affection. She shows none of the sensitivity to life issues and the world outside the sea that is found in the original. The stakes have changed dramatically. All Ariel needs is a kiss from Prince Eric! In Anderson's tale the mermaid is described: "She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful". At stake is something far different. This mermaid, seeking to know what lies above the sea, comes to understand who she is, to know sacrifice and love, choice and sorrow, redemption and truth. Check that out against the ending of the Disney version. The contrast sets the teeth on edge." END QUOTE

So go shopping or to the library for some real literature for your child. Here are some of my favorites! I own all of these children's books and these are the ones we go to again and again to read.