From the Archives: Brain Training with Jane Austen

We all know that exercise is good for your body. Now research confirms what we've known all along, reading is brain exercise! Neuroscientists and radiologists and humanities scholars have put together a fascinating interdisciplinary study to determine what happens to the brain when you read. It's always been assumed that reading helps develop the parts of your brain associated with executive function (decision making skills). What was surprising about this test, in which participants read sections of Jane Austen novels while laying in a MRI machine, is that blood flow increased not only to the executive function areas of the brain but also other areas showing that reading is good for the entire mind. Additionally, different areas lit up if the subject was reading closely or more casually  showing that both types of reading have value. So different areas benefit differently depending on whether the subject is paying close attention or simply reading for pleasure.

As one of the study authors stated: "it's not only what we read – but thinking rigorously about it that's of value, and that literary study provides a truly valuable exercise of people's brains." In an era when the focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects are given (in my opinion) an outsized importance, it's good to see research that emphasizes the importance of reading. What makes this study so interesting is how it highlights the benefits of rigorous reading. This is important to keep in mind when our children and students complain about the difficulty of a book. Difficult reading becomes easier over time and this science shows why. So, encourage your students to press on in their reading of tougher titles. It's a discipline that will pay off in the long run. Of course, if your student is getting discouraged and wanting to quit reading entirely, peddle back and choose books that she enjoys to balance out the more difficult titles.

On a personal note, I remember being 11 or 12 years old and my mom assigning me Ivanhoe. This was the original. It's a tough read, especially for a youngster. And before the first chapter was over, I was in tears. It was ridiculously detailed (in my young expert opinion, ha!), the author used far too many fancy and long words and there was nothing enjoyable about spending 45 minutes reading

multiple pages that described a shepherd. I wanted to quit. But I was not allowed to and as I tearfully persevered it got easier. Soon I was looking forward to learning more about Rebekah, the Black Night and all the other colorful characters that dance through the pages of Sir Walter Scott's classic. Even now as an adult, if I've spent too much time away from the difficult classics, I know I have to push through the initial shock to my brain and that the reading will become less labored as my brain gets used to a more elevated style of writing.

To read more about the study, click here. And if you've experienced something like this, share below. Or if you have advice for encouraging young readers to tackle more difficult writing, chime in!

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

From the Archives: 5 Ways to Empower your Reluctant Reader

5 Ways to Empower your Reluctant Reader

 The entries on this blog have focused on the importance of reading in education. Exposure to literature and the ideas contained therein is essential to the formation of a well-rounded individual. All of that is wonderful, but what if you have students who either dislike reading or have difficulty with it. ADHD, dyslexia, some forms of autism, and many other learning challenges can make reading a struggle. Others are simply not interested. What do you do in such cases? There are several practical ways to encourage and develop a love of reading.  

~Lead by Example~

Research backs up what any parent knows: children learn by example. Read in front of your children. Talk with others about the books you are reading. Parents who read for their own pleasure and communicate that experience by talking about the books they're reading are more likely to pique their children's interest.

~Build a Family Library~

Make books easily accessible. Begin building a family library. This will reinforce the value you place on reading. Make regular trips to the library so that there are new books in your home for your children to discover. Research shows that simply having books in the home predicts academic success.

~Prioritize Reading~

Make time for reading. Turning off the TV is one of the most important steps one can take in opening up space for reading. Limit time on the computer and playing video games. This may lead to boredom, not such a bad thing, and lead children to discovery reading for their own pleasure.

~Read Together~

Read aloud as a family. This is essential. While many children think of reading as "boring" everyone 

loves a good story. Read aloud some of your childhood favorites. Once children are introduced to the joys of hearing good stories, it is often not long until they are wanting to discover good books for themselves. Reading aloud is also essential for developing good writing skills, even more so than reading silently to oneself!

~Follow Their Lead~

Follow your children's interests. If your son dislikes reading but loves horses, read Marguerite Henry's lovely stories with him. Encourage your child's overactive imagination by introducing her to the wonderfully fantastical worlds of C. S. Lewis, Tolkien, Francis Hodgson Burnett, and Madeleine L'Engle. Show your children that books are one of the best ways to explore their interests.

Investigate the link between musical education and reading ability.

These are just a few practical suggestions and many people have found success in implementing some or all of these changes. If your child is still struggling, remember that all children develop at different speeds. We know children who took to reading immediately and for others it was slow process that took years. It may also be worth having your child tested for a learning disability. There are many tools and resources now available to help children with these challenges. Families have found help in therapeutic methods, teaching tools, even dietary changes! For a child who struggles with things that come easily to his friends or siblings, diagnosis can be a relief if it is presented in a supportive and encouraging manner.

I would love to hear from parents of reluctant readers! What have you done to encourage reading? How have you been successful? What challenges did you face?

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Friday Encouragement

As homeschooling parents we have such a unique opportunity to use nearly every lesson to motivate our children toward character development; emphasizing empathy when we read history, diligence in those difficult math lessons, faithfulness in subjects that do not always spark joy. I find that in the ideal world of my imagination, these things all work together and my home becomes that much sough-after "atmosphere" discussed in Charlotte Mason circles. But what I'm learning is that it isn't always so straightforward. Many times I get in my own way as I seek to check off items on a list and I put productivity above kindness. Reading through Sarah Mackenzie's wonderful Teaching From Rest has really helped remind me that the most important lessons I teach my sons are the ones that I live in front of them, and that is where "doing good" along with kindness, patience, self-control, and love can really sink in. There is something truly restful about that, right? By putting into practice this discipline of rest, we don't excuse ourselves from faithfully providing an education to our children, but we can step away from the to-do lists, respond to the needs of our children before the demands of a curriculum, and model a life of joy instead of frenzy.

I'm excited to be reading through Teaching from Rest as well as a few other books about restful homeschool and will be blogging about it over the next months. Join the conversation! Are you a "restful" homeschooler? How has the approach changed your home? Do you, like me, struggle with prioritizing productivity?

For your weekend, I thought I'd share a discussion on teen reading from Tom Ashbrook. What do you think of his and David Denby's advice for getting your teens to read? What about the book list? Here's the link.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Brain Training with Jane Austen

We all know that exercise is good for your body. Now research confirms what we've known all along, reading is brain exercise! Neuroscientists and radiologists and humanities scholars have put together a fascinating interdisciplinary study to determine what happens to the brain when you read. It's always been assumed that reading helps develop the parts of your brain associated with executive function (decision making skills). What was surprising about this test, in which participants read sections of Jane Austen novels while laying in a MRI machine, is that blood flow increased not only to the executive function areas of the brain but also other areas showing that reading is good for the entire mind. Additionally, different areas lit up if the subject was reading closely or more casually  showing that both types of reading have value. So different areas benefit differently depending on whether the subject is paying close attention or simply reading for pleasure.

As one of the study authors stated: "it's not only what we read – but thinking rigorously about it that's of value, and that literary study provides a truly valuable exercise of people's brains." In an era when the focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects are given (in my opinion) an outsized importance, it's good to see research that emphasizes the importance of reading. What makes this study so interesting is how it highlights the benefits of rigorous reading. This is important to keep in mind when our children and students complain about the difficulty of a book. Difficult reading becomes easier over time and this science shows why. So, encourage your students to press on in their reading of tougher titles. It's a discipline that will pay off in the long run. Of course, if your student is getting discouraged and wanting to quit reading entirely, peddle back and choose books that she enjoys to balance out the more difficult titles.

On a personal note, I remember being 11 or 12 years old and my mom assigning me Ivanhoe. This was the original. It's a tough read, especially for a youngster. And before the first chapter was over, I was in tears. It was ridiculously detailed (in my young expert opinion, ha!), the author used far too many fancy and long words and there was nothing enjoyable about spending 45 minutes reading

multiple pages that described a shepherd. I wanted to quit. But I was not allowed to and as I tearfully persevered it got easier. Soon I was looking forward to learning more about Rebekah, the Black Night and all the other colorful characters that dance through the pages of Sir Walter Scott's classic. Even now as an adult, if I've spent too much time away from the difficult classics, I know I have to push through the initial shock to my brain and that the reading will become less labored as my brain gets used to a more elevated style of writing.

To read more about the study, click here. And if you've experienced something like this, share below. Or if you have advice for encouraging young readers to tackle more difficult writing, chime in!

Our new 2015-2016 catalog is now available! If you want to view it right now it's available online here. And if you would like to request a hardcopy, click here.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages.  To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here.

And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below!

Hooray for Real!

A while back we asked if any of you were using e-readers and the response was overwhelmingly "NO!" You spoke of the feel of pages, the smell of books, the beauty of books on shelves. And we agree. At BFB, we love our books and we're all avid book collectors. And while the reasons are often sensory or sentimental, there is now research that shows reading a printed book is better for our brains!

Recent research shows that e-reading and reading a hardcopy are two very different experiences. Science backs up the idea that reading on a screen results in lower reading comprehension, less retention, and reduces the relaxing effect of reading. All of these findings are something to consider as parents and educators. As students spend more and more time in front of computer and on tablets they are developing habits that could impede their ability to read for pleasure as well as hinder the development of reading skills such as plot comprehension.

There is fascinating research linking the tactile experience of reading a printed book with greater comprehension and retention. One 2014 study showed that people who read short stories from a Kindle had less retention of the story than people who had read a printed copy. And "slow reading", the sort required by a novel or long written work, is a skill that can be lost if it is not exercised. When reading electronically formatted articles or literary works, our reading pattern shifts into something more resemblant of skimming, as opposed to the concentrated reading that results in you being lost in the story. And if the book has hyperlinks built into the text, the distractions drastically increased and the ability to focus solely on the story is constantly interrupted. As we get more and more used to jumping around on our tablets, skimming articles, clicking links and jumping to other websites, our brain is being trained to process information that is not conducive to thorough, detail oriented reading.

I believe the ramifications of this lost skill are widespread, whether it's a reduced enjoyment of the relaxing practice of reading a novel, or accepting soundbite encapsulations of complex ideas and arguments, or a closing of one's world and experience due to an inability to persevere in reading a challenging story, we have a lot to lose. When children are not challenged to do anything more than read books they find to be fun and easy, there is a great risk that they will never come to know the satisfaction of making their way through a work like War and Peace. While we often talk about the pleasures of reading on this blog, I think it's important to sometimes remind ourselves that it is also a discipline and a skill that requires practice, especially for children. I was always an avid reader and it was not something I struggled to learn but I did have to learn how to persevere in my reading. I distinctly remember my mom assigning me Ivanhoe when I was about 12. Up to this point, reading was pure pleasure for me but I was in tears by the end of the first chapter. The exasperatingly detailed descriptions of a shepherd and the blades of grass being eaten by the sheep bored me beyond reason. I begged my mom to let me quit and read something else. She wasn't swayed by my arguments and so I struggled through, hating every second...until I suddenly was caught up in the fascinating story of Rebekah and the Black Knight and evil King. To this day I am not a fan of flowery Victorian prose, but I learned a valuable lesson in reading Ivanhoe. Reading is not always easy, sometimes it's work. But it will pay off. And the discipline of slowing down my frenetically paced reading, absorbing details, re-reading paragraphs and sentences that are especially beautiful is so much easier in a real book. So while the sentimental reasons for preferring books to e-books are still strong, we now know that they're better for our brains as well as our hearts. So take your kids to the library, give them books for their birthday presents, help them build their own libraries - it's a gift that will benefit their whole person.

To read more about the research on e-reading vs. reading as well as the relaxing and sleep-enhancing benefits of reading, check out this article.

We would love to hear what you think! Chime in below in the comments section and share your thoughts. Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Pinterest pages. To learn more about Beautiful Feet Books, click here. And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below.

Reading for Emotional Health

On this blog, we've talked a lot about the humanizing benefits of reading. We know that it makes us more empathetic. We know that reading great literature connects us to the chain of human thinking in a unique way. And now a study confirms what we've known all along! Reading real literature, as opposed to pop fiction or non-fiction, makes us more empathetic.

"That is the conclusion of a study published Thursday in the journal Science. It found that after reading literary fiction, as opposed to popular fiction or serious nonfiction, people performed better on tests measuring empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence — skills that come in especially handy when you are trying to read someone’s body language or gauge what they might be thinking."

This is the first study of its kind in that it made a distinction between reading what I would call true literature and popular fiction or non-fiction. The study was also distinctive in that it found that reading for a mere 3-5 minutes created a greater capacity for reading emotion. Isn't that amazing? A tiny period of time with a good work of literature immediately affects our ability to engage with others in a more meaningful way. It's incredible to think of the effect a childhood spent in the company of good books would have on the formation of that child.

One very important aspect of the study is the distinction between the effect had by popular fiction and non-fiction verses the impact of literary fiction. Those study participants reading excerpts from authors like Wendell Berry were clearly able to engage with increased empathy and social perception. This reinforces the idea that we must provide our children with exposure to the best literature available.

Our study guides often include books that students find challenging to read. Books like Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, or Dante's Inferno, or Upton Sinclair's The Jungle are all books that most students have a difficult time with at the beginning. Usually the student is able (or forced!) to persevere through the reading and ends up enjoying the book and feeling enriched by the experience of reading it. Each of these books pose different challenges in that the language may be difficult to comprehend, the story line may be very foreign, the imagery confusing, but the student who perseveres is being trained in the skills of overcoming a challenge and is, as we now have evidence to prove, developing incredibly important social tools and skills. It seems that these skills come from the requirement that readers of complex literature interact with the story line, plots, and characters in a way that is much more engaged. As one professor stated:

“Frankly, I agree with the study,” said Albert Wendland, who directs a master’s program in writing popular fiction at Seton Hill University. “Reading sensitive and lengthy explorations of people’s lives, that kind of fiction is literally putting yourself into another person’s position — lives that could be more difficult, more complex, more than what you might be used to in popular fiction. It makes sense that they will find that, yeah, that can lead to more empathy and understanding of other lives.”

 When we at BFB are considering a book for inclusion in one of our history programs we take in to account many factors such as:

• Historical veracity (Is this work historically accurate? Is the author reliable?)
• Historical value (Did this piece of literature play a significant role in shaping history?)
• Literary quality (Is this piece well-written? Will students find it engaging?)
• Will this work challenge the student? 
• If this work is not challenging, will it add to the student's enjoyment of the program and provide a more dynamic portrait of life at that point in history?

We try to strike a balance between books that are fun to read for their own sake (One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, The Golden Goblet, Johnny Tremaine) and add historical color to the study with books that will provide the facts of history and challenge the student to engage critically with the subject. History requires both the inclusion of nonfiction and literary fiction. This approach provides a more complete picture of past and connects us with our roots and traditions.

I found this study to be immensely encouraging in that it reinforces the value of all those hours spent with my nose in a great book. It also means that the hours I spent trying to get through the pages of War and Peace were not wasted despite the fact that I really never connected with the book. It also shows me why there are times when I just want to pick up a book off the latest best-seller list or lose myself in an Agatha Christy mystery. Those are moments of escapism and nothing more and sometimes that's a necessary indulgence. When I want to better my understanding of the world and the people who are my neighbors, I know that reaching for Austen or Hawthorne or Bunyan will prove a more fruitful investment of my time.  

To read more about this fascinating study, click here. And to learn more about using literature to teach history (and empathy!), click here. 

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Are books just magic?

March is National Reading Awareness Month. The NEA has picked this month to celebrate reading and encourage  American school children to put down the video games and pick up a book. Here at BFB we think every month should be a reading month and we know you do too! Of course, May is Get Caught Reading Month, October is National Reading Group Month, November is Picture Book Month, and December is National Novel Reading Month and there are other weeks and days set aside to celebrate books and reading in all their forms.

One thing I have found interesting is the correlation between books in a home and a child's academic performance. Using data from the World Inequality Study, researchers pooled data from over 73,000 people in 27 countries and found that across cultures, ethnicities, and economic differences, books were an essential component to a child's academic success. From the abstract of this fascinating study:

 "Children growing up in homes with many books get 3 years more schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of their parents’ education, occupation, and class. This is as great an advantage as having university educated rather than unschooled parents, and twice the advantage of having a professional rather than an unskilled father. It holds equally in rich nations and in poor; in the past and in the present; under Communism, capitalism, and Apartheid; and most strongly in China."

Isn't that amazing? Regardless of the political regime under which a child lives, the education levels of his parents, or if he is privileged or poor, the number of books in a child's home is the single most common and reliable indicator of whether he will be academically successful. The presence of a large amount of books seems to indicate a "scholarly culture – the way of life in homes where books are numerous, esteemed, read, and enjoyed." The study's authors went about their research in such a way as to determine if this "scholarly culture" was limited to western families in which the parents were highly educated and had achieved some measure of financial success. Or, as the authors themselves put it: "We seek to establish whether it has an impact on children’s education only in a handful of rich Western nations at the end of the 20th century, or whether it is important in all rich nations, or in all market economies, or under Communism, or only in recent decades rather than in past generations."

Trying to control for all these factors, the researchers found that asking study participants about the size of their childhood home library was the single most reliable indicator of the cultivation or neglect of a scholarly culture. Even more interesting, "analysis of many different aspects of the home environment finds that home library size has strong predictive validity as an indicator of parents’ attraction to the teaching role vis a vis their children." 

For home educators this completely makes sense, you are both parent and educator and you do not see a strong distinction between these two roles. It also seems to me to be an indicator of a home culture that nurtures curiosity. People who collect books are curious, they seek to know new things and expand their world. And these people are probably eager to share that knowledge with others and that would, of course, include their children. And so, whether the parent is formally educated or not, wealthy or poor, western or eastern, the size of his library is a key indicator to the sort of parent he will be and the home culture he will create. 

And that home culture is a key indicator of academic achievement for the children raised in that family. "Growing up in a home with 500 books would propel a child 3.2 years further in education, on average, than would growing up in a similar home with few or no books. This is a large effect, both absolutely and in comparison with other influences on education," said University of Nevada research team leader sociologist M. D. R. Evans. "A child from a family rich in books is 19 percentage points more likely to complete university than a comparable child growing up without a home library."

And again, this data holds true across cultures regardless of a nation's wealth, political system or culture. There are variations between nations, for example a child growing up in China with a home library of 500 or more books will go on to complete an average of 6.6 years more education than a comparable child from a bookless home. In the US, the same situation would result in 2.4 more years of education. That's the difference between going to college for two years and completing a four-year degree.  

As with all studies, there are exceptions. There will inevitably be families who have loads of books and a child who struggles to read or is simply not academically wired. I do not believe that college is for everyone and I think our culture severely undervalues non-academic skills. I think the value of studies like this is that they show trends that can be very telling. Children benefit from a home culture that encourages learning, curiosity, and exploration. 

For home educators who are fostering that "scholarly culture" this study should provide some encouragement. For those of you who are interested in national trends, educational inequality for the poor, and other social justice issues, this can stand as a warning and call for action. In America, more than half of our children are not read aloud to each day. Other studies show that up to 61% of poor families do not own a single children's book. This means that the educational potential of millions of children is at risk through no fault of their own. 

So during National Reading Awareness Month, maybe it would be a good idea to spread the love a bit. Volunteer at your local library. See if you can sign up to read aloud to underprivileged children. Donate books to a struggling school. Check out First Book, an organization that gives books to children. Give books instead of toys at birthday parties. Encourage other parents to read aloud to their children. And, of course, read a great book with your children.

If you're wondering how to build a great family library, here's some wonderful resources:

Books that Build Character

For The Children's Sake

Honey For a Child's Heart

YOU MAY ALSO ENJOY:

Reluctant Readers

Celebrating World Read-Aloud Day

Children As Resources

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What I'm Reading

I was asked to do a post on what I'm reading these days. The stack above represents the readings I'm working my way through for the first semester of a graduate degree I've begun working on. It looks like an intimidating stack to this bibliophile and I must admit that reading is taking up the majority of my time these days! As a homeschooler, this isn't really a new thing but in the 10+ years since college I'd definitely gotten used to reading whatever I want and am finding assigned reading to be a bit more cumbersome. My undergrad degree from Hillsdale College was great preparation for this "Great Books" graduate degree and I find myself wishing I had kept more of my class notes.  

This semester I’m taking three classes. The first is Plato and Augustine and I’ve been reading some Hesiod as well as The Republic. The class will be starting City of God in a few weeks and I'm looking forward to that.  I’m really interested in this course as we’re discussing justice, good, and politics. The dueling notion of earthy and heavenly cities and how those idea affect our lives is fascinating to me. It has reinforced my belief that an educated citizenry is absolutely essential for the existence of a good government. Reading these books that have existed for millennia certainly puts our political situation into proper perspective. 

My next course is Dante and Milton and we’ve read a couple of Aristophanes plays to establish classical ideas of comedy. We’ve finished Dante's Comedy and I loved re-reading the Inferno. Purgatory and Paradise were new to me and I really enjoyed Purgatory. Dante is challenging to me because I'm much more of a prose girl and the tercet format Dante used sort of lulls me to sleep. This week I'm breaking open Paradise Lost and think it will be fun to contrast Dante’s comedic vision of the world and afterlife with Milton’s tragic vision. 

Finally, I’m taking an Old Testament survey course that will take me through the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Hosea, Judges, Ruth, and Samuel. So far I have found this course to be amazing. The professor ties everything to the New Testament showing how it all foretold the coming of Christ. It sort of boggles my mind in a lot of ways and I’m finding it stretching. So far my class has read through Genesis and Exodus and I've been working my way through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy this week. I must admit that I have found listening to these particular books much more engaging than reading them. I find that for my learning style, I get more out of listening to these particular books. There is a lot of repetition and you can tell that they were originally part of an oral tradition so I've been using this website to listen to them while I cook or clean. Very glamorous, right? 

I will admit that this amount of reading is challenging to me. I find that some days it feels like drudgery and it's all I can do to focus my mind on the words that seem to be blurring into each page. In order to ensure that reading does not become something I no longer enjoy, I have also joined a couple of book clubs. I find that if I can mix up the reading a bit the academic continues to be pleasurable and I get more out of the non-required reading. Does that make sense?

So there you have it, my current reading. What are you reading? Do you find that keeping up with your children and student's reading is all you can manage on top of regular life? If reading is an escape for you or something you cannot live without, how do you make time for it? 

You may also enjoy: 

A Dangerous Trend for Boys

Unstructured Creativity a.k.a Boredom

Homeschooling as Equalizer

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And if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to share using the buttons below! 

What is a classic?

While many people are able to name their favorite books or reference a generally accepted list of "classics" when asked, it is worth considering what makes a book worthy of the description. Of course, there are those classics that endure the test of time, the Bible, The Iliad, Pride and Prejudice. And there are those books that are marketed as "modern classics" like The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I'm not sure what makes a "modern classic" as I do believe that the test of time is a worthy one, but what about the books that are our personal classics? In choosing these books, I think that Italian writer, Italo Calvino presents key criteria in his book Why Read the Classics. He has 14 points by which he thinks the classics should be evaluated. Many of these are subjective and would allow a reader to choose his or her "own" classics based on these points. You can read all 14 points here but I would like to share my favorites:

• The classics are those books about which you usually hear people saying: 'I'm rereading...', never 'I'm reading...'
• The classics are those books which constitute a treasured experience for those who have read and loved them; but they remain just as rich an experience for those who reserve the chance to read them for when they are in the best condition to enjoy them.
• The classics are books which exercise a particular influence, both when they imprint themselves on our imagination as unforgettable, and when they hide in the layers of memory disguised as the individual's or the collective unconscious.
• A classic is a book which with each rereading offers as much of a sense of discovery as the first reading. 
• A classic is a book which even when we read it for the first time gives the sense of rereading something we have read before.
• A classic is a book which has never exhausted all it has to say to its readers.
• Classics are books which, the more we think we know them through hearsay, the more original, unexpected, and innovative we find them when we actually read them.
• 'Your' classic is a book to which you cannot remain indifferent, and which helps you define yourself in relation or even in opposition to it.
• A classic is a work that comes before other classics; but those who have read other classics first immediately recognize its place in the genealogy of classic works.
• A classic is a work which relegates the noise of the present to the background hum, which at the same time the classics cannot exist without.

I am interested in what you think of these criteria in relationship to children's books. For my family and our many hours of reading together, I think there were a few "classics" that really stand out in my memory; books that showed us what "classic" meant when applied to stories. We all loved The Little House in the Big Woods and Ralph Moody's Little Britches is a definite classic.

For those of you who want to build a library of children's classics, it is worth looking for Newbery and Caldecott award winners. Since 1921 the Newbery has been awarded each year to recognize "the most distinguished American children's book published in the previous year." It is generally a very reliable indicator of quality content–especially for those books published between 1945-1970. Here are a few of our favorites:

The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly, 1929 Newbery Medal Winner

The Forgotten Daughter by Caroline Dale Snedecker, 1934 Newbery Honor Title

Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry, 1941 Newbery Medal Winner

Blue Willow by Doris Gates, 1941 Newbery Honor Title

The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds, 1942 Newbery Medal Winner

George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster, 1942 Newbery Honor Title

Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray, 1943 Newbery Medal Winner

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, 1944 Newbery Medal Winner

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, 1945 Newbery Honor Title

Abraham Lincoln's World by Genevieve Foster, 1945 Newbery Honor Title

Justin Morgan Had A Horse by Marguerite Henry, 1946 Newbery Honor Title

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, 1948 Newbery Honor Title

King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry, 1949 Newbery Medal Winner

Seabird by Holling Clancy Holling, 1949 Newbery Honor Title

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli, 1950 Newbery Medal Winner

Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates, 1951 Newbery Medal Winner

Minn of the Mississippi by Holling Clancy Holling, 1952 Newbery Honor Title

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh, 1955 Newbery Honor Title

Carry on, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham, 1956 Newbery Medal Winner

The House of Sixty Fathers by Miendert Dejong, 1957 Newbery Honor Title

Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith, 1958 Newbery Medal Winner

The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Savage Carlson, 1959 Newbery Honor Title

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell, 1961 Newbery Medal Winner

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare, 1962 Newbery Medal Winner

The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, 1962 Newbery Honor Title

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman, 1987 Newbery Medal Winner

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, 1990 Newbery Medal Winner

Crispin, The Cross of Lead by Avi, 2003 Newbery Medal Winner

When considering Calvino's criteria for classics, what books come to your mind? What children's books? In this list of Newbery's there is a missing title that should absolutely be on it and that is To Kill a Mockingbird. What books do you think are missing? Do you disagree with the inclusion of any on this list? Later this week, I will provide a list of our favorite Caldecott Medal winners.