MamaAmy Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I'm slowly reading my way through the thread "How does one provide a classical education?," and it's raising a question that I've been working through yet haven't come to a conclusion on. I have a 2 yo and a 5 yo, and I'm wondering just how finely I should be culling our children's collection of books. My question is, should I only make exceptional literature available in our house? I have a TON of books from my own childhood, and I even have some of my parents' childhood books. These books range from excellent to poor quality. Specifically, I have easy readers, lesser Dr. Seuss, Disney story books, terribly written evangelistic young adult novels, and some popular children's paperbacks that I often consider culling from our more classical, wonderful book collection. I've already culled Berenstein Bears and some Mo Willems (gifted) from the bookshelves...so I am THAT parent. I worry that I am being too fastidious by dumping the lesser fiction, for I know some research on reading suggests that having a large variety of genre and reading level available at home is equated with developing strong readers, (at least according to Parents Who Love Reading, a book I read a couple years back) but after beginning to wade through the thread I referenced above, I wonder if my inkling to get rid of the junk is the better choice. I think some culling is necessary and good, I guess I'm just wondering how firmly I should manipulate the story options in the home, especially at the very young ages. Any advice out there, particularly from those who are further along on this journey? Thank you in advance for your advice. I realize that to a certain extent I'm probably overthinking it. :) Just reading great books to them is probably a wonderful start. I'm still interested in your opinions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 At my place, the total rubbish with no redeeming features (I'm looking at you 'Naughty Amelia Jane') gets tossed out. The rest would be kept so the two year old had something to chew on. You'll cry if your beautifully illustrated version of 'The Velveteen Rabbit' gets scribbled on. You won't mind so much if it is the Little Golden Book 'Pokey Little Puppy.' Now is a good time to throw out any picture books you hate before they develop too much of an attachment. :lol: It's good to keep some "fluffy" reading though. Adults don't subsist solely on the classics because we like a bit of fun reading ourselves too. Some books should be kept for fun. :) (Looking at you 'Mr Pudgins!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaAmy Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Ah, I see someone else has asked the same question in post #218 in the thread I referenced. Sorry to be repeating a question! It took a long time to get there. :) Thank you for the advice, R! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammarGirl Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I have recently purged our home of the junk books, except for a couple board books for the babies to chew on as the PP said. I have also made some rules for selecting library books as my girls would prefer a whole stack of Dora books. I allow them each one of the junky books per trip but will read it aloud to them once only. The quality books may be read many times. Eventually I will completely outlaw the Dora and Barbie books, but my kids are little and I just feel mean negating ALL their choices. If you do purge and want to cheaply fill your shelves with good books, try Goodwill. I have gotten some great finds like Milo Winter's Aesop for $.49. I've picked up probably a couple hundred dollars worth of books at Goodwill this summer for about $25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I purge quite a bit. If its commercial (Disney, ect) or so terribly written I can't stand to read it aloud it goes out the window. But I LIKE Mo Williams. I think its silly, not poorly written. And my son learned to read in great part from the Berenstein Bears, so I do think you should keep in mind that its difficult (not impossible, but difficult) to find good quality very early readers. He could do Berenstein long before Toad and Frog, for example. And he memorizes, so we needed a big stack of early readers :) It's a balance that every family is going to do differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS Mom in NC Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 In general, I would say the proportion of quality books to twaddle should be the proportion of nutritious food to junk food. The vast majority should be the good stuff with junk now and then. It's not that I don't love a big mac now and then, it's that big macs are the exception, not the rule. Hee hee hee. My dear, sweet SIL who works who teaches homeless children in ps here has no idea that the books she's given my kids are for teething and scribbling on. They're Sesame Street and the like. They're decoys. They're sacrificial books. It's not that she's trying to give us twaddle or has some negative attitude about homeschooled kids needing "help" from "real" teachers, it's just she has no background in or familiarity with living books or classic literature or classical education. What she considers appropriate for a 6 year old I would consider appropriate for a 2-3 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 I went through a period when my kids were little when I was on a high horse of classical education and we were never going to read any twaddle ever and I got rid of all the books from my childhood. Now, I am not a sentimental person AT ALL, but I will say that I do regret getting rid of a lot of those books. They weren't high quality books, but my daughter is a voracious reader, and I now regret not being able to share a lot of the books that I grew up with with her. A lot of the books I had are now out of print, so I have actually hunted down some of the books on Ebay. We were at the library bookstore the other day and she picked out one of those Disney books and I bought it for her. Is it twaddle? Yes. Is it way below her reading level? Yes. Does it encourage her love of reading and books? YES! She reads a lot of good books, and I do let her read books that aren't written well, also. At this point, I'm about encouraging a love of reading, and I will admit that Rainbow Fairies and Captain Underpants have a home here, as well. Funny story - it was all I could do to say "yes" to a friend of mine when she wanted to buy my son Captain Underpants for his birthday. I totally rolled my eyes in the secret of my own home. BUT, I about fell over when I read the humor and voice that my ds injected into his own writing after reading those books. So, not a total waste of time! Just make sure the good books tip the scale! So, if I were you, I wouldn't be so quick to get rid of those books, unless you really don't care for them. Make sure that you have a lot more high quality, well-illustrated books in the home and YOU make the choice to read those daily. If nothing else, pack the books you are talking about away until your kids pass the age range for them and then you can get rid of them. But, you may surprise yourself and keep/pull some of them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I may be in the minority here, but I think that only making available "great literature" is too narrow. Had I done that, I can promise that my 12 year old daughter would not be reading for pleasure - ever. As it is, I like fluff too. We have a nice mix. Specifically I have a shelf with quality "good children's literature", that is generally use for school purposes (and pleasure); I have another shelf with just plain fun books (Rainbow Rob, Spider Man, etc) to read at bedtime or whenever. The grown up book shelf is a mix as well (although not separated) - you'll find classic literature right next to my JD Robb fluff :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmyboys Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I love mo willems! His elephant and piggie books are what got both of my readers reading. I don't mean to pick on your one example. I guess I would consider myself fairly picky about books I bring into the house, but I also want to respect my kids choices. So, I wouldn't get a Disney book from the library or buy one, but if my child somehow acquired it and liked it I wouldn't get rid of it. One last thing...I read a lot of classics to my kids, but I try to remember that they are living in this century, so we also read quality new books (although I guess people will differ on the definition of quality). I read the blog calling caldecott to see which new picture books are getting good reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
librarymama Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 Mo Willems brings my children such joy! Not to pick on your example... I try to keep balance between great children's lit and twaddle in my home, but I still let my children enjoy some fluff. Mo is definitely the former, however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curlymom Posted August 3, 2014 Share Posted August 3, 2014 I totally agree with a previous poster who compared it to healthy eating vs. junk food. I have different stacks of books. We have 'school' books (the ones that go along with our literature/reading curriculum), 'cozy' reading (great literature that I read aloud to the kiddos), free reads (combination of classics and Newbery books that I encourage my 4th grader to read when she needs a break from 'school' books) and 'fun' reads (anything else, usually random library books). I don't buy twaddle for my older child anymore. She is a good reader and I have made it clear to her that I will not waste my money on a book that she will finish in a hour. But she is welcome to check out twaddle from the library on a limited basis. And honestly, the more great literature we read, the less she wants to read twaddle. That's not to say we don't have other books in the house. We have our fair share of Junie B., Magic Tree House, Disney Fairies and such. But generally, the kids read those and want to move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELaurie Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Would someone please link the "How does one provide a classical education" thread? I have been searching for it . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaAmy Posted August 4, 2014 Author Share Posted August 4, 2014 Here you go, ELaurie: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/359457-how-does-one-provide-a-classical-education-circe-institute-lovers/page-13?hl=%2Bcirce+%2Bclassical&do=findComment&comment=5819676 I'm not sure if that link will work. It's in the K-8 Curriculum Forum. I'm grateful for everyone's advice. I will say that I will agree to disagree on Mo Willems, ha! That said, I have a feeling my son will really like Willems' "Goldilocks..." some day soon, so I can appreciate the need for variety, and I will hold off on the extremist home library for now! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELaurie Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Thank you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Dude, Mo Willems is the best thing to happen to children's literature since the printing press. And I will say that, based on my experience as a child and that of kids I know, readers bring out qualities in books that outsiders don't know are there. Honestly, a good reader can get quality out of the silliest, tackiest extruded book product on the market. I don't know *how*, but it happens. But with that said, you do not have infinite bookshelf space. No matter what your philosophy is towards twaddle and how stringently you define that, you're just not going to have enough space, ever, for every single *quality* book out there. So if you choose to cull the books you don't feel add to your kids' experience, well, that's your business. You can be as ruthless as you please, and there will always be more books out there to fill the shelves. There's no need to regret anything. Just make sure you pass the books you don't like to people less fortunate than your own children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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