Do you want your young child to relish your reading time together?  In her article, ‘What Is a Classical Christian Library?’, Whitefield Academy Librarian, Kris Guensche, suggests some guidelines for choosing read alouds that will ignite the imaginations of young children.  

Mrs. Guensche states that our picture books are ‘meant to awaken children to the world of literature through words and illustrations which convey beauty.’ She goes on to say that Whitefield’s picture books are chosen because they ‘engage and inspire younger students to a sense of wonder and excitement’. Below are eight of the criteria by which Mrs. Guensche suggests we may judge a book to read aloud to young children, followed by some examples taken from the great selection here in our Whitefield library. 

She suggests that a quality picture book does one or more of the following: 

1.      It conveys beauty in both illustrations and words.

2.      It inspires a sense of wonder, excitement or joy. 

3.      It portrays good versus evil. 

4.      It demonstrates truth and consequences. 

5.      It shows right and proper behavior. 

6.      It teaches loving God and serving others. 

7.      It makes good use of literary techniques such as rhyme and repetition. 

8.      It tells a story that will appeal to a young imagination. 

 By exposing these younger students to such literature, we hope to encourage them to develop good literary habits and an enduring affection for great stories.

The Quiltmaker’s Gift

by Jeffrey Brumbeau

Whistle for Willie

by Ezra Jack Keats

Sleeping Beauty

by The Brothers Grimm

The Cow Who Fell in the Canal

by Phyllis Krasilovsky

Chrysanthemum

by Kevin Henkes

The Baker’s Dozen

retold by Aaron Shepard

Whitefield Academy is currently enrolling for the 2022-23 school year.