The challenges of choosing books for children

I have written previously about the importance of reading to and with your children. In the previous post I talked a little about the need to help children choose varied books that match their interests and reading levels. There are many issues to consider:

• is the book at the right reading level;
• will my child (or children if you're a teacher) enjoy it;
• is the content appropriate developmentally?
  

The task of helping children to choose appropriate books is common to parents, teachers and librarians. A recent article by Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post Question for the ages: What books when? discusses some of the challenges that teachers and librarians face every day just choosing books to read to their classes.

In an age where children are often introduced to ideas at younger and younger ages - something I see as problematic - just how do you make wise choices? For example, is the book too violent? Does the child need to be introduced to that life issue (e.g death, war) at this age? And how do I match my professional judgment as a teacher against the rights of parents? Is it a book that the children can handle emotionally?

Parents at Green Acres School in Rockville (USA) complained when the teacher read the book "From Slave Ships to the Freedom Road" by Julius Lester to third-graders. The book tells the story of African Americans and is a popular book acclaimed for its historical accuracy.

It begins like this: "They took the sick and the dead and they dropped them into the sea like empty wine barrels. But wine barrels did not have beating hearts, crying eyes, and screaming mouths. . . . No one knows how many millions died. Except the sharks."

Such a graphic opening would certainly raise lots of questions; including moral questions. Is it appropriate for 3rd graders. My quick reaction is maybe, it depends on the 3rd graders. However, if parents don't like it then teachers have no choice but to respect their views on this and to talk with them about it and to perhaps try another book.

The National Council of English Teachers (USA) has issued guidelines to help teachers make wise choices. But this is not an easy task for teachers. Some of the helpful comments within the guidelines include:

• There should be balance in the books chosen.
• They need to be age appropriate (language and concepts that children can understand) - this will include consideration of the complexity of the plot, abstractness of the language, familiarity of vocabulary, and clarity of syntax.
• The children should be able to relate to the content - there needs to be some connection between their life and that portrayed (this might be as basic as the age of the main characters).

Our children need to be introduced to a wide variety of books, the challenge is to help them to make good choices. As part of this we need to model how we make choices as well and explain to them why. This is an important task when supporting young readers which parents and teachers need to consider carefully.