Our Favorite Children's Books. Protect Your Children. Turn off the Screens.
With all of the muck and heaviness of the world always on our minds it is so important to us to protect our children's childhood.
Ours watch a film as a "treat" and it is always a classic film. I have yet to see one modern film for children that is appropriate. Whether it's the spastic, rotten characters or headache-inducing fast moving bright imagery, violence or subliminal messaging- most of it is garbage.
Every few years the American Academy of Pediatrics seems to raise their recommended age that is "okay" to begin putting children in front of a screen. Today I believe it's around the age of two. While this is a step in the right direction- it has been scientifically proven that screens at too young an age (or any age for that matter) are detrimental in many ways. Specifically in young children placing them in front of the "t.v." can cause developmental problems and social problems. Some seemingly innocent shows can be truly traumatizing to children as well.
Recently there was an expose' on "Kids" YouTube Videos that were down-right creepy!
These included horrific sexual cartoon images and very disturbing concepts and were labeled "For Kids". These videos sometimes began to look as though they were a popular cartoon such as Spiderman or Elsa from Frozen and had billions of views!!!!!!. Imagine a busy parent quickly clicking on a Mickey Mouse video for their young children to watch and walking away while the images flowing from the screen contain characters cutting others' ears off with scissors- never bothering to preview the video... We cannot be too careful when it comes to protecting our children... Please watch this BBC report to see what I am referring to.
It has also been scientifically proven that reading to children as early as when they are in the womb can contribute to higher intelligence and faster learning post-partum. What a special way to help your child develop all the while having fun and forming an essential bond!
We have read to our children every day since they were babies. These are such cherished times when, no matter how busy or stressed the day might have been, you can sit down and share that time together with the magic of a story...
In my opinion, there are just as many garbage children's books out there today as there are shows and films. Yet just like any platform (even Steemit!) once you find what you are looking for and sort through, you will find some real gems!
What better way to get a head start on this sorting than to share what our favorite childrens' books are with each other!
Now that I've finished my rant, here are some of ours:
Jan Brett
Author and Illustrator, she has some beautiful masterpieces. She has authored so many books I don't think we've read them all. Her drawings are very detailed and creative often depicting traditional clothing and cultures from around the world. We approve!
Some of our favorite Jan Brett titles are: "The Mitten", "The Hat", "The Christmas Trolls", "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "Hedgie's Surprise"
Elsa Beskow
From Sweden these are some timeless classics, quite whimsical with lots of fairies and animals... Very fun!
Our favorite is "Christopher's Harvest Time"
and there are other great ones such as "Sun Egg"
Father Strawberry
fine and red,
hat perched proudly
on his head.
Mother Strawberry
just as grand,
fine silk dress
and folded hands...
...Ma Wild Strawberry and her flock
look with awe on this grand parade.
"Ma, oh Ma, who can they be?"
"Hush, hush, my dears and courtsey low,
they're our rich cousins, don't you know?"
Sibylle Von Olfers
Her work never gets old. Beautiful drawings and sweet simple poetry that kids love. They really foster a connection with nature and imagination!
source
Our favorite title is "Mother Earth & Her Children"
Virginia Lee Burton
Another classic author. "Mike Mulligan" is a great story about a community coming together for an important cause and giving credit where it is due. "The Little House" forever pays homage to country living and explains urban sprawl. And another favorite- "Calico The Wonder Horse" is a wild western tale depicting some trouble-makers learning their lesson and ultimately changing their ways and finding their place in the community.
And lastly:
"The Seasons of Fern Hollow" by John Patience
I picked up this book for a dollar at a library book sale many years ago and it has been a favorite ever since. The story takes you from place to place in the English village of Fern Hollow introducing various animals as characters. For instance- the farmers, who are skunks, are called the Bramble family and they are shown making hay and working together to load the wagon. Everyone in the village are friends and everyone knows each other and the community comes together for various events. You might just want to be absorbed right into the pages as you read the story because that long lost village life is so appealing. The illustrations are quite fun as well!
What are some of your favorite children's books! Post in the comments below!
If you liked this post please upvote & resteem!
Thanks for stopping by @schoonercreek
great post!
It's hard to believe the minimum age to be in front of a screen is 2! I think kids should spend at least 70% of their time without any device until they are 10.. and even then it needs to be tightly regulated so they cant be overused.
ahh theres nothing like a good book!
Thank you! I agree! There is so much to life besides screens and I like seeing children grow up with classic forms of play and entertainment as much as possible!
I don't know any of those books but I don't have any children myself. I did throw out my TV many years ago. The best thing that anybody can do. There's only garbage on there, the same with your main stream newspapers. Social engineering and mind control. Great post, give me a good book any day.
Thanks for stopping by! Totally agree.... I just tried to explain to my mother in law the other day what "fake news" was, and she literally couldn't grasp the concept. She just couldn't believe that the mainstream media might not be telling the whole truth all the time.. I mean she really couldn't understand it. Finally I showed her a couple of Youtube video clips of two different news stories. One of them had edited video footage to portray it a certain way, and the other showed the unedited film. Her jaw dropped.
you are so cool lady! great post... and i wholeheartedly agree.
one of my favorite "children's books" that i discovered as an adult and it has no less impact or power are the books by byrd baylor..i discovered them while hiking at a national wildlife area's store and wowza! here are a few of the titles, theyre all amazing, deep, effective, beautiful and inspiring connection with nature <3
Oh wow, those I have not yet seen! With a title like "When Clay Sings" that sounds great...Will definitely check them out! Thank you for stopping by!!!
The Berenstain Bears are currently a favorite with my preschoolers, along with their Children’s Storybook Bible, Usborne 10-Minute stories, Thomas and Friends 5-Minute Bedtime Stories, etc. But then they also like funny ones like the Pout Pout Fish. Books with photographs are a hit—like Little Humans, or a childhood book of mine called The Little Kitten.
My mom has commented on how well they quietly sit through a “longer” book and I credit that to my reading to them since they were babies and keeping the TV off. Cartoons get on my nerves and I despise commercials. Absolutely no youtube surfing either unless I’m the one looking for something specific; they do love watching videos of sea creatures or farmyard animals and it’s nice to have a backup source of information when they start asking me questions about things like octopi or killer whales.
Oh I loved The Berenstain Bears as a child, I had forgotten about those books! Thanks for sharing I will check those out.
I have had the same experience. At the age of one my kids could usually sit through a longer book too, and reading to them young really does instill a love for literature!
Nature shows are usually a good choice. Sometimes we will let them watch "survival shows" such as Bear Gril too. They also like Heidi and Swiss Family Robinson... and some of the old Disney movies from the 50's.
By the way, I love and concur with your first paragraph about kids’ movies. Not too many people are willing to be that blunt about them! There are a handful that we’ve got that I’ve deemed okay, but it’s pretty limited. Frankly I’m a little scarred from myself being a protected kid who never knew what everyone else was talking about—it was fine and dandy when we were homeschooled, but it was BRUTAL once enrolled in public middle school—so I’m trying to strike a balance between “nothing goes” and “everything goes” though the scale is definitely tipped much closer to the nothing end.
It’s part of the reason I’m leaning toward homeschool for my own kiddos, but I have to get the husband on board :)
Bear Grylls would be pretty awesome. I’ve thought about looking around for The Crocodile Hunter. Then, the past two days have been spent by sick husband and kids (Pixie woke up with a fever this morning, darn! I’m the last man standing here!) watching the Sportsman Channel. It cracks me up because you’d think minutes on end of the camera panning the landscape or watching a deer munch grass behind a bush would be so boring to kids, but nope. They love it.
Yes! I loved reading this post. Beautiful and simple stories are SO nourishing to young children! I remember fondly Jan Brett's The Mitten from my own childhood, and discovered some new children's authors to check out. I really love the Pelle and Pippa series by Daniela Drescher:
I actually just wrote a post about storytelling along with a simple story I wrote for children who are nervous about entering new situations. You can check it out here: https://steemit.com/education/@colleenthurber/storytelling
Ohhhh Lovely! I will check that out!
Oh my... I have so many i dont even know where to start. And there are the French ones, the English ones, the old ones from my childhood, and the new ones from my more recent years of teaching...
I do love the ones you have featured here though. The illustrations look wonderful. For me, the more the illustrations and stories are close to reality, the more I enjoy reading them to children (but that's the Montessori teacher in me). With a little bit of fiction thrown in there the older the children get.
Oh I would love to see some of those! I can definitely understand your Montessori concept, and I wondered if I would get a comment on anthropomorphism here. As that is one thing I've kindof gone back and forth with... Thank you for stopping by!
I am not familiar with any of these books and will need to add them to our reading list. Our twins are 7 months old and I read to them nearly every day. I can tell you which books are their favourites by how fast they crawl across the floor when I bring them down off the book shelf.
Right now they love Moo which names different farm animals (proper male, female, and youngling names), along with their sounds. It also incorporates textures and tabs to pull or push to animate parts of the book. One chicken 'pecks'and they're always eager for that part.
Their second favourite is Peek-a-Baby which is colourful and has a baby hidden behind a flap.
We also enjoy The Runaway Bunny, Guess How Much I Love You, Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball, and more.
This was a lovely read, thanks for sharing.
-Aimee
Awwww... Those sound great! Especially for younger children. I will have to check them out. The farm animals one sounds like fun!
It’s not the screen itself that’s bad. It’s a conglomerate not the least of these the bright light beaming at your eyes while you tend to blink less. It’s not good for any of us. Another reason screens are terrible is because they encourage a lack of imagination and build an inability in the child to entertain him/herself. I’ve seen this happen in my own kids, finding real world things that your kids our naturally inclined to and interested is key. I think the toughest age is 2-5, after that they have a much broader range of things they can do. My kids love books though, thanks for the recommendations the illustrations look fantastic in these.
Thank you. Yes I use the word "screens" to basically encompass all of the above. I have also found that between the ages of 2 and 5 sensory play is best!
Yeah, my youngest boy is in that range. Sensory play for him usually means jumping off of couches, climbing, and throwing things. He's destructive, but we allow him to explore his world and his bodily limits within reason. He's just starting to become interested in more "creative" endeavors like art, blocks, and Montessori type toys. It's a constant struggle keeping him from destroying everything in the house during winter time though.
Some of my favorite books as a little boy were "Three Jolly Fellows" by Eno Raud, illustrated by Edgar Valter. That kept me awake for many nights, imaging the world the the Fellows! That, along with Astrid Lindgren's books - Pippi Longstocking, Karlsson-on-the-Roof, Emil of Lönneberga... My mother started reading me those when I was 5-6 and by the time I was 8, I was re-reading them myself, time and time again! Oh, and after a few more years, The wind in the willows! Oh that book had a huge influence on me! And now I've started reading it to the kids! The same copy I've read a dozen times in my lifetime!
Oh I loved the Wind and the Willows as a kid! Thank you for all the book suggestions! I think we have similar taste when it comes to this! I will check them out! Pippi Longstocking was one of the first books I learned to read, I think... Or was it Amelia Bedilia...
Great post! And great point about garbage being out there in all platforms!
Well, off the top of my head, (but these are chapter books), I have always loved the Neverending Story and Watership Down. :)
The Mitten was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. Also really loved A Child's Garden of Verses. (I need to find a copy of this to give my kids...)
Oh yes Watership down is a great one for the older kids! I really loved reading that in my teens. A Child's Garden of Verses sounds familiar. I'll have to look into that too!
Oh these are fantastic @schoonercreek!
I think that television is a real cause for concern, I mostly remember reading books as a child and I don't think a lot of kids would bother to pick up the books I was hauling around at the age they've got their own iPads!
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the children's book StellaLuna, lovely art, beautiful story and very friendly for all <3
I almost forgot about StellaLuna!!!! ♥
One of my faves!
Oh yeah! StellaLuna!!! Thatis a good one.... Yikes! Yes the tablets being given to young children is quite alarming to me....
At my charter elementary school we had an entire letter grade devoted to library reading. We were to read twelve 200+ page books a term for an A, nine for a C. It felt like a lot of reading when it was required, but boy am I glad I did it! Now I feel like I can speed read and comprehend new vocab from context much easier 👍
Would love to see that kind of importance put on books in every school experience
Wow! That's awesome!