The series I’m working on for Denominational Magazine will explore spiritual/Christian themes in various works of children’s literature. Here is a draft list with blurbs for each…
September 2008: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Our series begins with the second installment in the classic Chronicles of Narnia, in which the Pevensie children return to Narnia and take up the struggle to assist Caspian as he reclaims Narnia in the name of Aslan, a lion who serves as the Christ figure throughout the series.
October 2008: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
A lonely preacher’s kid finds a sense of belonging through the companionship of a scruffy stray dog and various other colorful characters in her small Florida town.
November 2008: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
The sixth volume in the Harry Potter series, the book explores Lord Voldemort’s tragic past as Harry comes to terms with his destiny–to fight Voldemort in a battle in which only one will survive. We feature this book in November in anticipation of the film adaptation, due to be released this month.
December 2008: The Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle
The followup from L’Engle’s classic A Wrinkle in Time, this book has Meg and her friend Calvin O’Keefe racing against time to defeat the Echthroi: sinister, mysterious beings which threaten to tear the universe apart.
January/February 2009: Holes by Louis Sachar
Unlucky Stanley Yelnats finds himself sentenced to hard labor at a Texas juvenile detention center. The boys are forced to dig holes in the desert, day after day… what are they looking for?
March 2009: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
A classic tale of friendship and imagination, Bridge to Terabithia chronicles the unlikely relationship between Jesse Aarons and his new neighbor Leslie Burke, the mystical land of Terabithia that unites them, and the real-life tragedy that rocks Jesse’s world.
April 2009: The Book of Jude by Kimberley Heuston
Sixteen-year-old Jude finds her world turned upside down when her mother receives a fellowship to study for a year in Czechoslovakia. This book sensitively explores themes of adolescence, identity and mental illness, all against the backdrop of Prague at the end of the Cold War.
May 2009: The Giver by Lois Lowry
This book is set in a pseudo-utopian society in which Sameness is the ideal and strong emotions are all but eradicated. Jonas is a twelve-year-old boy who receives an unusual assignment–to become the sole Receiver of Memory, the only one who knows the people’s history and all that came before.
June 2009: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
Lucky is a ten-year-old girl who lives with her father’s ex-wife after the untimely death of her mother. Her favorite pastime is eavesdropping on Twelve-Step meetings, which inspire her own plucky search for a Higher Power–though she’s not sure what that is. The story explores family and faith with wit and grace.
July/August 2009: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
Poor Holling Hoodhood is the sole Presbyterian in his sevent-grade class. His Jewish and Catholic classmates all leave school early on Wednesdays for religious instruction, while Holling is stuck with his teacher, who he’s sure is out to get him because she makes him read Shakespeare. The horror! Set in 1968, our series closes on a high note with this poignant and humorous book.
There will be an article in each print issue of the magazine, accompanied by a discussion guide available online. Should be fun.
It was hard to narrow the list to ten books. I tried to include some books that might appeal to boys, and I asked around a bit, but I don’t have a lot of elementary-age boys in my life so I don’t know what they read. I also wish this list reflected more ethnic diversity. Next year…?
I’m also looking for a name for this series. Any ideas? For the sermon series I’m toying with “the Word within the words,” but that requires a small-caps font for people to “get” it.
15 Responses to “books for the children’s lit series”
Leave a Reply
Search
Asides
» It’s National Procrastination Week (who comes up with these things?), and in honor of people like me who like to celebrate NPW all year long, here’s a good article.
» Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves? Well, that’s kind of a silly question, but I’ve come this far with the blog challenge… I did get this Gelaskin for my laptop. If you see me in the coffee place, say hi.
» When did you get your best rush of the year? Here.
Links
Join | List | Prev | Next Random | Prev5 | Next5
Skip Prev | Skip Next
Join | List | Prev | Next |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
FWIW, the Kid read and enjoyed many of these books when he was in elementary school.
Oh…great list! I can’t believe I will miss the series again. Hopefully you will podcast as you did last summer and I will listen in from Ohio! Regarding appealing to boys, M (my boy) has read:
-Prince Caspian
-Because of Winn Dixie
-Harry Potter & Half-Blood Prince
-Holes
-Bridge to Teribithia
-Wind in the Door
So you are right on target.
During my packing I found a paper back book by Madeleine L’Engle (garage sale find from my mother-in-law) which was signed by the author. Yipee!
What is that Bible verse about “When I was a child, I thought like a child……”
Perhaps using something like this as the title….”Literature for the seeking child and the child within us all, looking for God in words for children”
Into the Brains of Babes
I like Keith’s suggestion.
Wow! I would love to do something like this. I adore children’s lit and think it often is highly underrated! And it is a good list - I’ve read most of it but there are some I may have to go find now.
Hmmm…for a title I keep thinking along the lines of :
Small Size, Big Thoughts
or something like that.
Have you ever read “Guys Write For Guys Read” it is edited by Jon Scieszka. It has short stories from a bunch of different guy authors, written for boys to enjoy. The authors featured also tend to write for “boys” (although, of course, girls enjoy the books too). An author I really enjoy is Chris Crutcher- he appeals to boys as well.
Love this list. What about a name like Children’s Lit for a Grown Up Faith — a little awkward, yes. But what you talking about here is something that most grown ups would covet. It’s the same notion expressed when people tell me that “the children’s sermon” does it for them.
So proud of you, amazing RM.
I love “the Word within the words,” myself. Like Kelley, I think there are a number of boy-pleasers here. Another possibility would be something from the Redwall series by Brian Jacques.
Well, for the sermon series, would “The Word Within” or the “The Word between the Pages” spark some more ideas (I really like the Word within the words idea) ? For the mag series….or “Children’s Lit for a Growing Faith” or “Books for Children of God (of All Ages and Stages of Faith)” or???
I do think this sounds like fun - work yes but creative-juice flowing stuff. I’ll want to read the books!
SFE
And A Little Child Will Read Them
I’m excited about these, RM. What is the term for literature for older kids? At what point is it YA? it seems to me that if this was truly Children’s Lit you could have a whole different list (which I envision for 2009-10!) Meanwhile, how about Young in the Word? I Like Keith’s last suggestion but would drop “Little”. And a Child Shall Read Them.
These are great suggestions, thank you all. Keith… great scripture reference. You’ve got some game.
I’ve got a backlog of random phrases and an overdeveloped rhyming center–that’s about it.
wonderful wonderful