Why Should We Care About Children’s and Adolescent Books in the Church?
We are “people of the Book.” That’s a familiar phrase to most Christians, particularly to Presbyterians like us (Becky and Pamela). Of course, in the phrase, “the Book” refers specifically to the Bible – we Christians are people whose identities and lives are shaped by the book we call the Bible.
We believe that passionately – we are people of THE BOOK. But we also believe that other stories and other books can and should be used in the church, in order to help us more fully understand and weave “The Book” (Bible) into our lives of faith. In other words, we think it is not only appropriate but also important to weave stories from children’s books like Janell Cannon’s Stellaluna, and contemporary adolescent fiction like Joyce Carol Oates’ Big Mouth and Ugly Girl, into our educational ministry with all ages in the church.
Why? Why do we use books in addition to the Bible? Why do we think children’s and adolescent literature is appropriate and even important to use? Why????
Click on the link below to see what else Pamela Mitchell Legg and Becky Davis have to say about this.
Why Should We Care AboutChildren’s and Adolescent Literature?
Why Should We Care About Children’s and Adolescent Books in the Church? by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This site will make a terrific resource for me. I teach Sunday School to pre-schoolers and occasionally do the children’s message, and books really help me to bridge the age gap. I’m always looking for good ones to add to my library. But these books aren’t cheap and I can’t afford to waste money on one that I can’t use in church. The faith reviews on the site along with the books will help me in my ministry to educate our kids.
Kelly – As one who spent her whole book budget on children’s books this past year, I totally understand. We hope to post reviews of some books that sounded promising but turned out to be “not so great” too, to help folks choose.
Pamela
I am delighted with this opportunity to expose the church and especially church leaders to the riches of children’s literature. For a moment, I’d like to turn from the uses for children’s literature to the pleasures of
children’s literature. Good books for children are fun and are mind and soul-explanding. If THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX never makes it into a lesson plan or a
sermon, it’s worth reading for what it can do to and for the reader. I’ll anticipate finding a number of such treasures for my own reading.
Virginia – I agree completely! It has been fun to watch the students in the course get hooked on children’s books. And never fear, a faith review of Despereaux is indeed forthcoming – we’re parceling out the reviews over several months.
Pamela
This is an amazing resource for pastors and educators alike! Using children’s and adolescent literature for teaching in the church opens whole new avenues for discussion and creativity while still remaining faithful to the Biblical message. As someone who primarily works with adults, this resource will be invaluable for me when I find myself working with children and youth. Thank you!
While I am not currently working with children or youth in the church, I am raising 3 children right now. This is also a great resource for parents trying to share our faith with our children. I can’t wait for the review of Despereaux…I have a 3d grader reading it now! Thanks for the hard work!
Lisa – Despereaux is coming soon, I promise!
Pamela
As a church librarian with a special interest in children’s books, I was delighted to find this link through Linc-List. I have just started to explore the reviews but already I can see that this will be most useful information for all the congregational librarians out there who need some help in choosing books for children. I will try to spread the word to other congregational librarians through our provincial association, the Congregational Libraries Association of BC. Thank you. Linda
This is one of the best new webpage resources! I’m so excitied to spend more time exploring all the reviews and lessons. I’m a collector of great Children’s Books and am passionate about sharing them with others. As a Christian Educator this resource is truly a blessing. Thank you!
This is a great website! Just what I’ve been looking for, and what I’ve wanted to do with myself in the next chapter of my life; children’s books! I have a great collection as well. How do we submit to this site?
This is SO wonderful! I found yall last week and am just now calmed down enough to write you. THANK YOU THANK YOU for doing this!!! And “ain’t it about time!” Your choices are delicoius too! WHAT a great resource!!
Any chance you are taking requests? Tough Boris by Mem Fox is a fav for death/dying issues. AND we just did Children’s Sabbath with Jesus, The Word by Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones. Would love to hear yall’s take on these.
HUGE thanks for what this does for the church. And ditto to all the previous comments, too.