Resource for New Books: Redeemed Reader (A Guest Post)

Do you have a voracious reader in your home? Does going to the library and sifting through all the new titles for young adults make your head spin? Does your reader beg for more current reads? I would like to introduce you to a resource our family has used for years – Redeemed Reader (RR). I first heard about RR from Dr. Donna Johnson at the Living Education Retreat.  Well, actually it was my teenage daughter, Katie, who heard her recommend RR. Immediately, Katie used the book reviews to scout out current books that she could trust and I was grateful as I  had no time to review/read all our school books AND keep up with all the new young adult fiction and nonfiction titles. So enjoy this guest post by the managing editor of RR, Betsy Farquhar. And check out some of her delicious recommendations, too!

Teaching from Peace,

Nancy

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ENRICHING THE FEAST

by Betsy Farquhar

I was delighted to meet Nancy and hear her speak at our CM West Conference this fall. Imagine my surprise when, as I picked her brain for book recommendations, she mentioned Redeemed Reader as a source for some of her choices! It is an honor to introduce Redeemed Reader here on Sage Parnassus. Think of this post as your behind-the-scenes-tour of Redeemed Reader from a Charlotte Mason educator’s perspective (complete with book recommendations, of course!).

Redeemed Reader’s official goal is to “shine a gospel light on children’s literature so that Christian parents, educators, and the children they nurture may read in a more redeemed and redeeming way.” We believe passionately that we are placed in this time and place by the Lord’s sovereign hand, and we seek to shine a gospel light where we are. We are fascinated by the way literature, or Story, shows us the great Truth of Scripture, the nature of humanity and God’s work in the world. This is as true for classics like Cinderella and Othello as it is for newer titles like Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy or You Bring the Distant Near. All in all, we love Jesus and we love books. We could talk all day about both!

Because we believe both worldview (Truth) and literary artistry (Story) are important in a work of literature, we evaluate books on both of these categories. We assign each book an overall rating (out of 5) as well. It’s not enough to have a good “message” if the book is poorly written. When we “star” a book, it is a strong example in both categories, our “best of the best.”

We want to equip our fellow Christians to interact with the culture in which we find ourselves, so we might positively review a book with messy elements. Those messy elements (sexuality, language, violence, worldview themes) are part of this fallen world; their presence in a book isn’t automatically enough to discourage us from reading it. First, we want to see why those elements are in a book. Are they illustrating an evil character? Are they glorified and held up for kids to emulate? Are they part of a troubled world in which someone is seeking to bring about good? The reasons matter, and they help to determine when a book is worth reading, and when it’s not! For example, we thought Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire both worth reading despite their grittiness, but the latest by the same author, The Pearl Thief, glorifies a sexual coming of age that we felt wasn’t necessary. We often label these “messy” books “discussion starters” because we think they are particularly good at generating helpful and interesting discussions. We also offer “cautions” to help parents know if a book is a good fit for their family.

In a nutshell, we critique books from a Christian worldview: recently published gems that are worth reading, the occasional “retro read,” and contemporary “buzz books” (such as potential Newbery winners and popular authors such as Rick Riordan). Our primary focus is new books because there are already so many other excellent resources cataloging the older titles worth reading. We like to highlight spiritual materials for children and families (see our annual Bible review series). We also offer resources such as booklists and reflections on bookish ideas. Our hope is that Redeemed Reader better equips you to walk into Barnes and Noble or your local library and find great books for your children and families.

A Charlotte Mason educator will probably not find a “spine” text on our site for a particular course of study. But you will find enrichment for the feast; there are new, living books being published each year! And we help you discover them amidst a sea of twaddle. For instance, we love to recommend excellent narrative nonfiction resources such as Answering the Cry for Freedom (African Americans during the American Revolution), The Boy Who Became Buffalo Bill (fascinating background on the Civil War), Devotion (African Americans during WWII), and Some Writer! The Story of E. B. White (a truly delightful biography). And there are so many wonderful picture book biographies that can embellish your history read aloud times. Just recently, we reviewed four biographies of “word shapers”: Shakespeare, Roget, Webster, and Newbery.

It’s hard to find current events covered in older, living books. You might be interested in reading and discussing with your teens books like Under Our Skin by Benjamin Watson (racial tension from a Christian perspective), Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi (a Muslim man’s conversion to Christianity), or Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee (a boy’s escape from North Korea). Check out our recent Ten True Stories for Teens for more ideas.

Great contemporary literature exists, and we love to track it down. Historical fiction is alive and well; check out The Passion of Dolssa (Medieval era), Hattie Big Sky (pioneer days), and Breaking Stalin’s Nose (Stalin-era Russia). Realistic fiction like Save Me a Seat, Ghost, and Garvey’s Choice are terrific family reads with middle schoolers; all three of these titles deal with a middle schooler’s self awareness and identity in a non-preachy fashion. Perhaps your family enjoys fantasy; try When the Sea Turned to Silver, The Queen’s Thief series (a staff favorite), or Circus Mirandus. One of our biggest requests are books for boys, and we’ve reviewed a lot: Andrew Klavan and ND Wilson write great action-packed fantasy. Books like Tiger Boy, Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth, and Howard Wallace, P.I. are also enjoyable reads for middle grades boys.

There are too many more to name; we love picture books and easy readers, too, but that’s another post for another day. We’d love to have you stop by! Throw us some book recommendations, like our Facebook page for updates, or just browse our site.

Charlotte Mason’s feast metaphor is an apt one for education: we desire to set before our students just such a spread as most of us will soon enjoy on Thanksgiving.

Let Redeemed Reader help you enrich the feast!