Raising readers

“We’re reading ahead for you.” So promises Redeemed Reader, a website where Betsy Farquhar, Hayley Morell, Megan Saben, and WORLD’s own senior writer Janie B. Cheaney review children’s books from a Christian perspective. Now they’ve written The Redeemed Reader (Moody Publishers, 320 pp.), a guide to “cultivating a child’s discernment and imagination through Truth and Story.”

It’s a timely guide for families, weary of so much screen time and concerned about offerings in the children’s section of the public library. Their book aims to equip parents, teachers, and librarians to curate books that fit individual children.

The authors skillfully compress their combined wisdom into a relatable handbook about “what to read when,” as well as navigating hard stories, reading across genres, and organizing a home library. Each chapter concludes with suggested titles by reading level, but this is more than a book of books.

The Redeemed Reader Janie B. Cheaney, Betsy Farquhar, Hayley Morell, & Megan Saben

These authors love books, but they say the books they point to are not meant to take time away from the only source of Truth. They urge readers to “remember, the only required book is the Bible.” They also point to books that, though not explicitly Christian, conform to reality. This book is not merely a guide to books that will entertain children but to books that will “spur [them] on to love and good deeds.” “We pray regularly for wisdom,” they write, “and encourage you to do likewise.”

Some readers might feel the authors seem too open to new titles, embracing “messy books” that “tend to make readers (and/or their parents) uncomfortable.” They say the goal of these books that honestly portray the human condition is “discernment, not comfort.” Yet, they urge caution about giving children such books too soon. Some books “may be more suitable for high school audiences even if the words can be decoded easily by a middle school student.” Children who aren’t developmentally ready for messy but redemptive books “may get caught up in the mess and sinful actions, missing the greater story.”

The Redeemed Reader offers tools for choosing books that foster conversations about weighty matters like perseverance in suffering, the consequences of sin, and the possibility of redemption. The authors trust parents to know their children best, to discern the right time to introduce individual books, and to steer clear of books that glorify sin or promise rewards for it.

Equal parts reference, inspiration, and worldview, this book is a robust guide for parents who want to “shepherd their children’s imagination.”