Apologia: Read for the Heart

Wow, this is my last review for the TOS crew. It has been an amazing year. I think I will try to do a separate post on that entire issue sometime next week. As for tonight, let me get to the good stuff.

As you probably know by now, www.apologia.com is not just for science anymore. I have had the privilege and blessing of reviewing three of their resources this year, and this is the third. This book is entitled: Read for the Heart, by Sarah Clarkson. See it here: Read for the Heart. It sells for $17.00.

 

Apologia says it best: “A great book spurs the imagination in childhood, inspires our dreams in adulthood, and nourishes the soul with depictions of life fully and courageously lived. Among the greatest gifts you can bequeath to a child are a love for reading and a passion for books. But how do you sort through the many thousands of books available to your children to find those that are worthwhile? Apologia has the answer. Keeping Read for the Heart close at hand is like having a children’s librarian for a best friend! Let Sarah Clarkson be your guide to the best in children’s literature for your family. From timeless classics to modern favorites, from picture books to adventure novels to read-aloud favorites, more than 1,000 wonderful stories for young people are recommended within these pages. Now you can make great literature a lasting part of your child’s life and education.”

This wonderful book is written by a young lady who herself was homeschooled and has grown up living what she talks about in the book. She grew up surrounded by good books and parents who loved reading and shared their love with their children-through all kinds of wonderful literature. So, Sarah decides to share her heart with us as she writes a book on books. Read for the Heart is a tremendous resource for anyone looking for excellence and quality in children’s literature. It is well-organized as well and allows the reader to either read cover to cover or to flip to specific chapters on particular subjects. Here are some of the sections she covers: picture books, the Golden Age Classics, Children’s Fiction, Fairy Tales and Fantasy, History and Biography, Spiritual Reading for Children, Poetry, and Music, Art, and Nature. Each chapter has a list of her picks as well as picks from trusted and beloved friends and mentors who have influenced her along the way. She summarizes each title, mentions any possible objectionable issues, and shares why she particularly loves and cherishes certain ones. There are several appendices at the end as well with particular book lists, such as the Caldecott winners and the Newbery winners.

So, how did I use this resource? Well, being a book lover myself, I was enthralled as I read the chapters. I have many, many of the titles she mentions, and that encouraged my heart that I was on a good path with instilling a love of reading in my children. They don’t read as spontaneously as I would like, and there were suggestions listed that inspired me to try some new approaches this summer and beyond to encourage them in reading more. I made many notes and wish lists in each area as well. I am adding many suggestions that Sarah recommends to our list for next year’s curriculum. Most will hopefully come from the inter-library loan that we use, but since I love to own my own copies, I have a feeling our budget will just have to stretch to include more than I thought. :o)

Sarah also helped me reconsider my approach to poetry with my children. I am not a huge fan of this genre, but I still need to expose them to the beauty of it, and have not done a good job of that. So, we’re including several of her suggestions into our summer reading as well. (Just don’t tell my kids yet.) ;o)

I am definitely enjoying my study of this book, and I know you will too. I completely agree with Sarah when she shares that she invites others to create a “reading life” for our children. Oh, that I may do that in our home.

To read what my crewmates thought, click here: http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/783910/

Disclaimer:

*The author’s honest review and opinions are entirely her own. This product was provided to the author for free as a member of the 2010-2011 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received.*