Apart from these purely developmental advantages, we can note many other benefits of reading aloud. Good children’s literature teaches moral lessons by dramatizing the conflict between good and evil and the consequences of bad choices. Children want to know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are and what makes the difference, and stories help them understand this. As J.R.R. Tolkien wrote of children: “Far more often [than asking the question ‘Is it true?’] they have asked me: ‘Was he good? Was he wicked?’ That is, they were far more concerned to get the Right side and the Wrong side clear. For that is a question equally important in History and in Faerie.” Children develop their moral sense in part through stories.
Good literature also opens up new worlds for children to explore and puts them in closer contact with this world. Great books inspire a sense of wonder that is key to all later learning and to a full, flourishing human life. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, reading together provides the opportunity for parents and children to bond.
Beatrix Potter’s Books
Helen Beatrix Potter was an illustrator, naturalist, and writer at the beginning of the 20th century. Her series of children’s books featuring anthropomorphized animals is superb and has rightly become a classic. Her iconic characters, such as Peter Rabbit and Tom Kitten, dance across the pages because of her delightful illustrations, while their exploits often teach important lessons. The naughty animal children generally pay a price for their misbehavior.
Children’s books should be attractive and tasteful in both words and art in order to form children’s memory and imagination in accordance with the beautiful, and Beatrix Potter’s series certainly fulfills this requirement. These books will help instill an appreciation of animals and nature and a sense of grace and proportion. Even children’s literature should be ennobling in its forms and messages. We do children a disservice if we think they are incapable of being inspired—at least to a limited degree—by the good, the true, and the beautiful.
‘Winnie the Pooh’ by A.A. Milne
No list of children’s books would be complete without A.A. Milne’s beloved “Winnie-the-Pooh.” The stories about a boy and his stuffed animals and woodland companions, such as Winnie-the-Pooh (a bear), Piglet (a pig), and Eeyore (a donkey), form an enchanting world for young children to visit. Many of the stories are hilarious, even to adults, though there’s also a certain innocence and vulnerability—I almost said “melancholy”—to the stories that makes them touching and more than a mere comic diversion.
The ‘Little House’ Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Largely autobiographical, these books tell the story of Laura Ingalls as she grows up as a settler and pioneer. Children will enjoy the wide array of adventures during Laura’s childhood and young adulthood on the American frontier. Particularly fascinating are the details about homesteading and everyday life during the pioneer age: hunting, gardening, tapping trees, collecting honey, smoking meat, surviving fever, calving, fiddle playing, and so on.
‘The Chronicles of Prydain’ by Lloyd Alexander
Inspired by Welsh mythology and folklore, “The Chronicles of Prydain” is set in the magical kingdom of Prydain, which is ruled by a high king and filled with various subkingdoms, peoples, and creatures. The stories follow Assistant Pig-Keeper Taran, who loses his charge (a magical pig) at the beginning of the first novel, “The Book of Three,” which triggers a long series of adventures involving a vivacious princess, a foolish bard, an enchantress, abductions, spells, giants, dwarfs, undead warriors, and ultimately the fate of the kingdom.
‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ by C.S. Lewis
I think fairy tales are important for readers of all ages, but especially for children. That’s why the last two entries on my list are both fantasy series. Fantasy appeals particularly to the hungry imaginations of children while also awakening them to a sense of wonder and awe that will, hopefully, translate to their experience of the real world, too. Fairy tales work particularly well at embodying good and evil and their constant struggle, pointing us toward higher realities and battles that must be fought in the real world. The best fantasy incites a deep, mystery-laden longing that keeps you searching for the noble things of life.
Few series do this better than “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis. This set of seven novels tells of the travels of a group of British children between our world and the magical land of Narnia. The children play key roles in the development of Narnian history, from its creation to its apocalypse, often saving it from tyrants who seek to take it over. Narnia is a place of talking animals, mythical beasts, witches, curses, and its king, a lion named Aslan, who is both dangerous and gentle, powerful and good.
The books not only tell thrilling stories with many a battle and heroic exploit, but also touch on deep moral themes and occasionally reach a visionary height that shines a light on our own world and history, like sunlight reflected off a mirror. This series is recommended for ages 6 and up.
There are, of course, countless other classic works of children’s literature. This is just a start. But I hope the works listed here can provide many hours of healthy and enjoyable family time because of how well they lend themselves to being read aloud.
