Finding 1,000 Good Books

A list of books of lists of books

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam, +JMJ+

May my August Mother, Mary, shine Her light on me to provide a means of discerning literature that will guide Her children in virtue.

Thank you to

By the Sea

for asking about this publication and calling me to prioritize its publication.

Photo by Giammarco Boscaro on Unsplash

“Western tradition, taking all that was best of the Greco-Roman world into herself has given us the thousand good books as a preparation for the great ones and for all the studies in the arts and sciences, without which such studies are inhumane.” -John Senior The Restoration of Christian Culture

For parents considering how to find good books for their children to read, there are a surprising amount of overlooked resources. These resources typically prioritize good books over pleasurable books, but, for the conscientious parent or teacher trying to raise a child in virtue, they set a solid foundation for building a library. In this quicker article, I will list several books that have lists of good books for children as well as explain my general method of discerning how to suggest good books to children across the range of avid readers to reluctant readers.

1. Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson

This is a lovely and comprehensive list of books with thorough evaluations of each of the books listed. It is a valuable tool for any parent or teacher who would like to either have a handy synopsis of books or a Christmas list for coming years. 

2. A Landscape with Dragons by Michael D. O’Brien

The main scope of this work is to explain the importance of moral stories and prioritizing storytelling as a family. O’Brien gives profound examples of how the symbols implemented in stories affect the moral message that the author is communicating whether intentionally or not. In an appendix, he lists books by general age level that prioritize Christian symbolism and morality as well as providing an entertaining plot and style. For morally grounded children’s literature, I think this may be the best place to look. O’Brien, a father and accomplished author himself, brings a wealth of experience to the table in making this list as well as his thoughts on children’s literature.

3. The Classical Reader: A Comprehensive Reading Guide for K–12 Students by Leslie Rayner and Dr.

   Christopher Perrin

This work is inexpensive, slim, and has a lovely list of books by age group. Excellent for any parent interested in having a no nonsense checklist or reference, the book merely lists genres, authors, and reading level by categories and leaves the rest to the adventuring spirit. This is probably the first book anyone should buy when starting to curate their library more thoroughly for children. Perhaps my favorite part of all is that they provided empty spaces to add your own favorite books to the lists!

Among these lists, there is a great deal of overlap. Over the coming months and years, I plan to provide a broad list of books with my own evaluations. In particular, the only work listed above with a specifically Catholic point of view is Michael D. O’Brien’s. While the others are good resources for consideration, one needs to approach them with a level of caution. In particular, Catholics may approach The Classical Reader with an amount of care considering that among the books listed are biographies of Martin Luther and John Wycliffe,¹ Harry Potter, and A Wrinkle in Time (see A Landscape With Dragon’s startling analysis of this work).² However, the amount of books listed are so extensive, and the selections include so many overlooked gems that I think it more than makes up for these causes of concern.

As these three books are for adults rather than children, I think they should be used to discern reading recommendations by those who are capable of critically considering what is best for the individual student rather than allowing the student to start perusing the lists unguided. However, for the particularly intransigent readers, providing a list and letting him find something he wants could bear fruit with minimal supervision. Parents of voracious readers who could easily work their way through half any list of suggested books before a parent had a chance to realize it should probably keep these lists less available.

It hardly needs saying, but, with the rise of intentionally subversive children’s materials, parents and educators need to remember to exercise reasonable restrictions on what children are permitted to read. Otherwise, young readers are liable to be exposed to content that was either not meant for them or was meant to draw them away from a life of virtue. 

Please stay tuned for my own growing list of book recommendations. Many of my suggestions will extend beyond the lists contained above partially because they will be updated with the few recent children’s books that are worth reading or because I have managed to dig up some old fossils that these lists had not found.

Honorable Mention: Classical Fiction At least two of the books listed here, including The Thieves of Ostia and The Percy Jackson Series, devolve into inappropriate material in the later books, but I appreciate specifying a list of literature set in the classical period and like to know someone else is looking for it.

Questions to Discuss:

1. Where do you go to find good books for your child or classroom?

2. Are there any books or series that you would like discussed by the CLD?

3. How did you find books to read growing up?

1. The book recommended in The Classical Reader about John Wycliff can be found here. For many Protestants, John Wycliff in particular is viewed as a hero fighting to translate the Bible in pre-Reformation England against the oppressive and scheming Catholic Church. For a quick view of Wycliff from a Protestant point of view, click here. As seen in the Catholic Encyclopedia, he openly opposed papal authority, Transubstantiation, and Church tradition, and a Catholic parent or teacher should be cautious about permitting positive interpretations about such a man to travel around too readily. Of course, history always has a great deal of nuance that we should introduce cautiously to children as they are ready to accept it. However, this applies especially to who we let children idolize as heroes, and letting a child only know the good of a morally contentious figure is problematic. I bring this up not to incite old wounds among Catholics and Protestants so much as to recall that these old wounds have borne vastly different interpretations of historical figures, and parents should proceed with caution either to demonize or to praise in ignorance.

2. There is an important point that I disagree with O’Brien on, and that is The Chronicles of Prydain. Yes, Lloyd Alexander was probably not intending to pass on Christian symbolism—but it is excellent. O’Brien marks it as mildly dangerous, and I am normally one to tread with caution. However, I have to give The Chronicles of Prydain a warm recommendation. On the other hand, his critiques of A Wrinkle in Time are scalding and a convincing call to arms for Christians to guard against this series.