What is a Good Book?

As a home-schooling mother, have you ever asked yourself this question?  I certainly have!  Every time I go to the library, or I am purchasing books for our home-school, I want to know “is this a good book?” The book needs to be “good” because the mind of my child is important.  What we read, shapes our thinking. 

Well, you ask, what does ‘good’ mean? It is certainly a very common, generic word. Can I suggest changing the question to “Does this book feed my child’s mind?” A question Charlotte Mason might have asked.

Charlotte Mason summarised her philosophy of education in 20 principles.  Principle nine states ‘We hold that the child’s mind is no mere sac to hold ideas; but is rather a spiritual organism, with an appetite for all knowledge. This is its proper diet.’

A good book will ‘feed’ your child’s mind. So next time you are at the library or about to purchase a book, ask yourself, does this book…

• Dilute knowledge because diluted knowledge dumbs a child down? (volume 1 p.176)

• Allow for mental growth? (volume 1 p.177)

• Furnish your child’s mind with fruitful ideas? (volume 1 p.177)

• Exercise the several powers of your child’s mind? (volume 1 p.177)

• Afford your child knowledge?

• Introduce your child to great ideas that have moved the world? (Volume 2 p.231)

• Contain twaddle or reading-made-easy? (volume 2 p.263)

• Sustain the life of thought? (volume 3 p.168)

• Allow your child to dig for knowledge and labour in thought? (volume 3 p.177, p.179)

• Hold your child enough that it makes a sudden, delightful impact upon his/her mind causing an intellectual stir marking the inception of an idea? (Volume 3 p.178)

• Give your child access to a great mind? (volume 3 p.228)

• Contain hidden treasure only found when searched for? (volume 3 p.243)

• Introduce ideas in a literary style because children have a natural preference for the literary form? (Volume 6 p.15)

• Appeal to your child’s spirit because ‘No one knoweth the things of a man but the spirit of a man which is in him’ (Volume 6, p.26)? (Volume 6, p.30)

• Allow your child access to original minds/ideas to allow for intellectual growth? (Volume 6 p.303)

• Feed your child abundantly? (Volume 6 p.26)

• Contain desiccated, drained, dry statements of facts? (Volume 6 p.105)

• Is this book worthy of your child’s time? (Volume 6 p.12)

As you make decisions on what books to put before your child’s eyes, consider the list above.  Consider also this definition of the word book, written by Charlotte Mason ‘A word possessing certain literary qualities able to bring that sensible delight to the reader which belongs to a literary word fitly spoken.” (Volume 2 p.263)