What to Read When: A Review

Posted by Karin | 0 comments

Pam Allyn, Founder and Director of LitLife (training organization for K-12 educators) and founding director of Books for Boys (mentoring and reading initiative at The Children’s Village) has written a book to help parents and educators find books for children according to their childhood stages and phases.  What to Read When offers suggestions to classic children’s literature according to chronological age and emotional themes.

The book offers over 300 annotated titles  for children that address as well as a “Readers Ladder” section that has recommendations for children, birth to age ten.  Similar to Jim Trelease’s popular, The Read-Aloud Handbook, What to Read When is a great resource for parents and home educators who would like to be more intentional with their read aloud selections.

Christian parents should note that some of the titles suggested do not fit a traditionally conservative Christian view point and may not be appropriate for your family.  For example, under “Building the World of Family” there are several book suggestions that deal with alternative lifestyles which may not be suitable for your child/ren or family.  That said, the book does have many strong recommendations for a variety of topics (including: divorce, death,the challenges of having a sibling, etc.) and offers detailed enough book summaries that this should not be of major concern.

If you love children’s literature or are looking for ways to bring more literature into your home or education program, you will not be disappointed by What to Read When.

Karin Katherine is a wife, homemaker, writer, blogger, speaker and Christian homeschooling mother of 5. She lives in Palm Beach County with her husband, 5 children, a plethora of science projects and various reptiles. One of Karin Katherine’s biggest passions is to support and encourage homeschooling parents in the education of their children. Always one to stay on top of the latest resources for homeschoolers, Karin is equally passionate about sharing resources with other home educators. Through her desire to share resources she created the Homeschool Resource and Ed Resource Toolbars—-a FREE browser tool bar loaded with the best online resources for home educators and educators alike!