Guest Post from Chloe Trogden
In a break from the usual round of author and character interviews, today I have a guest post from Chloe Trogden, from collegegrant.net. She has a post about evaluating books for your children and teens. While all the books I write here and generally promote are for adults, I myself have a young child and know many of my fellow authors are parents, so I thought this would be a good article to showcase. Thank you for joining us, Chloe!
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Tips for Evaluating Books for Your Children or Teens
Reading is an important way for kids and teens to learn, to explore their world, and to exercise their imagination. Not only can they better understand the world around them, but they can expand their expectations for what’s possible. They can dream up unlimited possibilities, live through new worlds, and “meet” larger-than-life characters.
Books can also teach children things you don’t want them to learn – values that you don’t share or lessons that you think they are too young to learn. There may be inappropriate story lines or information that is offensive to your belief system. It is important to evaluate books before you allow your children or teenagers to read them. Here are a few tips for how you can evaluate books for your children or teens:
Read the Text
The best way to make sure if the book is something you want your kids reading is to read it yourself. This can sometimes be easier said than done since you may not have the time or you may have a kid who’s clamoring to read something NOW because all his or her friends are. Books for toddlers will be much easier to read – you can usually finish them while you’re waiting in the checkout line. Books for older kids will require a little more planning to ensure that you have enough time to get through them before passing them on to your kids.
Read Reviews
If you don’t have time to read the text – which many parents won’t – the next best thing to do is read the reviews. Don’t stick to just what’s published on book review sites or in magazines and newspapers. Read what actual parents are saying on forums and blogs. Go to forums where the book is being discussed and ask detailed questions about the story line, the characters and the age-appropriateness of the book.
Analyze the Values in the Book
The primary reason that many parents don’t want their children reading a specific book is because of the values presented in it. For example, many conservative Christian parents forbade Harry Potter in their homes because they believed it promoted witchcraft, which they thought was antithetical to their faith. When you read the book or look at reviews, make sure you question the theme and what values it endorses. Do they match yours? Do they support ideas that you want your child to be influenced by? It’s important that they do since children are easily influenced by what they read.
Look for the Subtext
Subtext is everything in a book. Story lines that may seem positive and uplifting can reveal discrimination or stereotyping if you think critically about them. For example, there may be a dearth of minority characters in the story, or female characters may be subjugated to supporting or stereotypical roles. Maybe negative words are attached to some characters – like the overweight kid who’s smelly or the poor kid who’s not as smart.
This subtext can reinforce negative stereotypes, which may reflect on aspects of your own family or which may just undermine the message of equality and acceptance that you are trying to teach your children.
Don’t Overlook the Illustrations
For younger children, books will include illustrations, and these aren’t just pretty pictures. Make sure you also review the illustrations to ensure that they provide appropriate depictions. Do the pictures match the tone and the action in the text? Do they represent any stereotypes? Are they age-appropriate? Think just as critically about the illustrations as you would the text.
Books are powerful. What your children read can shape their ideas and their feelings about life. Make sure that they are reading what you would want them to be reading by carefully evaluating what you give them.
How do you evaluate books for your children and teens? Share your tips in the comments!
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Chloe Trogden is a seasoned financial aid writer who covers specific opportunities such as teaching grants. Her leisure activities include camping, swimming and volunteer work.
