The Knight and the Fable.
When we teach our sons of what is worthy—what is immutable and of value,
I know we all give careful attention to the lessons we present.
We read to them The Sermon on the Mount
–condense it down for smaller ears–
to the child-speak of “share”, “help”, and “say you’re sorry”.
We take them to Sunday School and we ooh and ahh
over the sweet little scraps they bring back home.
Pictures of the Messiah on a Donkey,
a finger-painted butterfly with carefully scrawled scripture.
We make the extra effort to guard their hearts from worldly values
—monitoring closely what they watch on television or taking it away entirely;
the better to protect their purity until they can say as Job,
“I have made a covenant with mine eyes.”
The realm of childhood hero’s may be dominated
by the likes of Pokemon and Harry Potter
–and whatever your views on them spiritually might be—
I think we can all agree that there are better role models out there.
But where to seek them?
Where to find that which will entice the mind of the child
while instilling goodness in his heart?
Simply allow your eyes to rest on your own bookshelves—
or those of your local library.
Here are a few of our family picks:
The Chronicles of Narnia–
so much better read aloud and I can never get through any of them
without stopping to have good cry and explain to my children
that their Mum is not an emotional lunatic but rather
–she sees the picture of salvation so clearly spelled out in C.S. Lewis’s words.
(The roar of the resurrected Aslan. Oh!)
The Boxcar Children-
I loved these when I was younger,
and they offer a wonderful picture of sibling devotion;
of selflessly caring for each other even in dire situations.
I’ve often told my children that God knew what kind of friends they needed
–and he made for them the perfect playmates in each other<3
Swiss Family Robinson–
a good swashbuckling tale of family triumph–
of honor and fortitude and PIRATES.
No little boy can resist.
The Five Children and It–
a fairytale setting involving five brothers and sisters
and their encounter with a Sand Fairy.
Written in 1902, this was a favorite of mine
telling of what happens when you have your wishes granted
and it might not be exactly as you thought.
Little House on the Prairie–
no matter that this is about three sisters,
my boys have loved hearing about all of the vast adventures of Laura Ingalls and her family.
(So much so that they’ve been asking for a bull dog named Jack for nearly a year now:)
The Child’s Book of Virtues–
a lovely collection of poetry and fables that deal with the developing of character.
As Einstein once said,
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.
If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.
“When I examine myself and my methods of thought,
I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me
than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.”
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew–
another tale of a large family learning virtue,
first published 1881,
this series shows situational values learned as the characters grow up.
The Little Prince–
the tale of a little boy who does the right thing in face of calamity.
Who reveres humility above ease, and the procuring of right–above the getting of favor.
Characters introduced in the story deal with flaws in moral fiber
and The Little Prince’s view of them.
The story is written as a symbolic fairytale that may be particularly touching to older children.
Last but not least:
Little Pilgrims Progress–
a must read….toned down a bit from the original scary parts.
The lyrical quality of this text makes it a lovely bedtime story
with plenty of opportunity to discuss the scriptures that inspired it.
**********************
What are some books that you read to your children?
Helping our sons achieve noble manhood is a weighty task.
Giving them something to aspire to, to emulate,
turns little squires into brave knights.
When my oldest (now 12) was a baby I read Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field to him. We had this book when I was a child and I love the simple rhyming prayer and the beautiful pictures.
Charity´s last blog ..Its Monday Quiz Time
We are also reading the Little House series to our children. A couple of Saturdays ago, we made hoecakes for the first time, thanks to inspiration from Ma Ingalls. Reading presents opportunities to learn and discuss and make memories in ways that television can never compete! I look forward to trying some of the suggestions on your list.
Jennifer´s last blog ..How Not to Hate Parenting
My boys are 9 and 6. We are reading The Kingdom series by Clint Black. They can be found at Christian book stores, and the 6 books give an overview of the Bible. The next series is Arrethtrae. I delves into the character and integrity of each of the characters from the Kingdom series. They have questions in the back of the book for deeper thought. I LOVE them. I’m always looking out for good books.
These are wonderful recommendations! My son has just started to become interested in books in general~~we have had to wean him from TV and video games from earlier years of us not limiting at all.
He loves the Chronicles of Narnia right now~
Lindsey @ A New Life´s last blog ..Under Construction
My oldest son(10) loves the Jonathan Park audio series from Vision Forum. Action packed and full science based on the Word of God. Rignt now he’s reading a book about Daniel Boone. There are some great men of God who shaped the early days of our country. I want him to appreciate them as well.
Great reading list! Thank you!!
Courtney
Courtney(WomenLivingWell)´s last blog ..Becoming a Domestic Artist
Definitely Narnia and Little House. These books have been so influential in MY life and I love sharing them w/my kids.
My little guy is only 2, I haven’t read any big adventure stories yet! I can’t wait!
oh amanda´s last blog ..Daddy A Retro Photo
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Courtney , Lindsey Hartz and Brooke McGlothlin, Mob Society. Mob Society said: Turn off the TV (& the influences it brings) & join @SaraSophia in her favorite Knightly Fables! http://bit.ly/b9HTCj #mobsociety [...]
What excellent books! We’ve read the Narnia series (definitely MUST be read aloud!), Little Pilgrim’s Progress, and some of the Children’s Book of Virtues. The others are great too. I’ll have to keep them in mind!
Dawn´s last blog ..Housebreaking Playful- Poopy Puppies
We also loved Little Lord Fauntleroy – a tale of a 7 yo boy with gentle character under impressive circumstances! Thank you for the list!!
Nanette´s last blog ..HONOR
We are loving the Sugar Creek Gang books this summer. Wonderful stories of adventure mixed with what it means to obey, work hard, and do the right thing.
I recently started reading Little House in the Big Woods to my 3 year old. I thought he might be too young (it’s our first chapter book), but it’s been a big hit!
Joanna @ Starving Student Survivor´s last blog ..Mending by Hand
You aren’t the only one who cries during the Narnia series. Blubbering mommy here too! A favorite of ours is “Dangerous Journey,” an awesome children’s version of “Pilgrim’s Progress” with amazing illustrations.
Vanessa´s last blog ..Redeem the Time
Oh my Word! I am so glad to have recently joined Twitter if for no other reason but to find this site!
I only have one boy sandwiched between two girls and I have been struggling with how to be the mom God wants me to be for him. That has been a constant prayer for me as he has some health issues both physically and emotionally/mentally. Also, it is hard to know what to do with our boys as we are doing “girly” things with our girls!
We are also prayerfully considering adoption so we might be getting more boys!
So many books and websites say the same things over and over: “The father is the one who has to do such and such with their boys so they will become….(Fill in the blanks here!) This advice, although true, does little to nothing to empower MOMS in the raising of godly young men!
Many of us have husbands who work hard to provide for our families so we can stay home. Expectations about what they should be doing with our boys can be unrealistic and leave us feeling helpless!
I look forward to seeing how God will work in your lives and mine to raise godly young men! God bless all you wonderful MOBS who have put so much into this website!
Michelle´s last blog ..Feeling Free So My Children Can Fly!
Helpful, beneficial post, Sara Sophia!
And yes, our knights need some good heroes to emulate, and you’ve listed some wonderful resources with quality characters! We are reading Swiss Family Robinson right now, and our whole family (boys and girls) are loving it. Your Five Little Peppers suggestion is new to me…I’ll be looking that one up!
Another series my boys love is called the DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K Paul. It is written in the style of Lewis and Tolkien and is wonderful. Great stories, daring adventures, quality heroes and eternal truths in each one. I highly recommend them!
Thank you for this!
Kristen´s last blog ..What a Girl Needs
Great recommendations. I’ve written them all down and will be taking the list to the library tomorrow. I’m hoping to get some on CD that we can listen to in the car on a trip we will be going on next week. Much better than a DVD because Momma can listen too! At home I struggle with getting my boys to settle down every night long enough for me to even read them a story. We haven’t tried a chapter book yet though so maybe that will hold their attention. I want them to be readers like I was/am so badly!!!
Jana´s last blog ..Funny Face
Thank you for these wonderful suggestions! I had thought my newly 6 year old was too young for Narnia, but we started the first one yesterday and he is in thrall! (And so am I, all over again.)