Last year, I gave a talk about books as mirrors and windows. Some of you may have heard it. There was much more to it than just this, but to summarize briefly, I expressed that there is a need within the Charlotte Mason community for our children to have more books that reflect the diversity of our society. Both living and lifegiving books. I also laid out the issue at hand: There is a shortage of living chapter books featuring Black people and characters who are not in the midst of “the struggle.”
I know that part of this is because struggle has been an authentic part of the African American story from the beginning, but it’s not all of it. There is more to our story, and I want our collective children, of all backgrounds, to understand that we are more than tragedy and strife. There’s even more to our story than overcoming and triumph. We have grandparents and pets. We have hobbies and passions. We have favorite recipes and funny family stories. We enjoy adventures and wandering. We have dreams and coming-of-age drama. We are multidimensional with modern and contemporary experiences that transcend enslavement and civil rights.
Not that the other stories shouldn’t be told. They are critically important and anyone who follows me here knows that I include many books on hard historical truths in my children’s lessons. All I’m saying is that kids need more stories about Black people than just those, and when it comes to those OTHER stories, there’s a shortage of living books.
While discussing a possible (imperfect) solution in my talk, I posed the question of whether it’s possible that we have defined living books too narrowly, and I also suggested that there may be room within the Charlotte Mason community for something I’ve called “lifegiving books.”
Following that talk, I received all sorts of feedback, most of it very supportive. But there were also those who felt that, with living books being the cornerstone of a true Charlotte Mason education, I was taking too much liberty with introducing another category of books and suggesting that it be embraced.
This talk that freed many and brought additional families into our homeschooling community was not the first time I’d spoken about lifegiving books. I’ve been talking about the need to diversify booklists for years. In fact, it was over three years ago, that I first wrote about lifegiving books on my website.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, many of the things I’d written over the years, including this lifegiving books article, began to be circulated online and much like the Mirrors and Windows talk, most of the reactions were positive, but some of the chatter online was less so. Now recall that my premise is that it’s incredibly unhealthy for children to solely read about:
- The lives of white fictional characters
- The trials and contributions of white historic figures
- The struggles and triumphs of the enslaved and formerly enslaved
- Black characters who are fighting for civil rights or struggling through urban poverty with broken families and even more broken spirits
- Poor, ignorant, or downtrodden Black families
After reading that premise, some moms within the Charlotte Mason community were so determined to prove me wrong and prevent even the mere possibility of rethinking our beloved booklists that they immediately began working to set the record straight. I’d like to share just one example of many with you today. After reading an article I’d written that was posted to social media, she commented:
“She [meaning me, Amber] is correct that a living book is a “life giving book.” As a CM expert, I can assure you that her interpretation of [a] living book is a tad bit off. Her conclusion is that a “life giving book” is different than a living book— no they are the same thing. I am. 100% positive that books such as Up from Slavery by Booker T Washington and the writings of Holtzclaw, DuBois, and Frederick Douglas are LIVING BOOKS! I Have read them and their literary quality is also excellent. Just because your typical CM program might not list them, doesn’t mean they aren’t living! I think she has limited her understanding of the definition for a living book. An excellent living book for 4-6 grade children is Esperanza Rising. It’s not twaddle. It’s life-giving and therefore it’s living. It’s written very well. Just because the sentence structure isn’t “high-level” British style, doesn’t meant it’s not living. To Kill a Mockingbird is another living book without eloquent sentences. Again, she’s limiting her understanding of what Mason means by “living.” She’s correct to say that a living book is “life-giving.” It saddens me that she didn’t understand this. I just think it’s important for people who write about CM to be sure they are properly representing her philosophy and her definitions. I think the author of this article is not actually using the full-context of Masons definitions for living books. Her definition is woven throughout all her volumes and you get a better sense of what a living book is if you read Mason’s writings rather that “definitions” and interpretations from other homeschool sources. The author of the article used homeschool sites to define “living books.” And therefore, she actually misrepresents Mason’s true meaning of a living book. We read Fifty Years by Johnson and compared it to EMANCIPATION SONG from The Anti-Slavery Harp: A Collection of Songs for Anti-Slavery Meetings compiled by William W. Brown, a fugitive slave. And then we studied the painting: A Ride for Liberty – Fugitive Slaves, March 2, 1862 by Eastman Johnson.”
Social media comment
Do you see the problem here?
The books that this “CM expert” offers as examples of why I’m wrong are MORE OF THE SAME. She actually makes my point for me because she goes on to fire off a list of wonderful living books about the EXACT thing that I said we need to expand beyond.
Make no mistakes, there ARE living books featuring Black people who are enslaved (or formerly so), fighting for civil rights, and struggling in urban poverty, but once you leave the realm of picture books, the pickings are extraordinarily slim. Most of the stories that include additional facets of African American life are not written in the same literary style most of us use when defining living books.
I very much feel that the typical reading lists found in nearly every interpretation of a Charlotte Mason education need to be expanded to include people of color and that all of those diverse titles cannot be focused on oppression and struggle. The issue is that when you move beyond picture books, the selection of chapter books from which to choose is very limited if we want to uphold the same literary aesthetic that many of us have come to expect from books we deem “living.”
Given this, my options when speaking to the Charlotte Mason community are to say:
1. “We must expand our definition of living books to include books of a different literary quality because there are ideas held within them that our children must get. The “best available” books on certain topics or containing certain ideas are not all written in the same voice or style of most of the books that we’ve deemed ‘living.’”
In that case, I could argue that, as with all forms of art, literary beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What may look like mere eye-candy literature to a mom whose child is validated daily through the words and pictures of nearly every living book presented in the feast, could be a life-giving book to my brown-skinned babies. The mere existence of dust jackets featuring Black people is a breath of life blown into my household.
The mention of a familiar cultural experience or the knowing hum of a grandmother’s song is an acknowledgment that the Black experience is really a thing worth noting and loving. And the simplicity and comfort of reading about the real or imagined life of a child or adult with a story to tell who happens to be Black vs. a story about being Black is a critical element in the development of a creative mind space for boys and girls. In short, I could argue that what may be a living book to my family may not be one to yours, and so we should hold a looser interpretation of the term.
Read more on this topic from my friend, Erika at Charlotte Mason City Living: Who Decides Which Books are Living Anyway?
2. But because I actually don’t like to cause controversy, I decided not to mess with the preciously held interpretation of living books, and instead, I said, “OK, we are to rely on living books. But for this particular category, there aren’t enough living books so I think we need to include “lifegiving” books that don’t match the literary threshold but are vital nonetheless.”
But then, as evidenced by the commenter above, some “CM experts” were unhappy with that. As you can see, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.
So today, I want to ask that we not get tripped up on semantics. Whether you want to consider that we need to expand our definition of living books to include diverse titles that may be written differently than other books we deem living, or if you prefer to say that we need to include lifegiving books that are not quite living, the point remains the same:
It is time for us to expand beyond the status quo. We cannot continue to offer up white people, slaves, and oppressed Black people to our children and consider it a good education. We cannot, in good conscience, sacrifice what is right in order to worship living books and living things over living people.
I’ll be talking about this topic and more at the upcoming Charlotte Mason Institute 2021 Online Conference. I hope to see you there! In the meantime, you can find me on Instagram @heritagemomblog.
I think this is an important subject and agree that we should seek to bring books and stories to all children about people of color in which “normal daily life” is depicted and not just struggle and triumph. While I think it is good to follow CM’s recommendations and try to adhere to the wisdom provided, you can read her heart in her work when she explains Biblical commands for loving the children by doing no harm. When we believe that struggle is the “normal” for an entire body of society it constructs a world view that limits our beliefs and, in doing so, causes harm. We need more books that are “life giving” by your definition. I’d love to see a booklist, maybe you could host one here and as a community we could add to it as we find new treasures!? Thank you for having this conversation!
I really enjoyed hearing your perspective on this, and I agree with you. I’d love to host a list of books here, and I especially love the idea that others could contribute to it.
I am a white homeschooling mom of Black (biracial) kids, married to a Black man who was part of the very first class year in his state that started and completed public school under desegregation. It wasn’t that long ago. My kids NEED life-giving books. My husband needs them. Black history did not start on the boats of criminals who kidnapped and enslaved human beings. And, while the words of formerly enslaved people are vitally important to read, the voices of freedom, agency, and self-direction must also feature prominently for our kids. They need to hear stories that show them what it is to be Black, out from under the white gaze.
I’m going to say it. The insistence on defining living books through such a narrow lens is racist. Charlotte Mason was racist. She wasn’t just “influenced” by the thought of her time, because there were plenty of other white people who had a grasp on liberation. My family cannot afford to define living books by the parameters of white supremacy culture. I don’t care what white “CM experts” think they know. They DO NOT KNOW what Black kids need unless they are echoing the perspectives of Black, Charlotte Mason educators.
We appreciate the holistic and respectful view Charlotte Mason had around kids and the gentle, literature basis of her educational approach. We acknowledge *that* while also acknowledging that we would not send our children to her school any more than we would thrust them into the racist public school system of today.
So, give me the living books and the life-giving books. I want my kids to read them.
I appreciate you so much,
Oops! That was supposed to be a reply on the main thread and it was supposed to end with your name, Amber. I’m not sure how it submitted before I was able to finish. Ah well…
Thank you so much for your understanding and support. My reading of Mason’s volumes hasn’t led me to think of her as racist, but I do completely agree that a narrow view of living books (and other aspects of education) leave Black children (all children) wanting and needing more. I also agree that the refusal of some to look beyond the typical is rooted in racism. It’s one thing to be ignorant (in which case you grow once informed) but it’s something else entirely to consistently push back against a call for expansion when it’s so clearly the right thing to do.
I just started looking through CM “living books” lists and started wondering the same thing! Who decides what should go on these lists? If it’s not Charlotte Mason who put them there (and where is the list of what she actually did put on her list?) surely there is a great diversity of opinion! But I totally get your argument. Of course, you would want to see Black people represented in all kinds of stories…how about a black cowboy book? That would be interesting and authentic. I have read a few picture books about black families and really enjoyed them. So I hope that more and more people will write books like that, and I’m so glad you brought it to our attention. We do get used to our own peeps and forget about how others feel too often. And you put it so nicely. Thanks for such great patience and courtesy!
Do you have a list of such books to share with us? I’d love to see it!
I could not agree more, Amber. We have used some of your “life giving” books in our home and my brown baby is overjoyed. Do I always love them? No. But I am immeasurably thankful for clean books that show my child other kids who look like her and their day-to-day lives. I’m not a CM expert, but I’m pretty sure this falls under respecting children as persons. 😉
Lol, that’s too funny. Well the non-CM expert in me would have to agree with all that you’ve said.
I think I can understand why the so called experts got tripped up, but it’s more of an example of how social media has trained us to not fully read and understand what people are saying. On the surface I can see why they interpreted what you said a certain way, but they obviously weren’t considering the principle you were talking about. Which, as you point out, is the spirit of Charlotte Mason. Yes she said to use living books, but her number one principle was “children are born persons”. On this hang all the other principles and ideas. I’ve personally been reading W. E. B. Du Bois and gaining a lot of insight I myself did not previously have. We will be reading Douglas and Washington and the like. But I introduced Diane Stanley’s “Shaka Zulu” in our family geography study of Africa. I’ll be using your list to find others about early history and other later stories not focused on slavery and oppression. Your words have definitely convinced me that my very white family needs to hear more than that about other people. We need better windows. I hope we can meet up for that park day soon, and I look forward to hearing you speak both at the CMI conference and this summer in Stone Mountain. 🙂
I appreciate your gracious outlook towards others. I can see that too. It’s difficult for me to get my point across in a blog post or even when I’m speaking at conferences when I’m trying to stick to the script. I wish I could just have tea with a bunch of mamas and casually share my heart about this. I love CM’s principles and writing and EVERYTHING. I would never want to add or take away from her brilliant work. It’s just that I love my children more. Everyone’s children. And I want to find a way to fit what I know they need into the philosophy of education we’ve adopted. Thank you for understanding, and I look forward to meeting you in person too!
I want to be at that tea! I have been delving into your blog and writings and speeches of late in order to resolve some of these same ideas and needs for myself and my children. We are a black, Caribbean background household and both myself and my children have experienced the LIFE GIVING book phenomenon in our educational experience. I have been on the hunt for CM inspired books to breathe LIFE into my male and female children with much difficulty (which is how I found you, Ms. Amber!). Every effort over the past 5 years of homeschooling to address this need has had me coming up with just a meager catch of literature. So much so that my daughter (teenage) has determined to become a historical novelist and researcher to help bridge the gap. The need is real, and everything that is being promoted here is a VITAL conversation that needs to be had among the homeschool community as a whole. May I say that the same lukewarm reception this idea of LIFEGIVING alongside LIVING BOOKS is receiving is to me equal with the lived experience of integration? Imagine getting invited to a dinner party, in which you are the minority and feel unwelcome, and are then told by the host that “you ARE welcome” even though you don’t experience that feeling among them. In the end, the entire exchange only leaves you feeling that your input, thought, feelings, and therefore entire PERSON doesn’t matter. How does that change? With action? There is a particular extra effort that the Host has to play, in order to demonstrate the belief that all are welcome. The argument against this dialogue is PROVING the dialogue and therefore exposing the need for the dialogue. I’m laughing and crying at this, because unless one experiences the long-term effects and fallout of a lifetime of fighting for relevance, it is so hard to appreciate what is happening here. But I salute and applaud all those who are willing to think deeper, and care more.
I am flashing back to the blank stare of the public school administrator the week I pulled my kids out of the almost all-white elementary school as I tried to explain the socio-psychological benefit of grouping children of color together in a class instead of singling them out among the various classes to give them an opportunity to achieve a sense of belonging and to become less of a target. It is a problem that those who define these terms, make these policies and philosophies, don’t understand why this is important.
Lastly, I agree with the other sharing Mama (and yourself Amber) in that the moment that ALL children can be validated by a piece of literature (the moment that the eye sparks with indescribable joy because “this book is about ME”) should not being an incidental occasion for some, or something parents have to feel we are abandoning our CM connection to procure for our children. It should be their norm. They deserve this.
I think that those who argue against this idea have never been marginalized, and are convinced that we are okay, because we have been told “you are welcome!” and we are still smiling. But they ignore what we are actually feeling and saying. We do not feel welcome. When I look at a CM booklist I instantly adjust to editing-mode. That’s not welcome.
Amber, I hope and pray that you are encouraged to build the list. I would contribute and so would many others so that we can find the books we need more easily and save time and energy!
Lisa, there is so much I want to say to you. We need that tea, lol! I applaud your daughter for seeing a need and wanting to do what she can to make things easier and richer for those coming along behind her. That’s what it’s all about right there. “A lifetime of fighting for relevance.” I think I could write for days on just that part alone. It is difficult to put it all into words, isn’t it? To explain the importance to someone who chooses to oversimplify the situation or refuses to truly hear. I’m so thankful for you and the other mamas who have expressed their understanding and support. It gives me hope and helps energize me for continuing this work. Thank you for being here!
(posted this to the wrong feed)
Thank you Amber again for your awesomeness!
Here is the quote that helped me to see clearly how to prioritize in navigating this tricky terrain:
“It is not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and a little less heartless.” LR Knost
Let’s do what we need to do for our children, so they can be who they need to be.
Thank you for all you do, Amber!
Oh, that is a WONDERFUL quote!
I so appreciate what you said. My daughter is adopted. She is black and we are white. I too have dealt with this.
The first chapter book with a black, female, main character I bought her was the first book she freely came running to tell me about without me asking. “How is it?” Or “Tell me about it bc I haven’t read it yet”. That was a turning point.
I thought, this MEANS something to her. It STIRS something in her. This book CONNECTED to HER.
At that point I realized, I DONT CARE if these books with black main characters are not up to the literary standard of the CM method. (Of which, I am a huge believer in and grow every year in my CM knowledge and implementation)
Her personhood and identity NEEDS these books. They make her GROW and they are LIFE-GIVING!
So THANK YOU! Thank you for your trail blazing efforts. I am behind you, loving the trail and thankful for your foraging efforts!
This spoke to me so much! In fact, I feel a little emotional just reading it. THIS is what I’m talking about. THIS is why I write and share what I do…because I have seen the same EXACT reactions in my own children. It transcends education philosophy or terminology. I can’t even completely explain it all, but I know that it is needed. Thank you for being here and for encouraging me.
Thankful this encouraged you! I know your trail blazing efforts must be difficult at times. Know that you have made a big difference in our homeschool and literary life. All for the better. I constantly struggled to find the books I knew we were missing. But the problem was I didn’t know the authors or the titles. You found them for me. So thank you!
My hope…is that our children will read the literary rich language of the “classic” and will read the newer books that speak to them and connect with them and our children will grow to be the authors of the next generation of books that hold literary rich language with characters of rich heritage!
❤️ Also, I’m pretty sure Charlotte would be foraging this trail right along with you if she was here.
“…books that hold literary rich language with characters of rich heritage.” YES!!!!
All of this is soooo where my family and my heart is too, Ali! Loving this! <3
I agree completely, And I am incorporating many of your suggestions in my very white family’s education and free reads.
Your thought that my little Irish redhead *needed* to meet Africans as a triumphant people with exciting histories *before* she meets them in bondage has really resonated.
Knowing where we will be in the history rotation next year, made me reassess and reassign the free reads this term.
I also love the thought that with so many families of color opting to homeschool with programs of rich literature, that the next generation will have the black equivalent of ‘Alice and a a rabbit hole’ and ‘Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan’.
I’m so happy that the message resonated with you. I’ve seen how well it plays out with my kids, and I’ve heard the same from so many. And I also dream of having those delightful stories filled with a diverse cast of Black and brown children. I’ll be first in line to buy them and spread the word!
I appreciate your perspective. I’m not an “expert” at CM method, but I know that while Mason discerned her principles for every child, she designed her curriculum for protestant English children. No wonder then, that she drew ALL of the literature from English sources (or from the canon of western literature that was commonly being read in England at the time . . . like Homer, Plutarch). She encouraged students to read the Waverly novels and Robinson Crusoe because they were English. When I read you, I hear that you are proposing reading literature that depicts a wider world than only “white people, slaves, and oppressed Black people”. It is hard to understand how anyone following the CM method could not see that while Mason’s curriculum was for English children, our curriculum must be for OUR children and it won’t be good enough until it includes literature beyond the traditional, narrow, “great books” or popular English works that traditionally excluded diverse perspectives and experiences. There will be some period of time where we might not feel like these books are “as good as” the ones they are pushing aside in the curriculum, but I don’t always think this is true. It might just be that they are different or modern.
Sidebar, I think it is a myth that all of the books she recommended were of such high literary quality. In my opinion, G.A. Henty wrote very sensationalist, pulpy stuff, but at least one of his books made it onto a pneu program. His books were considered pleasure reading and I think some of your “lifegiving books” would easily fit into that category.
Thank you for sharing another thought-provoking post. I appreciate your writing and your recommendations.
Who knew how good the comments of this post would be for my soul?! You are speaking TRUTH right now, and it is so refreshing. Thank you for being here.
Beautifully put. Don’t worry about the haters. You are doing amazing work and although I come from a very mixed Latina/Caucasian background (and married a South Asian man) I have so tremendously appreciated your contributions since that video you put out a year ago on mirrors and windows. Your recommendations are phenomenal as windows for us but have also inspired me on our own crazy mixed adventure to delve deep into our own cultural heritage. I also find it very challenging to find living books on the Mexican experience that are not about “the struggle” so I can understand your meaning!
Thank you and keep up the great work.
Thank you so much, Gina! Yes, I’ve heard this from my Mexican friends before, and while I hate that it’s the case, it’s also nice that other POC also understand what I’m saying from a personal experience. I love that you’re digging deeper into your own cultural heritage. I wish I could make a bunch of heart emojis here!
Amen!
So glad to know that you feel me on this, Rachel!
When you have to choose between a set of rules and the living person in front of you, choose the person. When you have to choose between an accepted book list and the living person sitting in front of you, choose the person. And when you have to choose between the approval of a self-described expert and nourishing the soul of the living person sitting in front of you, choose the person. Every. Single. Time. This is humility. This is love. And this is the living out of a truly relational education.
👏🏼
I totally agree with your main point. When I think of “life giving” books, the first two examples that come to mind are The Snowy Day and Courderoy – which are both picture books! One of my favorite fantasy series features a protagonist who is repeatedly described as dark skinned. Almost all the fan-art shows him as black. But the cover art always shows a white guy. This is a problem.
(Which leads to a consideration: If the curricula and the “experts” sometimes fall short in their suggestions, it might be as much because they don’t know those hidden gems as anything else? The books that win awards and gain widespread recognition are nearly always struggle books of one kind or another.)
I do think your first approach (expand our idea of what a living book is) is a far better one than setting up a new category. For one thing, I think “life giving” books absolutely fall in line with Miss Mason’s concept of what a living book should be. The whole point is that living books are full of life-giving ideas. Secondly, separating them into their own category perpetuates the misunderstanding that “living books” is a narrow category when it is actually a vast one. (I’ve been making this point for years). Thirdly, and perhaps most important, it perpetuates the idea that these books are “other”, that they aren’t good enough to be included on their own merits unless we give them a special category. And that is a terrible message.
In hindsight, I think I agree with you about the new category. I received so much pushback years ago about some of the books I recommended not being living books, and when I saw how desperately people were holding onto their narrow definition, I decided to create my own language for the books my family needs in order to avoid conflict. I probably should have stood my ground though I’m not sure that I had the same support back then that I do now. Or maybe I just hadn’t met anyone who was willing to stand with me?
This just made me cry. I know that it’s so very true, and it just feels so affirming. Thank you. xo
Your writing is such an emotional labor that I wonder if many of these critics even understand that piece. They are bold indeed in their pushback. It is for me part of the struggle of trying to change a very westernized/Eurocentric base and whether I feel its worthy of my energy. There are many in CM whose own education of Black and Brown people has been through the lens of savorism of the oppressed and down trodden Black folks (especially if Christianity is a large part) and tokenism/assimilationism where the books usually places us NOT at the center of stories but the sidekick or sidelines of white stories…. asking these folks to reimagine a world where Black Joy and Everyday life is the center of their stories is gonna be hard, most likely because they have no really deep relationships with Black people, are not invested in anti-racism, examining this doesn’t fit neatly into the beautiful asthetics of CM, and well, I could go on, but it’s a Monday morning and I also dont want to spend my day responding to hurt feelings and tears. I appreciate your voice, energy, love, and the work you are doing.
This ^^
Thank you for this show of solidarity, support, and understanding. You’re right. It is emotional labor which is why I have to write a lot of handicraft posts and booklists and whatnot in between these heavier posts. Also, I just checked out your website and I looooooove what you’re doing.
I am early in my homeschooling journey, and while researching methods and philosophies this year I was captured by the rhetoric and ideals of Charlotte Mason. BUT it seemed so old and white, and as a white adoptive mother to a black boy, I nearly dismissed it without another thought because a life-affirming education for my son is not just important, but absolutely crucial. At just the right time, however, I stumbled upon your blog and I distinctly remember thinking this was too good to be true – a voice celebrating the beauty of CM while simultaneously providing black children with the mirrors they need. I’m so thankful and encouraged by yourself and others with the same vision and mission. Thank you!!
You are so welcome! Adoptive mothers of Black children are some of my biggest supporters because a mother’s heart will drive us to do whatever it takes for our children. A lot of people who aren’t in the situation are also very supportive, but some just don’t get it.
Personally (and I have read CM directly) I don’t feel the category of living book is a static one. A living book is a book that inspires and gives ideas, that plants seeds in a person’s mind that grow overtime. Therefore, although there are many books that are considered universally living and universally twaddle, there are also ‘in-between’ books that may be living for some people but not for others. Rather than trying to defend black and white categories, we should be seeking the books that will be life-giving to us and our children and accept that not everyone will find the same books inspiring as we do. CM didn’t get overly attached to specific books; she used the best books available at the time and this is exactly what you are trying to do when seeking life-giving books for your children that are representative of who they are. Hopefully as time goes on the choice will improve. I hope that highlighting this problem will inspire others to write books to fill the gap.
Yes, in-between books. That’s it exactly! And I respect what you’re saying about not splitting hairs on the categories too. Yes, I hope that we’re raising up a generation of authors who will fill the gap. We also need publishers to step up and champion some of the books that are being pitched to them right now. And of course, we all have to show that there’s a demand for quality diverse literature that meets this specific need. I know that this situation will improve. It has to.
Thank you for reminding me that me and my WASP children need books like this, even though the characters don’t look like us. They need
Thank you for discussing this aspects of the literature struggle, even though it’s never fun to be a source of controversy (especially unintended on a common sense subject!).
When discussing how CM viewed living books, I am always reminded of what the literature pickings were for kids in her time. Most were dry textbooks, moralizing books that talked down to kids, or complete fluff that sold well. These days we are drowning in both fluff and historical fiction that is varying degrees of well-written, so we have kind of the opposite problem. Still, I personally get annoyed by the people who seem to think children’s literature peaked between 1930 and 1985…. living/life-giving books worth reading for school OR pleasure are being published as we speak, we just have to go find them.
“We just have to go find them.” <<< My mission! I'll also let my hubby know you said this because it will help him see why I'm ALWAYS on the hunt. Thank you for being here.
It’s clear that your critic did not understand what you were saying at all.
I am yet another white adoptive mom. I have seen this life giving book phenomenon firsthand with my Black son. I got him several books from your Black Boy Joy booklist. He picked up one of the Clubhouse Mystery books and said, “Wait… this is about BLACK kids??” He then tore delightedly through the entire series.
As a white kid, nearly every book I read was about kids who looked like me. I think that finding mirrors in books is so normal for white people that it is difficult for us to understand why it’s important.
I also think that white people tend to underestimate how books about slavery and the African American struggle hit Black kids. I’ve seen this with my son. There are a lot of books that he needs to digest slowly with a lot of emotional support. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t be reading them with our kids. Just that it shouldn’t be the only place he finds representation.
Esperanza Rising is a great book, but it shouldn’t be the only book a Mexican girl can see herself in. The Grapes of Wrath is also a great book, but it similarly does not fully depict the white experience in America.
Soooo many good points! I have seen the SAME thing with my kids, and so many other moms are telling me this same story again and again. Our children literally NEED this. There’s no doubt about it. I’m so thankful that I’m not out here making waves on my own. Thanks for being here.
Oh Amber, you are, as always, so brave and gracious! It is so hard to take on the Charlotte Mason world with all its traditions. As you know, I am preparing to homeschool our binational multiracial kids in South America and my first perception of Charlotte Mason as a method/movement was that it was very white and Anglophile, and I was sure that would NOT work for us. The truth is that many people have taken Ms. Mason up in exactly that way, in imitation of what she did, but not in agreement with what she actually thought about these issues. Based on my reading of her work, I agree with you and with many of the commenters above that the most important aspect of a living book is its effect of imbuing the spirit of the reader with new and life giving ideas. That means of course not every book is living to everyone equally. There is a lot of room for variety and choice. Literary beauty is also part of the picture, but is not the primary
I also agree that the book lists that circulate tend to be very white and Eurocentric, and for this reason your work and blog are PRICELESS for families of color as well as for white families, who need to see people of color as fully human and fully joyful and normal.
Thank you for all you do, for your honesty and sensitivity and kindness! You’re so valued.
Thank you for this encouraging note. Every time I read comments like this, I feel moved to continue on in my work! I just really appreciate it.
Amber, thank you for this article! I’ve been reading your words for awhile and I can tell that God has been convicting and guiding you on this path for awhile! Keep writing because it needs to be said and others need to hear it. As a Pacific Islander, there are essentially no books that fall into the “living” category. But oh my word, she I find any book from my people that ignites and stirs something within me, I can’t help but feel giddy. Life-giving is the perfect word to describe it. Blessings on your journey!
Thank you so much for this encouragement. It means a lot to me when other moms understand where I’m coming from. I can only imagine how tough the book searches must be for you, and I pray that the books your family needs become increasingly more available.
I’m no CM expert, but I have spoken at a CM conference, read CM’s books, and been educating according to her principles for years… and I couldn’t agree with you more. Keep on keepin’ on!
I appreciate your thoughts here so much. It’s not always easy going against the grain, but it helps to receive validation from people I respect.
Amber, I second my colleague Betsy. At Redeemed Reader, we try to be sensitive to multicultural perspectives, but like you I’ve been frustrated at the scarcity of life-giving books for black kids. Walter Dean Myer touched on this in an essay for for NY Times Book Review, shortly before he died: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/opinion/sunday/where-are-the-people-of-color-in-childrens-books.html. Key quote: “Black history is usually depicted as folklore about slavery, and then a fast-forward to the civil rights movement. Then I’m told that black children, and boys in particular, don’t read. Small wonder.”
I’ve loved the Magnificent Myra Tibbs chapter-book series by Crystal Allen. Rene Watson’s Ryan Hart series, for a slightly older age group, looks promising too. We’ll keep looking!
Thank you for that, Janie. I’m working on a piece where I’ve quoted those exact thoughts from Myers because he says it so well. I really value the work you’re doing at RR, and I’m also going to keep looking!
Why I think I prefer people expand their ideas on what a “living book” actually is, if it takes a 4th category to get people to read books outside the 1800 and 1900’s hundreds I’m all for it! As I study Miss Mason ideas I do believe “life giving” would be within the scope of living books. I know for our homeschool I want my kids to know that God is not only the God of the past but he is living, active and working even today. He is doing good things around the world. I think all too often people forget a 3rd category Mason talked about and it was “Light Reads”. So many books I think fit in that category more than the twaddle category. Sometimes though it is easier to create a new term than try to redefine an old one so if the category “Life Giving Books” helps empower people to step outside booklist and have courage to give the children God gave them what they need then let’s do it!
It is not the same struggle you have experienced but one of my students is dyslexic and I have had to diverge from book lists because the books can not meet her needs. She needs books that allow her to have success and find joy in reading. Often these revolve around comics and graphic novels that the CM world quickly slaps a “twaddle” label on. These work for her because the text is broken up into boxes and the fonts are often easier for her to decipher. And there are some that are really good. Nathan Hales Hazardous Tales to name one.
I feel the this rigid mindset extends to CM worlds ideas on music and art. I am an artist and as I keep seeing CM recommended art studies I get frustrated that they nearly ALWAYS involve painting! There is so much more art to appreciate in the world! Too often cartoons are labeled -twaddled, abstract-junk, graphic design- cheap. I could go on. God created humans to create and seeing peoples expression of this gift in so many different genres is beautiful to behold! The rigidness displayed in the CM community often reminds me of the same spirit of the Pharisees of the Bible. We can get so caught up in following rules that we miss it where God actually is! Thanks for reading my rambles and your continued work you got me all fired up! lol
You’re not rambling at all! I really appreciate what you’ve said here, and I especially appreciate the connection with your daughter’s dyslexia. And you’re absolutely right about the music and art. That’s one of the reasons that I try to share more options here on the blog, and I’m always on the hunt for new expressions of creative work to share with my children. Thank you for being fired up…That just means that you care 🙂
Thank you for your diligent work. I am not at all a CM expert; in fact, I was turned off by
my perception that CM followers were cultish (I’m sorry for this; it wasn’t accurate for most of you!). But then I heard you speak on the Don’t Mom Alone podcast, and you piqued my interest! I have just moved back to the US from the UK, where my homeschool mum friends were vaguely following CM philosophy (I really only got a bit by osmosis). Your book recommendations and the rabbit trails I’ve followed from your blogs have really been useful to me, and I am glad to feel free to enjoy the full range of art and music and literature that we are inspired by. I’ve even bought the first book in the Home Education series (the annotated version), but I intend to hold everything loosely because I can be a bit of a koolaid drinker if I’m honest. I appreciate everyone’s wise advice to teach the child in front of me, not attempt to shoehorn us into a framework that is harmful or doesn’t fit. And given that I have spent time in the Lake District (and Ambleside) and now live in Houston…I’m not so sure I can manage the outdoor requirements this time of year either. They’re a far cry from the inconvenient damp of an English winter, which we surmounted quite easily. 😉 Please keep sharing your wisdom with us!
Welcome back to the USA, and I’m glad to have you here! I think it’s wonderful that you are taking a peek without drinking the koolaid, lol. I hope to one day visit the Lake District. I almost made it while we were in Europe last year, but the pandemic called us home early.
I can not tell you how incredibly life giving your words are. I recently deactivated all of my social media accounts because the bitterness and divide was becoming too disheartening. I am white, but my childhood was filled with struggle from early mother loss, to abuse to abandonment. My young adulthood was full of struggle on how to plant your feet in the absences of roots, supports, and community. I am so discouraged because my white skin allows others to presume certain qualities and assumptions about me and my life. You have defined the very thing that I have been searching to put into words, struggle. I have searched for books that mirrored my own journey that has collectively been so different than most of my white peers. I yearn to look into this mirror and to see beyond. Sadly, I have yet to find more than one. It is through this lens, that I can understand exactly what you are advocating for.
Black History Month I usually am this sobbing blubbering mess as I read to my children, and now I think its been because so many of the books have focused on struggle. Inadvertently. I think I have used these stories to feel connected to my own life story of struggle and rising up. But your post has highlighted something very important and that is seeing beyond the struggle and other stereotypes in groups of people. I knew this in life, as their uncle is African, and we have long discussions of the people of his country and the history and embrace the clothes he brings home for us and so forth. But had not consider extending this into our book selections. Thank you for highlighting this need and allowing me to be more mindful in my selections. As an extension of this, you are also making me rethink my own life and ask myself “who am I beyond my struggle?”
To come full circle, your grace brilliantly shines through. I have read several of your post now, and it leaves me thrilled and excited. Thank you for your voice, I have subscribed and look forward to your influence in our lives. Sincerely.
Your story is so touching. I understand what you’re saying, and I can see the parallel in that “struggle” and even in the question of who we are beyond the struggle. I’m glad that you’re here, and I hope you continue to find things that will bring some sunshine into your home.