Appropriate books for children

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5).

Over the years, literature written for children has been criticized for inappropriate content—magic portrayed as good and useful, inappropriate language, glamorized violence, and sexual themes. Examples include the Harry Potter books (for glamorizing magic), Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (for using offensive language), comic books (for glamorizing violence), and books like Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy’s Roommate (for dealing with sexual lifestyle choices).

When we take up the issue of what is appropriate for children to read and what is not, there are two things to consider. First, is the book in question appropriate for any Christian to read? If a book promotes something that God says is evil, then no one should read it, regardless of age. Books that glamorize evil instead of showing the tragedy it results in should not be found in the hands of anyone who loves God. On the other hand, literature that shows the dangers of evil can be useful to warn us away from temptation, whatever our age.

Which leads us to the other consideration: when is it appropriate for a youngster to read a cautionary tale? At what point in life should a little one be warned of evil? It is a sad thing to say, but children can be victimized by sinful behavior from the moment they are born. Even very little children are warned to not get into a car with strangers. Before they begin school, children are being taught by other children to fight, lie, swear, steal, and commit vandalism.

Books that serve as cautionary tales are appropriate for children, so long as they treat the subject with sensitivity and do not glamorize it in any way. Children need to be warned of evil because we are all born with it in us, and we all live in danger from it every day. Just be sure that your children know that Jesus died to forgive their sins and rose from the grave to protect them from evil.