How to have a librarian at your fingertips:

Read for the Heart, by Sarah Clarkson, is truly akin to having a librarian at your fingertips.  Published by Apologia, a curriculum company whose name is synonymous with quality, Christian worldview, user-friendly products, Read for the Heart is a must have for parents who desire to inspire a love for reading great literature to and with their children. 

From the Apologia website:

A great book spurs the imagination in childhood, inspires our dreams in adulthood, and nourishes the soul with depictions of life fully and courageously lived. Among the greatest gifts you can bequeath to a child are a love for reading and a passion for books. But how do you sort through the many thousands of books available to your children to find those that are worthwhile? Apologia has the answer. Keeping Read for the Heart close at hand is like having a children's librarian for a best friend! Let Sarah Clarkson be your guide to the best in children's literature for your family. From timeless classics to modern favorites, from picture books to adventure novels to read-aloud favorites, more than 1,000 wonderful stories for young people are recommended within these pages. Now you can make great literature a lasting part of your child's life and education.

For me, Clarkson’s book reminds me a lot of the huge annotated bibliography project I had to complete in one of my literature classes in college.  It is divided into twelve chapters.  The first four chapters give the reader a glimpse into the value of using wholesome reading material with your family.  The last eight chapters focus on different genre of literature.  Each chapter begins with a brief discussion about the genre and the merits / pitfalls encountered within the genre.  Following the discussion, authors whose books fall within the genre are highlighted. For most authors, at least one book is annotated and then a list of other books by the author are listed.  Six different appendices are included which organize books according to categories such as Caldecott Medalists, Historical Fiction by G.A. Henty, and “A Few of My Favorite Things” (a listing of Clarkson’s favorite family read-alouds.  Read for the Heart contains 384 pages (including the index) and is available on the Apologia website for $17.  If you go here you can also download sample chapters and the table of contents.

I believe this is a great resource to use for any family, not just homeschooling families.  There is so much available now with regards to books.  There are print books and electronic books. There are internet resources too numerous to attempt to list.  The problem is, we are on such information overload, it is difficult to discern what is quality and what is just portrayed to be quality. “This book will help you discover how great stories can form the lives of your children—how books can be powerful companions and teachers that will spur your children’s hearts and minds to life.” (p.15) Of course, the first and foremost source of reading material for families should be God’s Word.  But, in addition to that, quality reading material will help shape your child’s imagination, intellect, and beliefs.  I know my kids are worth taking the time to investigate what they read and making sure they are reading for the heart.

To read about what other crewmembers thought about Read for the Heart, go here.

**I have received no compensation from TOS or Apologia in exchange for this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.**