Keep in mind that no vetting is as good as YOUR OWN vetting. You can use every hack in the book, but unless you read the books yourself, you really can’t know what’s in there.
BUT, here are some things that can help you when deciding if a particular book is a good fit for your family or not.
1. Check the 1- and 2-star reviews on Amazon.
{Best hack ever!}
Typically, if there is something questionable you want to know about in a book, someone will be complaining about it in the reviews.
2. Get recommendations from people you trust.
On a more practical note, this step is KEY! Following this one rule, you can easily avoid A LOT of junky books. It’s still not perfect because no two families’ value systems are exactly the same. But value systems can be very SIMILAR, and that’s what makes this tip work well for the most part.
3. For chapter books for children, check them while reading them aloud or listening to the audiobook together.
With this hack, you are killing two birds with one stone! If it is a winner, you can store the title away for future reading for your children! E is currently rereading audio books and read-alouds we did together several years ago that I vetted for this exact moment! Win! Win!
4. Use good book lists.
A good book list just can be a parent’s secret weapon…truly! My favorite book lists come from Bob Jones (their “Best Books for Kindergarten through High School” is a wonderful tool!), and The Good and the Beautiful. Both can be found online for free as you can see from these links. These are the places I go if I don’t know what to pull out next.
5. You could check for the book title on Common Sense Media or Plugged In.
Just keep in mind that Common Sense Media seems to be becoming more and more agenda driven. Plugged In, while definietly more conservative, doesn’t have a huge inventory of book reviews. My luck there is not always outstanding with these, but I know people who rave about them. Both of these places can be helpful if they’ve got what you’re looking for.
6. STICK WITH THE OLD BOOKS!
{Probably my favorite and safest tip.}
Old books don’t have the crummy agenda we are dealing with today. You are typically much safer picking up a book from the 1800’s than the 2000’s. Try Lamplighter books as well as G.A. Henty’s. (Your best prices for these will be on Thrift Books or eBay!)
7. Find authors or Publishers you trust and stick with their books.
This is typically a win, but there are always exceptions. Sometimes you’ll come across a book you don’t care for, but for the most part, this really works. Here are some authors (and a couple of publishers) we love for our family: Elizabeth George Speare, G. A. Henty, Marguerite Henry, Lois Lenski, George MacDonald, Patricia MacLachlan, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Eleanor Estes, Edith Nesbitt, E. B. White, Rebecca Caudill, Sid Fleischman, Robert McCloskey, James Herriot, S. D. Smith, Andrew Peterson, Arleta Richardson, Ingrid and Edgar d’Aulaire, Lamplighter Publishers, and Beautiful Feet Books.
8. Teach children what is acceptable and what is not.
Sometimes books slip in that do not match up with your family values, and you have to quit it. Use these books as opportunities to teach your children why certain words, attitudes or actions are NOT acceptable even to read about.
Remember, as much care as we take to make sure our children are reading quality literature, it seems like something always slips in somehow…even if you vet everything yourself! There are trips to the library, there’s ads on the radio, TV and YouTube. There are billboards on the highway and even walking/talking billboards everywhere you go!
I shared recently how E stumbled across a pornographic book cover in a little neighborhood library (of all places!). Are your kids prepared for how to handle that kind of situation if something like this were to happen to them?
We can’t put our heads in the sand and act like everything’s going to be fine just because we vet our children’s books. NO! We must be proactive and on the offensive. Satan’s sneaky. He’s going to get the junk in somehow, and our children need to know how to respond when thrown into a situation that does not line up with their values.
Parents, DON’T PANIC! Do the best you can to keep junk out, and use each “whoopsie!” moment as an opportunity for training!
Happy Reading (and vetting)!
Sarah
P. S. I’d love to know if you’d add anything to this list.