Children’s Books for Secular and Progressive Families: Part One « Greater Than Lapsed Today, I came home to find one of my very favorite things: a box of books from Amazon. Last week, I ordered a few books that are going to be Christmas gifts for my daughter; they have arrived, and I am very pleased with all of them. To celebrate (and to distract myself from reading them all immediately), I thought I would make a list of some of my favorite children’s books for secular families. My daughter, Sylvia, turned 8 in April, and she’s reading far above her grade level now. This list includes titles suitable for several age groups, with what I hope is a good mix of fiction and non-fiction. Picture Books for Little Ones Older Than the Stars By Karen C. This book is simply lovely, and it plays off of Carl Sagan’s statement that “we are made of star stuff” while introducing children to the idea of the big bang. G is for GalaxyBy Janice Campbell and Cathy Collison Illustrated by Alan Stacy The Emperor’s New Clothes By Hans Christian Andersen Illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton
Children’s Books for Secular and Progressive Families: Part Two « Greater Than Lapsed I absolutely love that my daughter has finally developed a real love of reading. I was honestly worried when Sylvia was younger that she just wasn’t going to be much of a reader. She always read well, but (unlike me, when I was a child) she just never seemed terribly interested in the books I bought her, preferring instead to watch movies, ride her scooter, play board games, color, or do puzzles–all of which Sylvia is quite good at, but still. This year, I think she finally hit some critical mass of reading fluency, and she now reads much more than she used to. When I was worrying about it, I tried at first to encourage her verbally. Finally, still worried, I gave up–reassured by her love for math workbooks (seriously?) Books for Early Readers Maybe Yes, Maybe No By Dan Barker Illustrated by Brian Strassburgh This charming little book is a great introduction to skepticism for children. The Franny K. Franny K. Basher Science BooksVarious Authors Illustrated by Simon Basher Part One
Children’s Books for Secular and Progressive Families: Part Three « Greater Than Lapsed I mentioned in a previous post how pleased I am that my daughter, Sylvia, is reading independently now. The best thing about having a kid who reads on her own is that it really does greatly expand our options as far as what books we can get for her. When looking at a new title, I no longer have to think about whether or not it’s a story that I feel like reading at bedtimes or if it’s something that will be too difficult or intimidating for Sylvia to read on her own, which is great. The downside to this, however, is that I think a lot more now about what she is learning from what she reads. In general, I’m pretty laissez-faire about what Sylvia reads. All that being said, I also try to make sure that I am providing her with access to books that I want her to read and that I think will be good for her. Books for Independent Readers A Young People’s History of the United States By Howard Zinn Adapted by Rebecca Stefoff The Magic of Reality By Richard Dawkins Illustrated by Dave McKean
Resources for Atheist Parents Successful Parenting Is All About Tools Parenting starts out with figuring out the buckle configuration of an infant car seat without an engineering degree and knowing how to change the diaper of a floppy, mushy little creature who has absolutely zero interest in contributing to his/her own personal hygiene. It begins with learning how to fall asleep at your work computer without drooling, snoring or otherwise drawing the attention and ire of your peers or employers after feeding and rocking the floppy, mushy creature six times between 9pm and 6am. The skill set for parents of young babies is generally limited to meeting their survival needs. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a time of major angst, confusion and a million questions – most of which are leveled at Google sometime between midnight and 3am EVERY SINGLE NIGHT (apparently, in the first year, my daughters had scurvy, leukemia, rhinitis, pancreatitis, enlarged prostate and went through menopause and miraculously survived).
Divine Irony I Do Not Speak Tumblr, Hey, pardon me if this is weird, but I noticed you seem to like magical realism - if you have time, do you have any good recommendations along those lines? I'm in the mood for reading some and I have no idea where to start. (I've al