As parents, we are the gatekeepers of our kids. Just as we lock our doors to prevent intruders from entering and physically harming our family, we can be equally as vigilant when it comes to the thieves who would love to enter their minds and steal away their innocence through the books that they read.
No one does. According to the most updated findings from the ALA, roughly 22,000 children’s books get published each year. How can anyone preread that many titles?
But, what if you were able to access a handful of titles each month, just like the ones I’ve provided in my free No Twaddle list—books that had already been pre-vetted for sexual content, liberal agenda, graphic violence, and explicit language?
As a Christian writer, an avid reader, the host of a bi-weekly tween/teen book club, a former children's librarian at a mega church, and a teacher who's spent the past 21 years helping kids discover great books both in and out of the classroom, I'd love to curate a stack of books each month for your kids.
Samuel Johnson
I am a kid-lit snob. And why not? When the majority of "conservative" and even "Christian" booklists contain a middle-grade series that includes a large amount of gratuitous violence, the support of ungodly themes like post-birth abortion, racial injustice, and genocide, is filled with crass and cruel language, and elevates animals above the human race, completely disregarding God's order of creation, someone has to speak up. Did I mention that in Book 13 of that same series, the author introduces a sexual agenda that is contrary to Scripture?
My kids deserve better. Your kids deserve better. All kids deserve better. That's why I'm so passionate about curating quality book lists that Christian parents can trust and why I'm spreading the word about the Bibli-files community where other like-minded parents just like you can crowd-source great book suggestions for their homes.
Irving Stone
Recently while perusing my library’s audiobook selections, I came upon a book marked E for Everyone. It had a lovely illustration of a young woman hugging what looked to be an elderly individual. Since the American Library Association had filed it under “children’s fiction” so that it would appear as a suggested title for kids as young as two and three, I naturally assumed it would at least be appropriate for me, a 43-year-old. I could not have been more wrong.
The book was a graphic novel about a granddaughter who “rescues” her grandmother from a care facility in order to take her on one last adventure. While the basic premise was one I think most parents would feel comfortable with, I think they’d be shocked to learn that the book includes the following:
Whether this was the accidental miscoding of a book or a deliberate and calculated act of grooming on the part of the ALA remains to be seen.
The good news: After many moms including a great band from those in The Biblio-files community complained, the title in question was updated in the national online catalog to indicate an M for Mature rating.
The bad news: This wasn’t the first time the ALA pushed a depraved agenda in kid lit and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
It depends upon which list you subscribe to.
The Early Readers list includes brief descriptions of:
The Middle-Grade list includes brief descriptions of:
The Bundle compiles both lists into one for families who have kids in both age ranges. It includes brief descriptions of:
Each list includes a "Parents, Be Aware" section which contains a title or two that I am neither endorsing nor cautioning parents away from. Every family will have different convictions about certain books based on their personal standards, the sensitivities of their child, and the depth in which controversial topics are discussed within the home. The information in this section is to help you be better informed about content and themes that may require extra consideration.
The monthly lists will hit your email inbox on the first of each month. Should you order a Biblio-files subscription on the second day of the month, you can immediately join the Facebook community, but expect to receive your first list the following 1st of the month. The quarterly themed lists come out every three months.
The monthly lists are inserted directly into an email. The quarterly themed lists are delivered via a link to a google doc and are printable. Both lists are protected under all applicable international, federal, state, and local Copyright laws and are not to be redistributed or forwarded to others.
The lists are timed based on your subscription date. So, if you subscribe today, you'll receive Volume 1 on the first of the month. Next month, you'll receive Volume 2. In that way, every subscriber will gain access to every monthly list eventually.
The quarterly themed printable lists are not timed and are sent out every three months. Once sent, they are unavailable. New subscribers will receive a different themed list at the next quarter.
While there may occasionally be a book on the monthly or quarterly lists that would be considered a Christian fiction and/or is published by a Christian author or publisher, the majority of the books included are traditionally published. They are all clean and captivating but do not contain explicitly Christian plots or themes.
There is a place for Christian fiction/non-fiction book lists, however, most of these books are no-brainers for Christian families. The aim of the Biblio-files Community is to come alongside parents to help them navigate the average library or bookstore.
Scripture makes it clear that God's people should not associate with diviners, sorcerers, witches, etc. However, there are many stories in the Bible that include all three. If you interpret the verses that exhort Christians to steer clear of these as meaning we aren't to even read about them, then you'd have to avoid reading God's Word. Instead, if you see the prohibition to be about the association with and affirmation of them, then you can read books like The Chronicles of Narnia and notice both the depraved nature of evil and the redemptive qualities of Christ-like characters (the "good guys").
With that in mind, the Biblio-files lists do feature titles that include magic but only ones that portray the witches and diviners as the "bad guys." Books, regardless of their magical elements should always paint evil as evil and righteousness as righteousness.
If it's the first of the month and your list has not arrived, please check your spam folder. Be sure to add jamie@theunlikelyhomeschool.com to your email contacts.
Please note: Hotmail email addresses tend to bounce the monthly emails back. If you have a hotmail address, please contact jamie@theunlikelyhomeschool.com for special help.
You are welcome to send a physical copy of a book you'd like me to read for consideration. However, my acceptance of your mailed package does not guarantee I will review your book and/or endorse it. The Biblio-files does not accept advertising dollars or gratuities from authors or publishers.
Copyright © 2024 Jamie Erickson - All Rights Reserved.
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