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Book List: Books That Build Character

Rating:

Books That Build Character has been influential since its publication in 1994 by three Catholic educators. William K. Kilpatrick (not to be confused with William H. Kilpatrick), a professor at Boston College, is known for his work with Christianity and psychology, wherein he argues that psychology is a separate religion at odds with Christianity.  He also wrote Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right From Wrong, a treatise about problems in the moral formation of young people in our society.  Gregory and Suzanne Wolfe teach English at Seattle Pacific University; Gregory founded Image magazine and describes himself as a Christian Humanist.

The book opens with four chapters (the first one is here) which present the goal of cultivating “moral literacy” in children.  Moral literacy is defined as an emotional attachment to goodness, and knowledge of appropriate ways of relating to others.  This quality is formed by engaging children’s imagination, because “It’s not enough to know what is right.  It’s also necessary to desire to do what is right.  Desire, in turn, is directed to a large extent by imagination.” The fifth chapter is a practical guide to selecting and introducing books for children at different ages.  Most of the book consists of an annotated list of 350 titles, organized by genre and reading level.  Just over half the titles also appear in the other Christian book lists that I use.

While the authors’ philosophy is in harmony with my approach to selecting books for children, and most of the recommendations I have read are pretty good, some of their selections tend to place a greater emphasis on moral behavior than on heart motives.  A few of the titles (Marcella’s Guardian Angel, for example) veer into moralism (doing the right thing by force of will) which can contribute to self-righteous pride or legalistic condemnation rather than opening the door to the Christian Gospel.

This list is unique among others I use because the titles are chosen from a more Catholic perspective.  Some titles (The Legend of the Christmas Rose, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and The Clown of God, for example) feature miracles that express God’s favor toward someone who has been rejected by religious people.  The kinds of mystical signs used to show God’s favor (a smiling Christ-child in the creche, for example) are part of a distinctively Catholic sensibility.

This is a good resource for building a home library, especially for Catholic and Orthodox families, but parents ought to be on the lookout for self-righteousness and moralism.

Click here for reviews of titles recommended in this list.

Posted on June 22, 2009