Bright Wings: Children’s Books to Make the Heart Soar

If you love historical fiction, Charity has found a rare gem for you! What was it like to live in a walled Medieval town? What was it like to live in the age of Gothic cathedral-building? How is family, work, worship, and community structured? What makes life meaningful and exciting? Meet Jean d'Orbais and his family whose life and work has been tied to the great cathedral of Reims for centuries!

To purchase The Boy Knight of Reims by Eloise Lownsbery, see the niche publisher Angelus Press.

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Do your kids read fantasy? What do you think of magic? Is magic good? Bad? Join Charity as she considers why fantasy is such an important category of fiction to read! Perhaps, like Aslan, fantasy is "not safe, but good."

Discover great fantasy books for your child: The Great Fantasy Book List (pdf)

Purchase The Great Fantasy Book List through Bright Wings' Bookshop

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Enjoy essays on the Bright Wings' blog OR find great book lists personally crafted with you in mind!

Charity and her 11th grade students read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl along with Robert Spaemann's address "Education as an Introduction to Reality" as part of Texas Holocaust remembrance week. Charity shares a speech she gave to the high school, generated from reading these texts together.

Read Robert Spaemann's article "Education as an Introduction to Reality" You can print it as a pdf if you like. Underline and annotate it. ;)

Purchase a copy of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

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We love the words truth, goodness, and beauty...but if someone asked us to explain what these are, maybe we'd be flummoxed? In this episode, Charity puts flesh into these concepts: Charity helps us see truth, identify beauty, and recognize goodness in children's books and gives us concrete examples of these concepts from books we know. After she walks us through her own book discernment process, Charity dispels two common myths that prevent us from being responsible literary guardians.

You can print this amazing LITERATURE DISCERNMENT WORKSHEET

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Why do we read? Two views predominate! Some want children to read (classic works of) fiction because fiction is a useful tool. Fiction illustrates or instructs  children in the moral life. Others want children to read because reading is pleasurable--and they resist any attempts to make fiction serve a purpose because reading fiction is not about utility. Yet, there is a third way! Charity leads us to Aristotle, Jesus, and Aquinas, to understand what integrated virtue is. We'll see HOW fiction works in the life of Ignatius of Loyola. And we'll dive into some aesthetics with Charity as she s...

Charity updates us on how she spent her summer: Where she traveled with her family,  what work she's done for Well-Read Mom, and the two talks Charity presented at the national conference for the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education. Then, Charity shares some Big News that may impact Bright Wings: Children's Books.

Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram.

Enjoy essays on the Bright Wings' blog OR find great book lists personally crafted with you in mind!

What do you do when your life comes crashing down around you? Join Charity and author Katherin Nolte, author of Back to Bright Before, as they dig into this and other  beautiful questions posed by Katherin's first novel. In this chiaroscuro book, sweetness and tradgedy contend in the life of one young family. Katherin also shares about how to write a book as a homeschooling mother. What is it like to craft a realistic-mystical story that shows that hope is stronger than despair? Discover a new favorite book for your 8-12 year old in Back to the Bright Before! H...

Hatchet, by Gary Paulsen, has sold more than 2.5 million copies. What's not to love in this landmark survival story? Charity shares our pleasure for all the good parts of Hatchet and asks us to take a closer look at some of the larger claims the book makes--especially to our boys--about identity, competency, hope, and survival.

Check out:
The Young Man and the Sea by Rodman Philbrick

For Further Reading:
Torn Asunder: Children, the Myth of the Good Divorce, and the Recovery of Origins  edited by Margaret Harper McCarthy

Find quick book re...

Everyone is happy to promote "girl power," and we did our own version of that theme in Episode 18: Stories for Strong Girls. But what about our boys? Is there something distinctive about being a boy? What is good about being a boy? Dr. William Hamant joins Charity to discuss what is positive and distinctive about masculinity.  He reflects upon what masculinity reveals about what it means to be human. Dr. Hamant supports his insights with literature and poetry and wise experience.

PRINTABLE LIST of Best Books for Boys

Poetry quoted by D...

Wildwood, the first in a trilogy by Colin Meloy, is praised by Trenton Lee Stewart. It is also 541 pages! Could this book be the start of the next greatest series for your child?! It is long and has sequels...could this be just the thing for my voracious readers? Listen and discover along with Charity what this book is like--do it's characters have any character? Do they discover where they're from? Where they are going? 

Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram.

Enjoy essays on the Bright Wings' blog OR find great book l...

 Can an author as prolific as Gordon Korman really generate books of value? After reading a dozen Gordon Korman books (sample size is 10% ladies and gentleman!) Charity delivers the answers and makes her recommendations.

Check out the recommended book list!

Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram.

Enjoy essays on the Bright Wings' blog OR find great book lists personally crafted with you in mind!

Have you ever returned to a beloved children' book as an adult and found the content unnerving? Charity introduces the topic of cynicism as a perspective that shapes what we are able to see, a stance that conditions our vision, a judgement that conditions our choices. Charity introduces an excellent essay by Anna Kaladish Reynolds regarding cynicism, a critical reading of Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully. Reynold's essay proposes that the innocence available in picture books like Mirette On the High Wire may help us to learn a wisdom that is greater than any that c...

Ready for a couple of the most satisfying stories you've heard in a while? Charity reviews Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley and Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin. If you enjoy fairy tales--or if you simply enjoy a story with both action and reflection--join Charity as she explores the value of these two novel-length retellings.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy a book through them, you support Bright Wings at no additional cost to you. ;)

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En...

Do you know what discernment is? Can we examine what motivates our literary choices for our children? In this podcast Charity wonders what motivates our literary decision-making: Does a desire to protect motivate? Does fear of harm predominate in our decision-making? Is our end goal to equip our children? Are we convinced that the good is stronger and more pleasing than evil?

Find quick book recommendations by following Charity on Instagram.

Enjoy essays on the Bright Wings' blog OR find great book lists personally crafted with you in mind!

Were you ever obsessed with WWII fiction and stories as a child? Do you have a child who is really into stories from this era? Why the fascination?! Is there something weird about this interest? Charity unpacks what is vital to understanding the value of books about World War II. Children appreciate this time because good and evil are clear and there are high stakes and choices to make. Children like this era because hard moral choices and suffering are contexualized by singular and personal characters. Best of all, literature set in this era often affirms that "a light...

As part of an ongoing initiative Charity reviews books to save you time and teach you how to know a good book when you see it!
Charity reviews the Masterminds series by Gordon Korman. (Masterminds; Masterminds: Criminal Destiny; Masterminds: Payback)
She contrasts it to Keeper of the Lost Cities series and points out how keenly interesting (and desperately fun) it can be to allow a glaring ethical problem (cloning) drive the action of the plot and character development. Does Korman do this in an engaging way? Is it readable? Alternatively, is the problem dealt with in an...

Join Charity's conversation with Jennifer Kehoe as they discuss children's book illustrations. Why is it important that illustrations are beautiful? What are some of the features that help us recognize whether something is beautiful or not? What are ingredients of artisianship that make for to great illustrations? When it comes to children's books Charity and Jennifer wonder if "ugly" has to equal "funny"? They also discuss if every book must be beautiful. Best of all, Jennifer names many excellent illustrator/artists who can provide your children with a feast of beauty.

Enjoy this sumptuous list of beautiful...

Today, I talk with transparency about the finances of Bright Wings: Children's Books. I love producing this podcast and I consider myself blessed to think and read and have the desire to share ideas about children's literature with you. Being able to do this is incredibly rich. But, ironically right now, Bright Wings is an expensive hobby of mine and operates in the red. I wonder if you could donate $5-$10 today? Or, perhaps you'd rather help and support this mission by rating and reviewing Bright Wings on your listening platform? These are ways to help and encourage me. <...

Dr. Grace Hamman from Old Books With Grace joins Charity to take a closer look at the Middle Ages.  Charity asks Grace what made her fall in love with this era. Charity also asks, "Did women write/illustrate books? What were some of the achievements of the Medieval period? How hard did peasants work? How are hospitals an especially Medieval achievement? Were manners invented in the Middle Ages?" They talk about how to see the era with "texture," to see the good and bad of this time, without imposing our own viewpoint. Do our children's books on the Middle A...

Sam Smith, better known as S. D. Smith, the author of the beloved Green Ember Series tells us the Big News! He is collaborating with his son J.C Smith on a new series, beginning with Jack Zulu and the Waylander's Key. If you loved the strange mix of rabbits with swords, you will love the half-African, half-Appalachian Jack Zulu.

S.D. Smith and Charity converse about the great questions of Who am I?, Where Have I Come From?, Where Am I Going?, and What Good Must I Do?  S.D. Smith tells us why Jack is f...

Have you ever wondered if fairy tales have a deeper meaning? Where in the world have they come from? From what countries? From what places in the human heart? Join the conversation with Dr. Marina Warner (author of Once Upon A Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale) and Charity Hill as they discuss these questions and also why fairy tales are, wonderfully, women's tales! Dr. Warner gives new insights regarding the tale "Donkey Skin" and "Rapunzel." They discuss fairy tales and the problem of evil, Tolkein's notion of euchatastrophe, and why fairy tales end happily.

Please...

Do you have a dog? To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, if you love anything--even a dog--there is hope for you! If you love anything, even a dog, you are susceptible to encounters with others and to awareness of your human condition. Charity argues that you are more likely to live with joy, appreciate embodiment, and understand mortality. And, of course, Charity offers us books to celebrate these themes that dogs shed (light?...fur?) on.

Enjoy the book list of fiction about dogs! Includes picture books and middle grade fiction.
10% of your purchase supports Bright Wings: Children's...

In this quick episode, Charity notices that the start of  new school year is more full of possibility and opportunity for our children than New Year's is for adults. Charity suggests four books to celebrate the return to school, with a title especially for homeschooling families.

When you buy a book through my links, 10% of your purchase supports Bright Wings.

Thank you!

School's First Day of School by Adam Rex

This Is My Home, This Is My School by Jonathan Bean

The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson

We are delighted to be reading these books with you and your family during the weeks of summer! These books are worth reading and reflecting on, giving us opportunities to have meaningful conversations with our children. 

All six of the selected books share two common themes. They all take place around water, either the sea or a river. And, in all six of the books, the characters develop a richer identity, a deeper character through adventure.

Please join one…or all three…of the book discussions! If you'd like to attend all three, you'll need to re...

Can you mix Shakespeare and kids? When was the last time you read or watched the Bard? Do you have a community of readers to read Shakepeare with? to read Shakespeare for? Can you create a community of Shakespeare appreciators with your children? Charity dives into quality retellings of William Shakespeare which are suitable for children, especially the

As part of an on-going initiative, Charity Hill reviews children's books. Here, she reviews The Giver by Lois Lowry, the Newbery Winner in 1994. Charity traces the plot from its utopian presentation through Jonas' discovery of his community's dystopianism, to Jonas' dramatic escape. Charity proposes that this story can instigate marvelous questions with our children where we wonder "What is justice?" "What good must I do?" "What is the best way to organize a just society?" and "How far must I go in order to resist evil?"

P.S. Charity flags a couple of inappropriate/cautionary moments in t...

There is an ethical elephant in the room! There is a lot more to The Keeper series than waht usually gets talked about. Charity offers us Sydney Rosenberger's thoughtful and friendly critique of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. Rosenberger, a children's librarian, contacted Charity after Charity reviewed the first book of the Keeper of the Lost Cities series and shows us that there is much more that we need to talk about. Listen and discover the ethical and bioethical issues which are raised and never answered in the series. Learn how to "unpack the ethics" of Sophie's c...

As part of an ongoing initiative, Charity Hill reviews books. In this episode, Charity review's Peter Brown's The Wild Robot. Charity explains what makes this imaginative and creative book so fascinating. She asks us to think about and talk to our children about the larger questions framing the story: What is the difference between living and non-living things? What is the difference between thinking and computing? Do humans have more in common with robots or with nature?

You can purchase The Wild Robot by Peter Brown HERE.

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As part of an ongoing initiative, Charity Hill reviews children's books. In this episode, Charity reviews Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities, Book 1. Charity considers what makes this 500-page middle grade novel such a page turner. What drives such a long book forward, in the eyes of the 10-year olds who read it? Does it have valuable language, characterization, and action? Listen to discover and decide whether you think Keeper of the Lost Cities is a book worth reading.

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Enjoy essays on the Bright Wings...

Leprechauns are fun, but is there more to Irish literature?! Diving into our Irish inheritance, Charity Hill offers insight into Irish literature. She suggests that what makes Irish literature distinctive is the way it navigates paradoxes. Charity uses Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role to identify characteristics of Irish literature. Because literature emerges from cultural context, Charity notices how the literature reflects the paradoxes of pagan and Christian Ireland: high/low, darkness/light.

Don't miss the radio theatre production of The Trials of St. P...