The Equuschick's Further Categorizations & Standards for Books

The Equuschick would like to thank all those who commented on her earlier post, they were fascinating to read.

The question was asked of where she would put Terry Pratchett, and he actually belongs in another category altogether known as the Humour Category. That is his virtue, and a lovely one it is too. Also in the Humour Category is Georgette Heyer who, depending on which book you're considering, properly ought to belong in either Romance or Mystery.

But for one thing The Equuschick likes to pretend she doesn't actually read Romance, she only reads Humour (Georgette Heyer) or Humour's clever older brother, Satire. (Jane Austen.)

She does read Mystery, and the favorite authors in that category include Ngaio Marsh, Ellis Peters, A.A Milne (and a tragedy it is he only wrote one) and Dorothy Sayers.

But Dorothy Sayers is versatile, her Unnatural Death The Equuschick tends to class with Mystery and a teensy bit of Philosophy.

She reads science and other non-fiction often for pleasure, provided only that the writing is up to the same standards she holds for all other reading. It is important for a child to have the opportunity, as The Equuschick did thanks to the DHM, to experience reading non-fiction purely for pleasure.

She also reads a great deal of what could be called Christian apologetics or Christian living, but here unfortunately she is often inclined to lament the fact that Christians seem to have accepted substandard literature on the rather poor excuse that "the message is good." Well, when your message becomes lost forever in the bog of your bad writing and your predictable formula may it be of some comfort to you that "your message was good."

Since when did moral standards become incompatible with intellectual standards? The Equuschick, she wants to know. It is possible, nay indeed it is best, to hold out for both.

And she was rather a difficult child for the DHM, alas. Other children of the DHM seemed to be capable of accepting the fact that no, this wasn't the standard for literature but something could be still gleaned if one was willing.

Oh dear, not The Equuschick. The King's Daughter? She hated it. (The DHM never actually had her read all of it.)


We seem to have accepted the idea that what makes a book a "good" book for a Christian child is simply the absence of the usual sins. If it has no "language" (a rather vague standard), no illicit relationships, no child rebellion, and if everyone is good and kind and sweet and behaves themselves well, than we rejoice for having found a decent book for our little kiddies.

What about the concept of sin and repentance? No one learns repentance who has never first seen sin. What about setting an example of creativity, of a quality of work that will withstand the tests of time?

What The Equuschick first learned of Christian living from any book besides the Scriptures, she learned from C.S Lewis's Mere Christianity when she was 14.

What she learned of life and imagination, and how to appreciate it and interact with it and revel in it, she learned as a child from books like E. Nesbit's, Madeline L'Engles' (and she was so versatile she shows up everywhere) Sterling North's, and L.M Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. (There is a book that was both morally challenging and well-written, which just goes to show it can be done.)

These are the books on which her memories are built. These are the books The Equuschick simply calls Children's Storybooks, and there actually does a traditional genre apply to The Equuschick's tastes.


The Children's Storybooks need not have any supernatural element whatsoever. They must be well-written. They must be about real personalities, true three-dimensional folks who live life having the adventures that most children never will, but why should that stop them dreaming? Ambition can be built on the pages of a Storybook. A child can learn yet again (and yes this is a tremendous priority for The Equuschick) to grasp the possibility that the world can be different than they see it. They must step into the very day-day-existence of someone who lives a completely different life. This is a blessing that will enrich their life throughout every single experience they face.


How can a child change the world if they never knew it could be done? If they never learn to look at the world through another set of eyes, how can they ever see another's point of view? How can they relate to lives different from their own if they never know such lives exist? How can a child have the wings to dream that life could be different than it is if they are never taught to question, never shown the many different shapes that life can take?

Ambition and Imagination are beautiful things. Nourish them. Cherish them. There are many different ways of passing these gifts on to the next generation, but a Storybook always helps.

Pin It

Pin It