Honey for a Child's Heart Paperback – Special Edition, April 29, 2002

I LOVE this book! I often bring it with me to the library (we go once or twice a week) and grab 5-10 books. Reading the first section of the book was an absolute treat. I don't agree with the author 100% but for the most part, we are "on the same page.":) I have a masters degree in science, I've always loved reading and I've frequented the children's section of the library since my first child could sit on my lap. My mother has a masters degree in children's literature and has been a teacher my whole life. That being said, I learned some great things from reading this book so there's something for everyone. A great reminder of the importance of learning through books. And of course I love how the book lists are organized in the second half of the book. I have a 3, 5, 8 and 11 year old. I can easily turn to the section for their age and find books based on categories as well. Every mom who loves reading to her child should have a copy of this book.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It's a great resource for finding books for your children that influence and encourage imagination and good language usage. The book lists are separated by suggested age levels and include great classic and timeless books that are full of adventure and life lessons and are beautifully written. I often times reference it before trips to the library to make sure some of the books listed are included in our family library book choices.

It's a great baby shower gift and a wonderful guide for building your home library.

This book is now a second-generation purchase for me. The well-loved copy which I bought when my now-31-year-old daughter was a newborn is still on my shelf, bearing many notes in its margins. Now I have purchased this edition for my daughter's to use with her soon-to-be-born son; she is overjoyed to get her own copy, having heard me talk about this book for so long. What a beautiful reference for those who want to provide the children in their lives with great literature with real substance--all reviewed with a Christian viewpoint in mind. I highly recommend!

The first 90 or so pages of this book are written to help us understand the importance of reading to/with our kids. The author also explains how books can help us teach our kids and help them understand the world around them. Then, the rest of the book is lists of recommended books (often with summaries) by genre and age. A wonderfully useful book I often give as a baby shower gift. Highly recommended.

This is a thought-provoking and inspirational book about the value of reading quality literature to children. I thought it was mostly going to be a booklist, but it is so much more and I thoroughly enjoyed the chapters on reading and enjoying literature with our children more than I ever would have imagined. I already do value and enjoy reading with my kids, so I just didn't think there would be much more to say about it. But I was wrong! Gladys Hunt outlines so many amazing values and ideas for reading with our kids - I was inspired! And, there is quite an extensive booklist, well organized by age and reading level, that has been a blessing to our family. Love it!

This book is so amazing. Any family with young children (or older children) should have this book, especially homeschool families. This book has such great recommendations from newer to old classics, books I read as a child and ones I've never heard of. This book has added so many books to our at-home library guaranteed to be life-long favorites by giving us titles I would have never found at a book fair or local library. I love how this book not only has suggestions of books for each style and category broken down by age group but also has a small description for most books which was incredibly helpful.

In this book, the author writes about what makes a book a good book and why reading to oneself and why reading aloud is important and then provides a long bibliography of recommended books. What makes this book special and different from other books (i.e. "Read Aloud Handbook") is that this book is completely family focused. It is written for an intended audience of parents and stresses using reading as an important activity that bonds families together.
Hunt feels that good books feed the soul, teach values, and build character. When one connects with a character emotionally, lessons will naturally be learned from reading the story and getting to know and love the characters. Only good books fit the bill for nourishing the soul, only good books provide "honey". Hunt quotes Eric Fromm, who wrote that he feels that children need "milk" and "honey" to thrive: the milk is the parent providing for the child's physical needs, and the "honey" is the "sweetness of life, that special quality that gives the sparkle within a person". Hunt and Fromm agree that only a minority of children are receiving "honey" from their parents, a parent must first love honey and have it to give, and that not every parent has it to give. Hunt feels that "good books are rich in honey".
There are 124 pages of discussion about good books and the value of selecting good books. Good books make children wonder, laugh, and that contains spiritual, emotional, and intellectual dimensions. There is not much dedicated to selecting books for toddlers and preschoolers although there are plenty of books for that age range in the book list. Unlike other books, this is purely opinion and the author does not spend time discussing results from studies about reading aloud. This book does not discuss issues such as problems that schools have with teaching reading or dealing with children who are not read to, or discussing problems with illiterate children and adults, or other societal educational matters-this book is focused on the family unit and speaks to parents about using reading and books to enrich the lives of their children.
Not a lot of time is spent talking about what makes a bad book, and specific examples are not given of bad books. I was a bit disappointed that the issue of guns and violence in books for preschoolers was not mentioned. Hunt does discuss negative content in books for upper elementary grades and teens. Hunt states it is a bad idea to fashion stories around common life problems for the sake of dosing up the books with realism: no matter how sad or pointless it is. To inject these negative issues in a manner that leaves the reader feeling sad and hopeless accomplishes nothing positive, and only serves to squash the child's spirit. Hunt states that it is now common for books to feature rape, sexual problems, and illicit drug and alcohol use.
Hunt is Christian and evidence of this is speckled here and there but I don't think it will be offensive to non-Christians. There are 12 pages dedicated to a chapter about reading aloud from the Bible as a daily family experience.
This edition contains 85 pages of book lists. The books are first divided into three age ranges, then by type such as picture book or series. From there the books are arranged by complexity of content, and then alpha by author. There is an index by author name only. Trying to look up a single book title to see if Hunt recommends it is not possible. Some of the entries contain no description, most contain one sentence description, and some contain 2 or 3 sentences for a description. This book lists contain works of fiction, not non-fiction such as books about trains or other "real" things that young children do love to read about-there are plenty of other ways to find those books, though.
I loved that Hunt brings into the discussion, the role of family and creating a safe and comfortable home for the child. There is a chapter about influences in the child's life: good and bad. Television is discussed, very lightly, for its problems such as helping contribute to short attention spans in preschool aged children, squelching creativity, and that the violent content of many shows and evening news programs does nothing but corrupt the soul. Good books are often translated into movies (Disney and such) but rarely compare to the quality and depth as the story as told in the book version. Hunt basically cautions to selectively watch TV but to make sure children get a daily dose of reading good books rather than spending valuable time sitting in front of poor content television shows and commercials. There are other books on the market that cite the studies and discuss the problems with television such as "Endangered Minds", if that is something you are interested in learning more about.
I love that Hunt is writing about the importance of family life and the value of reading as a family bonding experience, rather than the more common urging of parents to read anything at all to their children just so they would be interested in reading when the time comes to teach them to read. I am sick of hearing that parents should read anything, anything at all, to their children as a way to interest them in reading-I believe that content does matter!
Hunt's analysis of what constitutes a good book and her urging to use books to elevate the child's spirit is refreshing to read about. Hunt writes with clarity and this book is quick read but the important message will stay with you and inspire you. This book would make a great gift for new parents or grandparents; it makes an easy "wish list" to use as a buying guide. The price of this book is inexpensive and will save you time searching for good books in the library or bookstores, and it will save you money when you are buying books so I recommend it for every parent and grandparent.