Book Review

Hand that Rocks the Cradle: 400 Classic Books for Children
by Nathaniel Bluedorn

A Review

Does your family love to gather around for a good read-aloud? Or, perhaps you like the idea of reading aloud, but the thought has been somewhat overwhelming? Where to begin? So many books- so little time. I would like to share with you a little gem which will encourage beginning readers and seasoned readers alike. Hand that Rocks the Cradle - which references 400 classic books - was written for us all, as the author tells us in the first paragraph of the introduction:

"I want to help you to read to your children."

For those of you familiar with Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in the Classical Style, you are no doubt familiar with the Bluedorn family name. Harvey and Laurie, who taught their five children at home, first influenced our homeschool with their article "Ten Things to Do with Your Child Before Age Ten." There is one quote in that article that comes to my mind every now and then. As Laurie fondly recalled the years of reading aloud, she wrote:

"If I could have just an hour of that time again, right now, I would gladly read Corduroy fifteen times in a row and not complain."

Her words have reminded me to make the most of this cherished time. Enter Hand that Rocks the Cradle by Nathaniel Bluedorn. This book is an invaluable tool that helps us to maximize our time by recommending the best of the best in literature choices. This easy-to-use resource should be at your fingertips as you move into new studies and are looking for books to bring a subject to life.

I am grateful to Laurie Bluedorn, who not only set an example of diligence in reading aloud 1-2 hours per day, but that she also made it a point to keep a list of their family's favorite stories. Many thanks to Mr. Bluedorn who, years later, organized that list for our benefit. A mother's time does not have to be wasted in searching for books and wondering, "will this one impart some negative character trait to my child/children?" Hand that Rocks the Cradle helps to eliminate much of this guesswork.

The book is laid out as follows:

It begins with a short introduction emphasizing the importance of reading aloud, which is both informative and encouraging.

Next, the 400 books are organized by author and subject. As you thumb through the listings by author, you will notice a few things about each entry:

• After the author and title, there is a suggested reading level given as a general guideline.
  
• Next, you will find the time period in which the story takes place. It might be a a general time period, such as "Middle Ages" or very specific, such as "1772" for The Colonials by Allen French.
  
• The setting of the story follows, and again, this might be anything from "All Over the World" to "New York City."
  
• Finally, there is a year included for the publication date.

Mr. Bluedorn includes a summary of each book which is thorough, yet concise. There is just enough information to help fathers and mothers decide if a certain book would be fitting for their studies or interests.

I enjoy finding this little notation at the end of some entries:

"This book is one of my mother's favorites to read aloud."

I personally find the subject index to be most useful. Here are a couple of quick scenarios which demonstrate how this specific index can be used:

• When a child expresses a budding interest in a particular topic, I can turn to one of the twenty-four subject headings to help us quickly locate a book.

• In our American History studies, we have just finished up a lengthy book on the Pre-Civil War era. What are we going to dive into next? I flip to the subject index and look under the heading "Civil War." There are ten books listed. I turn to read the helpful descriptions which are provided. Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt sounds especially appealing. We will look for it at our next library trip.

Hand that Rocks the Cradle is useful during these younger years as we look for quality literature to read-aloud, and it will surely be used as our children grow and are reading more and more on their own.