How to Get Kids Interested in Good and Beautiful Books

In a world of instant gratification and fast-paced, thrilling entertainment, it can be hard to get your children interested in truly good, worthwhile books. It is possible, however, and unbelievably worth it. Keep reading to find out how you can encourage you children to read good books. Also find resources for book recommendations for kids!

4 Ways to Encourage Reading Good Books

Include children in the journey.

Have a discussion with your children. Make a list of standards for books as a family, but consider that children need to learn how to discern what good books are, and they cannot do that if they are desensitized. They need to be away from negative, shallow literature long enough that they’ll be able to feel the difference themselves. It takes time, but once they learn that good and beautiful books are fulfilling, they will choose them for themselves. 

Supply them with good literature.

The Good and the Beautiful Book List is a great place to start. It offers more than 1,000 books that have been reviewed and recommended as worthy books. Many of these books are available in local libraries, as e-books, or from The Good and the Beautiful Bookshop on our curriculum and library website. 

Choose good books!

Make good literature fun and appealing.

This can be as simple as a reward chart or incorporating family read-aloud time—to setting up book displays in your home on different topics or cultures or starting a neighborhood book club! Another great tip is to make bedtime earlier on purpose and then let them “stay up” to read in bed. 

Set an example.

One of the most powerful ways to have children read good books is by reading them yourself. Set an example that will truly impact your children and family life. 

For reluctant readers, start with books that are not too hard and grow confidence. Audiobooks are a good way to have children get used to more complex, gentle literature. 

It’s not always an easy journey to get kids interested in good and beautiful books, which is why The Good and the Beautiful mission from the very beginning has been to help families on this important journey. 

There are many resources, learning materials, and library books available on both our website and The Good and the Beautiful Book List site to support, inspire, and encourage families as they discover the joy of great literature and the impact it has on their children and family as a whole. 

Learn more about this topic by viewing the video below (and more on our YouTube channel) from The Good and the Beautiful founder, Jenny Phillips. 

To find more clean books with no profanity or inappropriate behaviors, browse The Good and the Beautiful Bookshop to find uplifting literature with clean language and character-building themes.

Also, don’t miss our free, digital and searchable The Good and the Beautiful Book List. Join our email list to keep up to date with new releases and other news. 

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Comments

natjoreri

Hi! Your video on this is wonderful. In it you recommend a blog post that lists the top books to start with for children who are transitioning. I’m not seeing that post anywhere. Can you help me please? I have a 5th-grade son, who is incredibly engrossed in dragon and magic books. I’d like something different.

Joy

Every Friday as I sign them off for the week and pay out our school bucks, I assign my kids a book to have read before next Friday at sign out. If they finish by then I pay them school money. If not, no money and they don’t get screentime until it’s read. It’s been a relatively easy way to push my kids to read books they wouldn’t necessarily choose on their own, something I found was missing from our homeschool experience. There’s no nagging or hassling and I’ve really enjoyed watching my children fill their minds with such great content.

Amanda Burton

It’s seems very common sense to create a standard and yet I hadn’t. This article really encouraged me that good books do matter and showing our children the path to those books is extremely important!

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Rating System

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  • 4Excellent
  • 3Great
  • 2Good
  • 1Satisfactory

Entertainment Value

All books on our list are chosen to be engaging, but books that rank high in entertainment value may be more appealing to reluctant readers and/or those who are new to good and beautiful books.

Moral Value

All books on The Good and the Beautiful Book List are deemed appropriate and wholesome, but some books have more emphasis on moral principles than others. A lower rating for moral value does not mean the book is inappropriate; it only means that moral values are not as highly emphasized.

Educational Value

Although all books on this list have educational value in the sense of increasing vocabulary and other important skills, the educational value scale is based on how well the book helps the reader gain knowledge about historical time periods, cultures, geography, science, etc.

Literary Value

Books that score high in literary value include exceptional writing, use of literary devices, and a rich vocabulary. All books on The Good and the Beautiful Book List are well-written, but some have a higher literary value than others.

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