While reading N.D. Wilson’s article The Dark-Tinted, Truth-Filled Reading List We Owe Our Kids, I found myself cheering. And cringing. Philosophically, I agree with what Wilson has to say. Yay. But practically, I confess that my early years of parenting were marked by the well-meaning building of bomb shelters. Cringe. Learning to parent from a posture of wisdom and faith is a process. I’m thankful for the folks who teach, inform, model, and encourage me along the way. My exceptionally bookish friend, Jan Bloom, is one of those people.
After sharing Wilson’s article, I received several inquiries for relevant book recommendations, so I asked Jan (and my children) to help compile a list. Here you go:
N.D. Wilson
100 Cupboards series
Ashtown Burials series
Andrew Peterson
Wingfeather Saga
Rosemary Sutcliff
Black Ships Before Dawn
Adventures of Odysseus (more on mythology in an upcoming post)
Susan Cooper
The Dark is Rising series
Cornelia Funke
Inkheart trilogy
Stephen Lawhead
The Dragon King trilogy
Emprion I and II
The Pendragon Cycle series
Dream Thief
Calvin Miller
Guardians of the Singreale trilogy
John Christopher
Tripods trilogy
Sword of the Spirits trilogy (read Loren Eaton’s review here)
Orson Scott Card
Ender’s Game
Harold Myra
No Man in Eden
Shining Face trilogy
Chuck Black
Kingdom series
John White
The Archives of Anthropos series
Kathy Tyers
Firebird trilogy
Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Peter and the Starcatchers series
L. M. Boston
Green Knowe Stories
Walter Wangerin, Jr.
The Book of the Dun Cow
Jeffrey Overstreet
The Auralia Thread
(Many of these books are most suitable for older children and teenagers, so you may want to first read for yourself, or read alongside your child, to determine age appropriateness.)
This list is only a beginning Resources for Excellent Children’s Literature and Books for Boys: A Show and Tell may be helpful as you create your own.
What are some of your favorite dark-tinted, truth-filled books?
- A Few of My Favorite Things - February 1, 2021
- The World Needs the Class of 2020 - June 22, 2020
- Books for Boys – A Show and Tell - February 5, 2020
scquest says
We love the N. D. Wilson books, Andrew Peterson works, and Peter and the Starcatchers. I would include Watership Down. Beyond that, many of those are new. What are your favorites from the list?
S.D. Smith says
Oh, yes. Watership Down is wonderful. Also a recent read for me (and our kids). Well said.
Julie Silander says
I’m not sure I have a favorite – so much depends on the interests/preferences of your children. I should have added George MacDonald to the lists (that’s the trouble with lists). The Princess and the Goblin and At the Back of the North Wind are some of my very favorites. I’d include many of the books listed in the “Books for Boys” as well.
Ming-Wai Ng says
It makes me happy that there are so many of my favorites on this list and lots I haven’t read. I will add them to my every growing book list, thanks, Julie!
Julie Silander says
🙂
Hannah Long says
Love this list. If I had recommend anything beyond everything by J.R.R. Tolkien, of course, I’d say: Andrew Klavan’s young adult action/suspense novels, especially Homelander Series & If We Survive (I’d say 12 years+), and Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities (teenagers, mostly for difficulty of prose, though there is darkness). Definitely going to look up some of your recommendations. 🙂
S.D. Smith says
I just read A Tale of Two Cities for the first time a few months back. Great choice! A wonderful book and definitely real darkness.
Julie Silander says
Yes – Tolkien (and Lewis) for sure! I’m not familiar with Andrew Klavan but will look him up. Thanks!
Loren Eaton says
Two big thumbs up to the inclusion of John Christopher. He’s awesome. But I’d probable add a disclaimer about Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising. The mythos is pagan, and she takes some shots at organized Christianity. It shouldn’t pose a problem for older readers, but little tykes could get confused by it.
Julie Silander says
Yes – Thank you, Loren. As the children grow, and as we read and discuss with them, the more they are able to understand and digest. I still err on the side of caution when they are very young.
Paula Nix says
I may get some literary-bashing for saying this…but I’d add The Harry Potter series. Aside from being an intricately woven & well told series of stories, I also appreciate the themes and discussions the books have spurred with my eldest.
S.D. Smith says
Good point. Very dark and also worthwhile in many ways, Paula.
Julie Silander says
Ditto what Sam said.
Loren Eaton says
You know, I couldn’t finish Harry Potter. I feel bad for saying it, but they got so long, and I just kept thinking how much Rowling needed an editor with a spine of steel.
I think this makes me a bad person.
Hannah Long says
I agree, especially with the fifth book. However, I finished the seventh and found it well-worth it. 🙂
jake says
Love this. Love John Christopher as well. A few years back I did a book a day list for children and as I’m going back through it… I see this Dark tinted, Truth Filled theme throughout. Sure there’s silliness there too… but the books that drew me in were the darker sort. The Book Thief – Markus Zusak is one. Okay for Now – Gary Schmidt is another (dark tinted in a background sort of way). Thanks for this!
Julie Silander says
Yes! Gary Scmidt is another one to add. Thanks.
james s. says
Stephen R. Lawhead is one of my favorite authors, I also really liked the King Raven trilogy.
Loren Warnemuende says
Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles. And really anything by him, though I’ve liked some more than others. I just discovered a stand-alone of his called The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio. I’ll wait on introducing it to my eight-year-old, but she’d probably enjoy it in a year or so.
Julie Silander says
Loren – Lloyd Alexander certainly belongs here (he’s on the Books for Boys list, so I consider him included!). I don’t know Carlo Chuchio but will add it to my personal list. You always have great titles to add!
Loren Warnemuende says
Carlo Chuchio was a delightful discovery this winter. It looks like it was published after Alexander’s death, so I wonder if it was a manuscript he’s had but not tried to publish.
Kim F says
Anything by Gary D. Schmidt
Ken Priebe says
I just finished Book 2 of the Wildwood Chronicles by Colin Meloy (lead singer for the Decemberists) and his wife Carson Ellis (who did the illustrations). Book 3 comes out next week. The second book is even better than the first one. Wonderfully imaginative and full of dark moments balanced with plenty of whimsy.
Also Neil Gaiman’s Coraline is dark but I strongly believe both the book and the animated film have very valuable lessons about temptation and community for young people.
Heidi Scovel says
I, too, would add Watership Down. I’m in the middle of reading it aloud to my boys, and I plan to follow it up with Ender’s Game (to compare the leadership qualities of the main characters). And George MacDonald, yes. What about The Giver series?
Judy says
Julie,
Two thoughts after a day and a half pondering…
I agree that introducing young readers to the reality of evil and ugliness is important to the development of courage, heroism, integrity and the like, but I would like to comment on the importance of age appropriateness, and a deep sensitivity to each child’s personality, in doing so. Learning to love goodness and beauty through literature first, provides a couple of protections – I have observed that immaturity (particularly in young boys) can result in the bad guy being perceived as ‘cool’, and evil as exciting – it can be very difficult to re-ignite their admiration for characters of integrity. On the other end of the spectrum, if ugliness and evil seem too pervasive, a sensitive child can become overwhelmed by fear, or a melancholy teen, with a sense of hopelessness.
Also, I am intrigued that there is so little reference to biographies and historical fiction here. I confess it is something of our family bent…and I think an equally effective means by which to discover the reality of evil, the power of courage, faith and hope, and also, the truth that there is often only a partial redemption of the pain and ugliness that has been wrought.
More than enough said – sorry to be so wordy. Thanks for providing the ‘food for thought’.
Julie Silander says
Judy – Yes – and thank you. The innate danger in sharing a list is that it could be taken as appropriate for all. Every child comes with his own disposition, sensitivities, challenges, and gifting. As a parent, it’s our job to know the child and know what would be edifying to him, yes? Each of mine is so different – that’s why decisions are made with the child (not the age alone) in mind. I think that your caution about the bad guy being perceived as ‘cool’ is a good one – which is why stories that tell the truth don’t glorify evil – they expose the natural consequences that will inevitably result.
Funny that you should mention biographies and historical fiction, as I considered adding several of those titles. In order to keep the list from becoming overwhelmiingly long, I limited most of the titles to the fantasy genre. I’d say that historical fiction is the most-read genre in our house as well – really deserving of its own list to complement this one. What titles would you add?
Joe Sutphin says
The Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull is among the very best I’ve ever read. That guy can fit more into one book than my brain can even comprehend. I highly recommend to anyone. My son grew up suffering from dyslexia and would never read. I got him hooked on a scene in the first book when he was in high school and within a year he had finished all 5 books.
KKBart88 says
Andrew Peterson’s “Wingfeather Saga” without a doubt. I also just read The Giver for the first time, and will definitely be putting in on my “dark-tinted, truth-filled” reading list for my kids.