We’ve been looking at ways to find great books for Christian kids. I posted an overview of the topic here.

One thing to keep in mind is the tone of the book. For the purpose of this post, let’s define tone this way.

TONE – How is the content presented?

How can a parent predict the tone of a book without reading it in its entirety? One way is to become familiar with the tone of a particular author.

When I talk to editors from Christian publishing houses about what they want to publish, often they mention tone. They say they would love to have a certain style of fiction like Alison Author writes BUT without the disrespect or without the sarcasm. The list could go on and on. I am sure that you have that kind of list, too.

Knowing the writing tone of a particular author either assures you that it IS what you want your child to read, or it is NOT what you want them to feed their brains.

How do you find those authors to add to your trusted list? One way is to check out the titles that the Christian publishers are putting out. Checking out one or two titles by a particular author will put her name on the READ list or on the AVOID list.

Let’s think of a well-known example. Many preteen and teen girls have grown up with books by Robin Jones Gunn. Her reputation as an author with a positive tone and message puts her name on the READ list of many families.

What trusted author names are on your family’s READ list?

Carol