BreakPoint

BreakPoint: Books To Say Yes To

Don’t you love to see your child curled up with a good book? Well, welcome to teen fiction week at BreakPoint. Parents—especially Christian parents—spend a lot of time focusing on the negative: What shouldn’t kids read? What shouldn’t they watch or listen to? What pitfalls should they be avoiding? That’s perfectly understandable, especially in a culture like ours. There’s so much spiritually and emotionally damaging material being foisted on kids. People who have no stake in your children’s well-being will sell them almost anything to make a buck. And people who pretend to care about them—who teach them morally bankrupt concepts like “safer sex” are even worse. Parents are right to be cautious in a climate like that. But sometimes we have to balance things out by focusing on the positive. A constant stream of negatives is enough to make almost any child rebel. It can convey the damaging notion that the Christian life is about nothing more than rules and regulations. So today I want to talk about some things you can say “yes” to. All this week, the BreakPoint website will be focusing on teen fiction (or “young-adult fiction," as it’s more commonly known). And we’re going to focus on the good rather than the bad. Today we have a feature article from Sherry Early, a Christian homeschooling mom and blogger, who talks about some of her favorite young-adult novels of 2010. Throughout the week, we’ll feature a few different young-adult novels by Christian authors, using excerpts, short reviews, and author interviews to help you learn more about them. And later in the week, you’ll be able to read about some of the favorite young-adult novels of our staff members and have a chance to post comments your own favorites. The point of all this is to help you find good books for your preteens and teens and maybe even start helping them put together a collection. Not everyone will love all of the books that we feature this week, but that’s okay. There’s plenty of room for debate. The important thing is this: Each book we’re going to be talking about has been vetted for us by at least one mature, worldview-oriented Christian adult. So you know that these are not thoughtless or careless recommendations. You’ll also notice that there will be a wide range of books discussed. You’ll see both classic and contemporary novels, as well as novels by both Christian and non-Christian authors. There’s a reason for that. Again, this week is all about books you can say “yes” to. We want to help you show your kids how to practice thoughtful discernment, rather than your just saying a knee-jerk “no way!” to every contemporary or secular book that crosses their paths. Automatic fear and rejection give a person little chance to develop a Christian worldview or to learn to find God’s glory and grace in unexpected places. It’s so much better to help your kids search out and “hold fast to what is good,” as we read in 1 Thessalonians. So let’s get started! Head over to BreakPoint.org today, and you’ll see Sherry Early’s article on the homepage. Keep coming back throughout the week to find more recommendations. And be sure to contribute your own! There are few things more rewarding than helping your kids learn to say “yes” to good books; we hope that this week will assist you in doing just that.

Further Reading and Information

The Best Books Are Young Adult Books Sherry Early | BreakPoint | February 21, 2011 Colson Center/BreakPoint Online Bookstore www.ColsonCenterStore.org

02/21/11