One part of the library that is easily underutilized is the
nonfiction section. Some of the best
books for your young reader may be "hidden" there.
Fairy tales are classic children's
favorites to which no young reader should lack exposure. Some fairy tales can be very gory (e.g. Red
Riding Hood), but many children don't really seem to mind so long as the
illustrations are not gory and the author doesn't dwell on the gore. Many fairy tales also contain things like
witches, goblins, even demons, but they are almost always the scary bad
guy/gir, which is different from some
literature where such creatures are cast as protagonists. And of course, there are fairies and magic
involved. The tales themselves are not
usually long, but they often come in sizable collections and the vocabulary is
usually fairly advanced, which makes them a nice challenge. And don't forget Mother Goose--an excellent introduction to archaic vocabulary. Do you know what a tuffet is? (Look it up on dictionary.com!)
There are countless folktales from other cultures which are
fun, usually beautifully illustrated, and usually off the beaten path. Sometimes
you do have to be aware of conflicting worldviews or religious perspectives,
especially with folktales from parts of the world where your worldview/religion
is not prevalent. You should be aware that like fairy tales, these can be quite gory at times, so skim beforehand if your child is sensitive or you just don't want to introduce that yet. In our house, these kinds of stories often
provoke interesting discussions and are usually read and re-read, despite being "thin" picture books!
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