What about fantasy literature?
Should Christian kids read fantasy books? As a homeschool mom of five, I get a lot of questions from fellow parents who aren’t sure. Okay, we let our kids read the Chronicles of Narnia, because CS Lewis was a Christian, but should we be handing our kids books that feature magic, witchcraft, or things that aren’t real, like talking animals or time travel? Our family loves fantasy literature, but I rigorously preview the books that we give our young kids.
Why fantasy?
In The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis introduces the idea of “men without chests.” He points out that “Without the aid of trained emotions the intellect is powerless against the animal organism…We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” How do we cultivate the moral imagination that gives our children an emotional and intellectual commitment to the values we hope to inculcate in them? Through stories.
While some Christians are leery of fantasy, there is actually a burgeoning community of fantasy writers today who have picked this genre because of their faith. One of our family’s favorite authors, Andrew Peterson, assures parents that he writes fantastical stories because the act of imagination is part and parcel of being made in the image of the Maker: “If a reader is willing to trust me with a little of his or her imagination, I want to light it up with truth, and beauty, and goodness.” Like Peterson, I evaluate the literature my children consume based on three main criteria.
Reading what is Good, True, and Beautiful
Is it good?
Because so much of what I pre-read for my children is full of foul language, raunchy scenes, and a distinctly pro-LGBTQ agenda, my first standard is to eliminate books that contain clearly problematic content. It’s astonishing how many popular fantasy books I’ve previewed have F-words, on-page sex, and characters of various sexual orientations engaging in any manner of deviant behaviors. Those books don’t make the cut.
Is it true?
It’s not just enough that a book is technically clean. Lots of books with no bad words or sex scenes are still telling lies about what it means to be a man or a woman, whether there is hope for the future, or what the consequences for sinful choices might look like. I have teenage daughters, so I’m having to evaluate stories with the romantic elements they’re interested in: is this an accurate picture of love? Could this story give false expectations for marriage and family life? Sometimes this category isn’t as clear-cut as looking for bad words.
We live in a fallen world. Growing up in a foster-adoptive family, my kids have seen first-hand the effects of broken families and poor parental choices on the life of children. For many of our friends with family members in war-torn areas of the world, it’s not just a fictional premise that evil men may break into the home of a peaceful family, drag them from their beds, and slaughter them in the streets. So we don’t believe in sheltering our kids from the reality of the world when the time is right. When we’re ready for them to read books with peril, violence, and even death, we choose books that have hope that Good will triumph over Evil rather than books that wallow in despair and hopelessness. My son’s favorite author, N.D. Wilson, explains that he writes scary stories on purpose: “This story is a safe place that—at times—feels unsafe, a place where young readers can experience vicarious fear and practice vicarious courage, where they can watch new friends sacrifice and become heroes.” Monsters? Yes. He states, “I am interested in telling stories that help prepare living characters for tearing those monsters down.”
One of my teens just read A Tale of Two Cities for the first time, and he was struck by how many fantasy stories he had already read with the flawed character willing to die for a friend, city, or loved ones, thus bringing rescue, peace, or freedom to others. I want my kids to read books with a Christlike sacrifice in the face of evil, because I want them to grow up to be the kind of young men and women willing to live and love in that way.
We also believe that Grace working on a shriveled soul can create real change. Because the Bible stories we read to our kids are full of flawed men and women who God uses for His good purposes, we’re not afraid of books with flawed protagonists, as long as we see them experiencing consequences for their misdeeds and growing in honesty, courage, unselfishness, or compassion over the course of the book or series.
Is it beautiful?
We believe that artistic and aesthetic excellence matters. We seek out books with vivid worldbuilding, deeply-wrought characters, and beautiful prose. One of our family’s favorite contemporary writers, Beth Brower, has the ability to write poignant lines that we savor and jot down for further contemplation, as well as hilarious asides that have us laughing uproariously and finding someone to read aloud to so that they can share our delight. Well-written books are a pleasure to read aloud as a family; when a read-aloud or audiobook is a dud, it’s probably a sign that the book isn’t well-written, even if it has a good story and a good message. I preview dozens of books for my children every year, and if I as an adult find the writing simplistic or the descriptions cliched, my kids certainly will, too.
What fantasy books does our family read? I have a list here.
