Characteristics of Living Books
"Ideas must reach us directly from the mind of the thinker, and it is chiefly by means of the books they have written that we get into touch with the best minds." (Charlotte Mason. School Education. Vol. 3, pg. 177.)
From Living Books Library: Characteristics of a Living Book
Favorite living books inspire students to request chapter after chapter after the lesson is finished. They are the type of books that help them to retain the facts, details, and storyline, often many days, or even weeks, after we have read it. Teachers are often surprised at the extent of what is remembered. A living book allows learning to take place; not just learning is happening though, a lifelong love of learning is also fostered.
Literary Power: When the language itself is worthy of notice, the words are so perfectly chosen, the mind takes hold and images are created —true literary power. Charlotte Mason said that a book without literary power was like having beautiful pictures painted that you could not see because your eyes were covered or being introduced to people who do not live and act in your thoughts—lack of literary power is crippling for our intellect because it lacks the “Beauty Sense.”
Living ideas capture the imagination by planting a seed that germinates in the mind, causing one to continue to wonder and ponder it, and to pursue further knowledge about the subject. There are so many books full of living ideas, and what is even more wonderful is that different ideas in the same book grab hold of each of us in different ways.
Living books are those that exemplify virtuous living. The characters, like us, struggle to make the right decision, but ultimately do, or dire consequences occur. Characters don’t always make the right choice or emulate virtue in every circumstance.
Living books are inspiring when the author is passionate about their subject and they transmit that passion to the reader. A passionate author does not water down or pre-digest their subject as they write it for the reader, they want to pass on their own knowledge and do it in such a way that their interests become ours.
When we think of books that are narrative we think “books told like a story.” This is indeed the case of many excellent living books, both fiction as well as non-fiction. The use of wonderful language and imagery can evoke such vivid pictures in our mind’s eye that we see what is being described and understand it better than if all the facts were just listed. When narrative quality is present we are able to comprehend, organize the material we just took in, and relate previous knowledge and experience to it, and then are able to tell others about what we read or heard.
Finally, living books are generational because they are enjoyed over and over throughout life and from one generation to the next. Most classics got to be called such because they have been enjoyed by people over and over throughout history. They speak to us because they contain a bit of the truth of the human condition, and so different details like dress and technology don’t stand in the way. The essential truth conveyed in the ideas remains ever relevant to us.
All of these six tests of a living book can be distilled into the one overarching principle: Living Books capture our imaginations. We are changed and moved by these books so that after reading one, we are never exactly the same again.
Randi Tatsch
4th Grade Teacher/Editor
