Truth and Story in Fantasy

Some people object to fantasy and fairy tales because they contain magic or are simply not "true." While these forms of literature require discernment like any other, we'd like to point out that the Bible is the greatest model of such imaginative stories. 

Creation, Fall, Redemption.

A princess captured by the enemy and rescued by a prince at great sacrifice to himself; he marries her and they live happily ever after. Isn't this the theme of the book of Revelation, and, indeed, of all of Scripture? This wonderful story is God's idea, and we, His people--His bride, are still hanging out the dragon cave awaiting our great Hero's return so that we can start living happily ever after!

God uses words and pictures in such beautiful ways to reveal Himself, through His Word and Creation; it is our privilege to use them with our children to point out these shadows of His reality. The sun, for instance, reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the world (as my [Megan] sons and I recently learned through My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum). Any book that refers to the sun in story or in pictures is indebted to God for creating the sun and whispers a reminder that "Jesus is the Light of the world."

Like every part of creation, literature belongs to God and we can enjoy it and use it for His glory. Make reading with your children an act of worship, whether in the Bible or simply in the captivating words of a good story well told!


Further Thoughts (in which we wax eloquent and get a bit long-winded on this subject):
Some of the best and most beautiful pictures of spiritual truths have come to us from the pages of a fantasy. Why is this so? Perhaps because when people write about deeply spiritual truths, it often comes across as cheesy or trite--even in the hands of a gifted writer. Extrapolate out the essence, place it in another world, and suddenly it sounds more majestic and captivates our imaginations better. 

Aslan's country might not be the Celestial City, but it surely helps us imagine the awe, the freedom, the eagerness, the glory that awaits us. We can't see demons and angels with our earthly eyes, but reading about a fight between Henry's relatives and the evil forces in the 100 Cupboards books helps us get a feel for what an awesome and terrifying spectacle it would be if our eyes were opened as Elijah's and his servant's. Or, what about the awe at hearing--really hearing--the voice of God and then obeying? Gen certainly feels this on the rooftop in The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia.

Is it okay to read Harry Potter? We have no problems with it. There is ultimate good in those books, and the good soundly trounces the evil. The final book is one of the most redemptive books we've read as characters are revealed for who they truly are, unknown sacrifices come to light, and heroes step forward to lay their lives on the line. Are we going to let our young children read it? No. Not yet--but someday, they will. In contrast to the clear sense of good and evil in Harry Potter, the postmodern ambiguity in the Lemony Snicket series started out humorous and collapsed into an empty fading away, denying the reader any satisfaction of their hopes and speculations. The humor became shallow mockery, and our enthusiastic recommendations for the series sadly lessened.

We use the same standards for fantasy that we use for other works of literature: is sin revealed to be sin/evil? Are the right qualities shown to be right/honorable? Is it redemptive? Are there consequences for disobedience? Are humans shown to be something set apart, a special creation? etc.

There are a host of well written essays (and whole books) written on this subject of the fantastic in the arts as compatible with a Christian world view. Check out Leland Ryken's books (such as The Christian Imagination--a collection of essays edited by Ryken), On Fairy Stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis's collected critical essays, Gene Veith's Reading Between the Lines, and Madeleine L'Engle's Walking on Water for a start....

Truth and Story in The Scarlet Pimpernel

(**Warning: spoiler to the Scarlet Pimpernel revealed!**)

Friday night we watched The Scarlet Pimpernel, a 1982 movie (featuring Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour) based on the classic by Baroness Orczy. We had hoped for some good sword fighting and heroic exploits, but as the story progressed, we began to wonder how much our boys would understand about the French reign of terror and the non-graphically depicted guillotine activity.

What bothered my 5-year-old the most was when the Scarlet Pimpernel was led out to be executed by the firing squad while his wife and her brother waited with the villain inside. Since I had read the book and my husband and I had seen the movie some years ago we knew everything would be all right, but how do you convince a little boy who is being carried along by what he sees? Only when Percy reappeared to declare his victory was my son somewhat reassured, but at the end he still expressed his strong preference for the Daffy Duck version of the Scarlet Pumpernickel. We sincerely apologized to him, because we certainly had no intention of upsetting him--but we had known the ending!

As I snuggled our boys in bed, I whispered to them of the cross. “Sweetheart,” I said, “in a story, who is in charge of how things turn out, the author or the character? The author. And who is in charge of the story we’re in? It’s Jesus! The story we are living is all about Him, and He is in charge of everything! When Jesus died on the cross, Satan thought he had triumphed, and was allowed a moment to think he had won—just like Percy, the Scarlet Pimpernel, allowed his enemy a mere moment to revel in his success. But really, Percy was in charge! Jesus was fully in control on the cross, and while Satan thought he had finally defeated God, really he was overwhelmingly conquered. And Jesus, who is both the author and the hero of the story we are living, is bringing us to a joyful ending where we will all live happily ever after, because isn’t that how all the best stories end? The Scarlet Pimpernel is just a little shadow pointing to Jesus Christ.”

What joy to point a little boy to our Hero, that when things seem darkest, it’s not over yet! Our Savior is still in the business of robbing prisons and rescuing His beloved from death sentences, and carrying His beloved home. A satisfying ending that points to the happy ending that awaits us.

Movie cover image from Cover Browser

Truth and Story in Easy Readers

Truth and Story in Easy Readers

 Beginning readers are another area, like picture books, in which it's hard to pinpoint Truth as opposed to truth. Even the Story sometimes borders on story. What do we look for in this oh, so important category of literature that, by its very nature, must be rather spare in text?

As we mentioned in our musings over Truth and Story in picture books, there is more involved than a mere break down of "Truth" or "Story," especially in these books for emerging readers.


In perhaps no other category of books is the quality of language and story as important. Why?

• These are often the first books children remember vividly. 
• These are the books that help set the tone for the rest of their independent reading adventures. 
• These books provide the landscape for children's first forays into discovering Truth and Story on their own terms.

 

Basal readers certainly can have a place in this landscape of easy readers, but please do not let your children spend all their time there. Gaining fluency is very important, and basal readers can aid this development. But by and large, most basal readers are abysmally lacking in "Story." Don't let your child get bored!!! Don't let him or her think that this is what we're all so excited about.

It's like riding a bicycle. At first, you ride a tricycle. Then, you graduate to a "real" bicycle with training wheels. Finally, you start that painful process of riding without training wheels. You can do this entire process in a driveway or parking lot. Or, you can find a bike trail near your house and let your children begin to experience the reward of bike riding--even while using training wheels. The reward is the first real feeling of flying as the new rider picks up speed and sails down a hill. Working hard on those pedals to scale the next hill, feeling the breeze, taking in the scenery. This can be done with training wheels still on. Is it as good as the real deal? No. But it's a very nice teaser to encourage that child--he or she will begin to realize how much more fun bike riding is going to be when they get better at it and that there is a purpose to riding (to get somewhere, to have fun, etc.).

Easy readers are the training wheels in the reading world. Basal readers are the parking lot: highly structured, predictable, and kind of boring. Take your child to the fun trails--the exciting beginning readers at the local library--and let them get a taste of Story, of quality characterization, of the subtleties of plot, of interesting settings, and of variety. The scenery is better, too (the illustrations are half the charm of those quality beginning readers!).

Thus, easy or beginning readers are helping give your child a taste of what's to come when they're independent readers themselves. Let them experience good Story, strong writing, beautiful illustrations even at this training stage. Don't confine them to the parking lot even if you need to start there at first.

We try to review and highlight easy readers on Literaritea that are great literature in beginning reader form (one of the hardest things to achieve!). You may check out those lists, or you can start with one of the series below (listed in no particular order):

Hi! Fly Guy (series; Tedd Arnold; current)
Frog and Toad (series; Arnold Lobel; 1970s)
Elephant and Piggie (series; Mo Willems; current/ongoing)
Mouse and Mole (series; Wong Herbert Yee; current)
Henry and Mudge (series; many others also by Cynthia Rylant; 1990s and on)
Cat in the Hat, Hop on Pop, etc. (Dr. Seuss)

Cover images from goodreads

How to tell your child "I Love You"

How do you tell your child "I love you?" Do you borrow someone else's flowery, poetic language day by day? Or is it through the ordinary but special things you do with your child on a regular basis? There is an abundance of books based on the former, a parent's tender love song to his or her child that has been illustrated and published. Some, a very few, are even nicely done. Others make Betsy and me gag (but we won't mention specifics except in private conversation).

Three good examples of Story built around this theme (and which are subtle as opposed to sentimental) come to mind: Where the Wild Things Are, Runaway Bunny and Moon Sandwich Mom. Promising the child that "I'll always be here, always feed you, always love you," these mothers SHOW rather than TELL their love. In Wild Things, the unseen mother is understandably exasperated with her son's behavior and sends him to his room without supper, but when he returns from his adventure, his supper is waiting for him "and it was still hot." You might notice that there's even dessert--what a loving mama!

I like Moon Sandwich Mom because each mother has her own strength and weakness and is loved by her children, but none can substitute for Rafferty's mom. And even though he leaves because she is too busy being creative to play with him, he misses their own unique fun relationship; when he returns, she helps him be creative, too. Rafferty's friends' mothers (how's that for apostrophe and plural use?!) also enjoy their children and their children are happy, so there is no implication that one is better than another.

Runaway Bunny is a classic for good reason. Toddlers and preschoolers are constantly testing boundaries, making sure the rules are the same as they were five minutes ago! Runaway Bunny is full of that gentle reassurance that Mom is there, always loving. And yes, at the end, they enjoy carrots together, so it's both nurturing and nourishing.

The important thread in these three books (and in others) is the relationship between three very different children and their mothers. Are you the perfect parent for your children? Not perfect, but chosen by God to enjoy a relationship with them!

Truth and Story in the Fantastic

Don't forget about our giveaway! Ends Thursday at midnight.

Some people object to fantasy and fairy tales because they contain magic or are simply not "true." While these forms of literature require discernment like any other, we'd like to point out that the Bible is the greatest model of such imaginative stories. Creation, Fall, Redemption. A princess captured by the enemy and rescued by a prince at great sacrifice to himself; he marries her and they live happily ever after. Isn't this the theme of the book of Revelation, and, indeed, of all of Scripture? This wonderful story is God's idea, and we, His people--His bride, are still hanging out the dragon cave awaiting our great Hero's return so that we can start living happily ever after!

God uses words and pictures in such beautiful ways to reveal Himself, through His Word and Creation; it is our privilege to use them with our children to point out these shadows of His reality. The sun, for instance, reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the world (as Megan and her sons recently learned through My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum). Any book that refers to the sun in story or in pictures is indebted to God for creating the sun and whispers a reminder that "Jesus is the Light of the world."

Like every part of creation, literature belongs to God and we can enjoy it and use it for His glory. Make reading with your children an act of worship, whether in the Bible or simply in the captivating words of a good story well told!

Some of the best and most beautiful pictures of spiritual truths have come to us from the pages of a fantasy. Why is this so? Perhaps because when people write about deeply spiritual truths, it often comes across as cheesy or trite--even in the hands of a gifted writer. Extrapolate out the essence, place it in another world, and suddenly it sounds more majestic and captivates our imaginations better: 

• Aslan's country might not be the Celestial City, but it surely helps us imagine the awe, the freedom, the eagerness, the glory that awaits us. 
• We can't see demons and angels with our earthly eyes, but reading about a fight between Henry's relatives and the evil forces in the 100 Cupboards books helps us get a feel for what an awesome and terrifying spectacle it would be if our eyes were opened as Elijah's and his servant's. 
• Or, what about the awe at hearing--really hearing--the voice of God and then obeying? Gen certainly feels this on the rooftop in The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia.

Is it okay to read Harry Potter? We have no problems with it. There is ultimate good in those books, and the good soundly trounces the evil. The final book is quite redemptive in nature as characters are revealed for who they truly are, unknown sacrifices come to light, and heroes step forward to lay their lives on the line. Are we going to let our young children read it? Not yet--but someday, they will. In contrast to the clear sense of good and evil in Harry Potter, the postmodern ambiguity in the Lemony Snicket series started out humorous and collapsed into an empty fading away, denying the reader any satisfaction of their hopes and speculations. The humor became shallow mockery, and our enthusiastic recommendations for the series sadly lessened.

We use the same standards for fantasy that we use for other works of literature: is sin revealed to be sin/evil? Are the right qualities shown to be right/honorable? Is it redemptive? Are there consequences for disobedience? Are humans shown to be something set apart, a special creation? etc.

As always, we encourage you to practice discernment. But you will certainly see reviews of fantasy--referred to in literary circles as the fantastic.... If the shoe fits,....

Truth and Story in Beginning Readers

Beginning readers, like picture books, are another arena in which it's hard to pinpoint Truth as opposed to truth. Even the Story sometimes borders on story. What do we look for in this oh, so important category of literature that, by its very nature, must be rather spare in text?

As we mentioned in our musings over Truth and Story in picture books, there is more involved than a mere break down of "Truth" or "Story," especially in these books for emerging readers.

In perhaps no other category of books is the quality of language and story as important. Why? These are often the first books children remember vividly. These are the books that help set the tone for the rest of their independent reading adventures. These books provide the landscape for children's first forays into discovering Truth and Story on their own terms.*

Basal readers certainly can have a place in this landscape of easy readers, but please do not let your children spend all their time there. Gaining fluency is very important, and basal readers can aid this development. But by and large, most basal readers are abysmally lacking in "Story." Don't let your child get bored!!! Don't let him or her think that this is what we're all so excited about.

It's like riding a bicycle. At first, you ride a tricycle. Then, you graduate to a "real" bicycle with training wheels. Finally, you start that painful process of riding without training wheels. You can do this entire process in a driveway or parking lot. Or, you can find a bike trail near your house and let your children begin to experience the reward of bike riding--even while using training wheels. The reward is the first real feeling of flying as the new rider picks up speed and sails down a hill. Working hard on those pedals to scale the next hill, feeling the breeze, taking in the scenery. This can be done with training wheels still on. Is it as good as the real deal? No. But it's a very nice teaser to encourage that child--he or she will begin to realize how much fun bike riding is going to be when they get better at it and that there is a purpose to riding (to get somewhere, to have fun, etc.).

Easy readers are the training wheels. Basal readers are the parking lot: highly structured, predictable, and kind of boring. Take your child to the fun trails--the exciting beginning readers at the local library--and let them get a taste of Story, of quality characterization, of the subtleties of plot, of interesting settings, and of variety. The scenery is better, too (the illustrations are half the charm of those quality beginning readers!).

Thus, easy or beginning readers are helping give your child a taste of what's to come when they're independent readers themselves. Let them experience good Story, strong writing, beautiful illustrations even at this training stage. Don't confine them to the parking lot even if you need to start there at first.

We try to review and highlight easy readers on Literaritea that are great literature in beginning reader form (one of the hardest things to achieve!). You may check out those lists, or you can start with one of the series below (listed in no particular order):

• Hi! Fly Guy (series; Tedd Arnold; current)
• Frog and Toad (series; Arnold Lobel; 1970s)
• Elephant and Piggie (series; Mo Willems; current/ongoing)
• Mouse and Mole (series; Wong Herbert Yee; current)
• Henry and Mudge (series; many others also by Cynthia Rylant; 1990s and on)
• Cat in the Hat, Hop on Pop, etc. (Dr. Seuss)

*Neither Megan nor Betsy is a reading specialist; both, however, are very interested in fostering a love of reading in children, have taught their own children to read (or are still in the process), and have had many discussions with children of all ages about what they enjoy reading--at the beginning reader stage or any other stage!

Cover image from goodreads

Truth and Story in Picture Books

When we talk about Truth and Story, it's often easy to think of chapter book examples. When we evaluate a picture book, it gets harder to pinpoint the "truth" or even the "story" in a picture book, especially in a basic concept book.

Does "Truth" or "Story" matter at the picture book level? Yes and no. Megan is working on an excellent analogy that includes the importance of the illustrations in books. Until its big reveal, we'd like to propose that the literature we introduce to our children when they are young serves a unique purpose: to acquaint them with the pleasure, practice, and purpose of reading.To this end, exemplary text and illustrations are supremely important.

Pleasure

What is reading? To a very young child, who's been read to since (or before!) birth, reading is likely associated with comfort, quality time with older "readers," books, pleasure, entertainment, etc. Reading aloud to children goes beyond their future scholastic achievement and their basic appreciation of literature. Early books are also acquainting young children with ideas of art, of beauty, of language, of communication. These are big! If art imitates life and readers "co-create" with the author/illustrator, then well-executed and artistic picture books will help young children make sense of life, stretch their young imaginations, and raise their internal standards of excellence. Honey for a Child's Heart is a great resource for parents along this line.

Practice
Reading to young children often cements in the habit, or practice, of reading: where it is done (in our house--everywhere!), when it is done (all the time for us!), how it is done (eagerly? with expression? with enjoyment? in a group? solo?), and similar practices. Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook is an excellent resource along these lines.

Purpose

We have a unique opportunity to train readers, to help them associate reading with the Bible, to help young children value words in general, and to begin to handle language. God chose to reveal Himself to us through special revelation (the Bible/words) and through general revelation (Creation). SO many picture books highlight the wonders of creation--be it an Eric Carle book delighting in animals/bugs and colors or something more recent like Red Sings in Treetops or And Then It's Spring. A picture book which delights in language (The Huckabuck Family by Carl Sandburg and illustrated by David Small is a GREAT example), which celebrates the power of story (Heckedy Peg by Audrey Wood is riveting), which helps a child learn to make sense of language/reading (Elephant and Piggie--We Are In a Book!)--all of these are moving children along the path to reading Scripture, to reading literature intelligently and with discernment, to marveling at God's Creation, and to learning to ask the big questions in life. They are also learning to use their own imaginations, to reflect that characteristic of the Lord that he gave us in part when he made humanity in his image.

The goal of reading to children is to appeal to all their senses, to provide a pleasurable experience so that they will be drawn to the pleasure of reading in the future and further explore the world God has placed them in, appreciating the wide range of ideas, imagination, wonder and joy. The earth is the Lord's and everything in it--that includes literature!--and every gifted author and artist has something to contribute to this great fine world. Our children, created in the image of God, have something to contribute as well. Reading books for the pleasure of them is one way to nurture and encourage that creative image. Along your pleasurable journey of reading aloud, you will also inculcate the practice of reading in your children.

Thus, when we evaluate picture books on this site, we hope to bring to your attention picture books which draw our attention to the beauty of the written word, to creativity in written or visual form, to the breadth of the imagination, to the marvels of Creation around us, to a better understanding of humanity. It may be hard to pinpoint "Truth" in Anno's Counting Book, but it is a marvel of a book which invites and encourages greater understanding of numbers, of order in Creation, of the flow of the seasons, of the ways in which a community develops--and it does all of this without words! A Richard Scarry book surely delights youngsters with words upon words upon words--silly words (a pickle car!?) as well as informative words; Cars and Trucks and Things That Go also provides immense enjoyment of a book (Where is Goldbug?).


 Some examples of the many exemplary picture books out there in no particular order (in which text and art are both executed well):

• Red Sings in Treetops: A Year in Colors (Joyce Sidman, Pamela Zagarenski, Caldecott Honor 2009)
• Heckedy Peg (Audrey and Don Wood, 1992)
• Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak, Caldecott, 1963)
• The Lion and the Mouse (Jerry Pinkney, Caldecott, 2009)
• A Sick Day for Amos McGee (Philip Stead, Erin Stead, Caldecott, 2010)
• Grandpa Green (Lane Smith, Caldecott Honor, 2011)
• A Visitor for Bear (Bonny Becker, Kady MacDonald Denton, 2008)
• Bread and Jam for Frances (series by Russell Hoban, 1960s) 
• Anno's Counting Book (Mitsumasa Anno, 1977)
• The Huckabuck Family (Carl Sandburg, David Small, 1999)
• Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons (Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Jane Dyer, 2006)
• The Story of Ferdinand (Munro Leaf, Robert Lawson, 1937)

Reading v. reading

Here we are again, on Literaritea, making a capital/lower case distinction! We've discussed Truth v. truth and Story v. story. Today, we're going to discuss the distinction between Reading and reading. (As with the others, you might think of these as "Big-R Reading" and "Little-r reading" and we will try to make a size distinction clear when we are referencing the distinction).

Reading (capital "R")

Any active, skilled, memorable engagement with words or images that conveys worthy meaning or T/truth to the one who absorbs them. The result of Reading should include ideas or responses of one’s own; i.e., something original to the reader occurs by means of the activity and the text or images which occasion the Reading. Real Reading is a kind of creation cooperatively between one human and another, having some of the life of each.

Madeleine L'Engle puts it this way (Walking on Water): "Creative involvement: that's the basic difference between reading a book and watching TV. In watching TV we are passive; sponges; we do nothing. In reading we must become creators. Once the child has learned to read alone, and can pick up a book without illustrations, he must become a creator, imagining the setting of the story, visualizing the characters, seeing facial expressions, hearing the inflection of voices. The author and the reader "know" each other; they meet on the bridge of words." [I would add to this: in our day of screen-reading, we are increasingly scanning, not reading. It's worth teaching our children to READ).

reading (lower case "r")
A more or less passive and forgettable encounter with words or images that fails to bring one into any real contact with meaning or truth and resulting in no significant or lasting change in the reader and nothing original. [This is frequently the kind of reading we employ when we read web-related information--like this blog! As screen-reading becomes more and more a vehicle for actual literature that is meant to be Read, we must help our children discern when they do, in fact, need to Read instead of merely scan.]

Story/story

Here on Literaritea, we make the distinction between Truth and truth. We also make a distinction between Story and story. As with Truth/truth, you might find it helpful to think of these as "Big S Story" and "Little S Story" or, simply, "Capital Story" and "Small Story" or something along those lines.

When we evaluate the literary merits of a given work, we are looking for the difference between these two versions of "Story." What does that distinction look like?

• Story: a classic narrative that has the power to represent T/truth to people of all times and any places or cultures with unity, persuasiveness, conviction, and memorability. This means that the narrative not only has a good plot, but is crafted well and avoids trite-ness, unnecessary stereotypes and the like. Timeless themes are often found in folklore because one generation has deemed them important to pass onto the next. The greatest Story ever told on earth is the Incarnation of Christ and his Redemption of mankind as seen in Scripture. If Story does not accomplish its potential, it is due to a failure in adequate Reading--yes, we make a distinction between Reading and reading, but more on that another time.


• story: a narrative that fails to achieve classic value or status due to some inherent weakness in unity, persuasiveness, conviction, memorability or truth. Where story fails to realize its potential, the fault is likely to be in some aspect of the narrative, its meaning, or its truth. Even if Read with care and skill, even if it contains essential Truth, story still falls short in some way.

It is hard for us to find Story in works that don't also communicate Truth, but they do exist. The following examples demonstrate Story and story, but, as with T/truth, there is a continuum and often a difference of opinion!

Story Examples (with or without Truth)

• Philip Pullman's Dark Materials books.
• The Secret Life of Octavian Nothing
• A Wrinkle in Time
• Days with Frog and Toad
• Grandpa Green
• classic fairy tales

story Examples (with or without Truth)

• basal readers (poor children!)
• Disney knockoffs of classic fairy tales in book form ("movie versions")

Truth v. truth

We make the distinction here on Literaritea between Truth and truth. One is capitalized; one lowercase. You might think of them as "Big-T Truth" and "Little-t truth" when you are speaking of them. Look for Truth to be bigger in size than truth to help distinguish them (when we're making the distinction).

So, what do we mean by Truth v. truth? We're indebted to a favorite college professor (Mr. Ethan Pettit) for this clarification, and must give him the credit! Here is a short summary of the differences:

• Truth: "Reality as God has ordained it, from the order of His creation and the fall of man. There is good, and that is God. There is evil, and that is the nature of man. There is redemption, and that is Christ." We certainly believe that "all truth is God's truth," and that all mankind has been created in the image of God--therefore, the "nature of man" as evil is more that all mankind has been tainted by the original fall from grace in the Garden of Eden ("in Adam's fall we sinned all" as the old New England primer puts it). Literature which reveals ultimate goodness and the idea of a Creation, shows the effects of sin (and shows them AS sin), offers the hope of redemption--all of this falls under the umbrella of Truth. Needless to say, if there is overt reference to God Himself, a clearly identifiable Christ figure, the presentation of the gospel--these would fall under this category, too. The line between Truth and truth can be fuzzy; when we analyze works for Truth, we are essentially examining the worldview present within them. 


• truth (as common grace): any instance of Truth reduced to the common insights or perceptions of mankind as evidenced in Creation of the common nature of man. This includes such "ideas" as the Golden Rule ("do unto others as you would have them do unto you") and general knowledge such as that reflected around us in the world (gravity).


• truth (as truism): ideas that are commonly recognized and accepted among men but may or may not be accurate according to Scripture (God helps those who help themselves). Ben Franklin is king of this sort of truth!

 

Does this mean we only read "Christian" books since they are the only ones which contain Truth? No! In fact, as we hope to demonstrate, some "Christian" books are very much not the best examples of the combination of Truth and Story. We'll cover Story (and story) in another post. For now, the works below are all examples which fall into either the Truth or truth category. This is a continuum; some books straddle the line.

Truth (some classics and some brand new examples!):

• Narnia (an ultimate, powerful "God" figure; a perfect Creation marred by evil; a final triumphant battle in which good wins; a definite Christ-figure/redemptive storyline...)
  
• The Queen of Attolia and King of Attolia: WOW--what a terrific picture of love, sovereignty, sacrifice, and strong MEN and WOMEN
• Lord of the Flies: talk about effects of the fall! This book shows us creation (a near perfect island paradise), the fall and its many destructive effects, and the hope of redemption (the ship at the end)
• Brothers Karamazov: Just read it if you doubt us :-)

truth

• Old Mother West Wind stories by Thornton Burgess: cute stories about anthropomorphic animals which always carry some sort of moral
• Aesop's Fables always have a moral!