The term “living books” gets thrown around a lot, especially in homeschool circles, and there can often be some confusion as to what they actually are and why so many people are passionate about using them.
So I’ve put together this guide that has everything you need to know about living books including what the term means, how to identify books that fit the definition, why these books are so important to educating children, and where to find living books today.
What are living books?
Living books are ones that can be enjoyed by children and adult alike, that are filled with living ideas rather than dry facts, and that leave the reader thinking and reflecting on the author’s words and inspiring ideas.
Living books include books that have the following qualities:
- Living books are rich in vocabulary and imagery.
- Living books are full of living ideas.
- Living books are written in story form.
- Living books require children to expend some effort in thinking.
- Living books are written by knowledgeable and passionate authors.
- Living books are generational and enjoyed by all ages.
Living books are not:
- watered-down to be on a child’s “level”
- written by a group of editors or author who has no personal experience with the subject
- full of dry facts or dull/pointless content
- written in text-book format
- relevant to only a current generation of readers
- limited by their age, length, or skill-level
The term “living books” was coined in the late 1800s by the educator Charlotte Mason who believed that children are born persons and should be respected as such. She believed children have a natural love of learning and that they should be fed a feast of only the best ideas, inspiring tales, and worthy thoughts.
She spoke of reading children “living books,” not just any printed matter in a binding, but works possessing certain literary qualities that were as she put it, “teeming with ideas fresh from the minds of thinkers upon every subject to which we can wish to introduce children.”
How do you know if a book is living?
1. Living books use words that delight and inspire and are rich in vocabulary and imagery.
The literary quality of a living book sets it apart from others. These books are written, not in the watered-down form that children’s books can often be found, but rather are rich in vocabulary, imagery, and idea.
As Charlotte Mason states, “Whatever seems dull and pointless to us is going to seem dull and pointless to [a child]. Every subject can be taught with a fresh, living approach.
Is it time for geography? The child can make discoveries right along with the explorer, go on journeys with the traveler, and receive new, vivid impressions from someone else’s mind as his pen records his first impressions. Why should the child receive impressions that have been rendered flat and stale after intermediate editors have filtered through it and put what’s left into a textbook?
Is he learning history? He has no interest in strings of dates and lists of names, or pleasant little stories that have been dumbed down to their supposed comprehension level. We know better. We realize that his comprehension level is at least as great as our own, although we need to fill in surrounding circumstances and background information as best we can because he doesn’t know about them yet.”
2. Living books are full of living ideas.
Living books are full of living ideas, ideas that capture the imagination, leading the reader to ponder and pursue further knowledge about the subject.
Through these living ideas, readers are exposed to thoughts, places, time periods, character traits, etc that they may never otherwise be exposed to in real life, allowing for deep thought and consideration on these topics.
“Ideas are the living fruit of living minds,” says Mason. “If we ask any publisher for a catalog of their school books, we’ll find that the general nature of school books is that they’re drained dry of any living thought. It may have some thinker’s name on it, but then it’s usually an abridgment of an abridged edition.
All that’s left for the unfortunate student is the bare dusty bones of the subject with all the warm flesh, living color, breath of life and movement sanitized away. Nothing is left except what Oliver Wendell Holmes calls, ‘the mere brute fact.’
It can’t be said too often that information isn’t the same as education.”
3. Living books are written in story form.
Living books are written in literary (story) form rather than in textbook form. These may be fiction or non-fiction, short or long. Using a literary form allows the reader to connect with the story on a personal level.
Mason instructs that, “The mind refuses to learn anything that isn’t presented in a literary [usually story] form…People can expend the effort to commit facts from the driest compilation of data in a textbook to short-term memory for a public exam, but that information doesn’t seem to reach the real mind.”
She adds that, “Children can’t tell about what they haven’t seen in their own minds with their imaginations. And they can’t imagine what’s in their books unless their books are written with some vividness and some grasp of the subject.”
4. Living books require the child to expend some effort in thinking.
Because living books aren’t full of regurgitated ideas, pre-read and processed down by an editor, they require their reader to truly think on the concepts within. By working through the ideas, children have an opportunity to make the ideas their own.
Mason states “A book needs to make a child expend some effort in thinking. The child needs to make generalizations, classify, infer, make judgments, be able to visualize, discriminate, or use his capable mind to work in some kind of way until the knowledge in the book is sorted so that some is assimilated and some is rejected, according to his own decision.”
She continues, “The students only get knowledge when they dig for it themselves. Work paves the way for assimilation, which is the active mental process of converting information into real knowledge. The effort of working through the author’s sequence of thought is more valuable to a student than any amount of oral lectures.”
5. Living books are written by knowledgeable and passionate authors.
Living books are written by authors who have personal experience with the topic, making them knowledgeable and passionate on the subject they are writing about.
Someone who has had first-hand knowledge of a subject is going to capture the topic in a much more captivating manner than someone who has no passion about or experience with it at all.
Mason says, “To educate a child, you need the direct, first-hand impact of great minds to interact with his own mind. We may not know lots of great minds in our circle of friends, but most of us can get in touch with great minds by reading books.”
These great minds are able to add in their personal thoughts and discoveries in the particular area, and weave all that they’ve learned on the subject into the book’s storyline without the use of dry, dull facts.
5. Living books are generational.
No matter if the book was written a century ago or was just released by an upcoming author, living books are generational, meaning they can connect with readers of long ago and still connect with the readers of today.
These books may have been read by your parents, grandparents, and even your great-grandparents and are still loved by children reading them today. The way that they connect with the reader and convey their message and story, resonates with all generations.
Mason states that, “A book might be long, short, old, contemporary, easy, difficult, written by a great man, or written by a lesser man, and still be the kind of living book that find its way into the mind of a young reader.”
Why use living books?
- In combination with quality reference books, living books can be used as the foundation of any homeschool study across a variety of subjects.
- Living books offer your children living ideas that captivate their imaginations and connect them with stories and characters from a multitude of time periods, locations, and situations.
- Living books are written by authors who are knowledgeable in the particular subject and can offer personal insight into the subject, creating memorable accounts of their experiences.
- Living books are full of rich vocabulary and quality writing. Whether students read them themselves or listen to a living book being read aloud (or through audio books), they create a wonderful example of quality composition.
- Because living books are written in story form, students are more likely to retain the information that they have learned through living books than through memorization of listed facts found in other books.
- Living books are interesting to both children and adults alike. Reading them can be a wonderful opportunity to learn right along side your children.
Where do you find living books?
Once you know what living books are (and are not), you can be on the look out for them while you are out and about to purchase used or new. Here are great places to find living books:
- Libraries
- Local bookstores
- Online
- Instagram bookshops
- Homeschool consignment stores
- Thrift stores/Antique stores
- Yard sales/Estate Sales
Libraries
Many living books are found on the shelves at your local library to borrow. I suggest researching the titles of living books or referencing a booklist before going to the library so that you know just what to look for, especially if you are seeking living books on a particular subject.
Libraries are also a wonderful place to purchase used living books at a discounted price. Libraries often sell library discards as well as collected donated books from the community to sell at their annual book sales. Check with your local library to see if they have a Friends of the Library book sale in your area. This is an excellent way to find vintage living books.
Local bookshops
If you want to purchase your own copies of living books rather than borrowing them from the library, your local book shop is a great place to start. The advantage of purchasing in person is that you can flip though the books and get them the same day.
Some local book shops even offer used books.
Online
Whether you are looking for new or used living books, there are several places online where you can find living books. Here are a few of the best-
- Amazon
- Ebay
- Thriftbooks.com
- Betterworldbooks.com
- Abebooks.com
- Etsy
Instagram bookshops
There is a whole community of mamas on Instagram who collect and resell living books at great prices. Search for the hashtag #livingbooksforsale on Instagram to get started.
Homeschool Consignment Stores
Homeschool consignment stores can be found locally and are a great place to find used living books. They often offer books at half-off retail and deep discounts on vintage books. This can also be a wonderful place to sell back your own books once your children have outgrown them (unless of course you want to keep them for your grandkids).
Thrift Stores/Antique Stores
Thrift stores can be hit-or-miss when it comes to finding quality books, but are definitely worth checking out. I have found so many amazing living books at thrift stores. And the biggest plus is that they are usually extremely cheap.
Antique stores, especially those who offer booths with various vendors can be an excellent place to look for living books. I have found that vendors whose booth specializes in children’s items are where I find the most living books. Antique stores may not be as inexpensive as thrift stores but you can often find rare books here.
Yard Sales/Estate Sales
Often, people get rid of quality books when they are cleaning out their homes or a loved one’s home so yard sales and estate sales can be an unexpected source for adding living books to your collection. Yard sales offer low prices and you can often bundle items for a discount. And estate sales can be this way as well, especially if you like vintage books since most estate sales are families cleaning out homes of older family members.
These sales can be found by checking your local newspaper, driving around and looking for signs, or even by checking out local facebook yardsale groups online.
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Homeschool Vintage: connection over curriculum 