A reading list for young intellectuals
Published: 10/31/2012 9:17 AM
Last Modified: 10/31/2012 9:12 AM
Before he grew up to be one of the most celebrated scholars of the 20th century, Russell Kirk lagged behind other children in learning to read.
“My mother had read aloud to me since I was a few months old,” he said once. “And I didn’t see why this pleasant process should not continue forever.”
Eventually, a younger sibling drew his mother’s bedtime attention away from Kirk. And he had to pick up a book on his own.
Most children should be able to read to themselves by age 7, Kirk said. And those early books will have a lasting influence on their intellectual development.
To help parents choose wisely, Kirk offered some advice in an article that was written in 1979 and recently republished in Crisis Magazine.
“Were I compelled to name just one book that all children must read,” he wrote, “I should reply, ‘Pinocchio.’”
For children between 7 and 12 year old, other recommendations included:
“Alice in Wonderland,” by Lewis Carroll.
“At the Back of the North Wind,” by George MacDonald.
“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” by C. S. Lewis.
“Treasure Island,” by Robert Louis Stevenson.
“The Hobbit,” by J. R. R. Tolkien.
“The Secret Garden,” by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
“The Borrowers,” by Mary Norton.
And “Tom Sawyer,” by Mark Twain.
Kirk suggested reserving “Huckleberry Finn” for teenagers. But I read my father’s copy at the tender age of 11 and appreciated most of it.
For the rest of Kirk’s advice, which stretches to 12 pages, click here.
Written by
Michael Overall
Staff Writer
