If you have not figured it out by now, I love children’s literature. Seriously, if you examined a sliver of my brain under a microscope, I’m pretty sure you’d find characters from The Chronicles of Narnia, clues from The Mysterious Benedict Society, and recipes from Redwall imprinted in its little gray cells. I am beyond delighted to share, too, that my debut children’s book will be published sometime in 2029 by Seed & Sparrow, an imprint of Baker Books.
When I saw that Crossway was releasing a book about using literature to disciple children’s imaginations, I was eager to get my hands on a copy. Stories Woven in Silver: Pointing Kids to the Gospel through Children’s Literature is a lovely addition to my library. As my husband and I have just moved into a new house closer to our church, all of our books are in boxes. However, once they are unpacked and shelved, I plan to put Stories Woven in Silver at the head of my kids’ books as a sort of shepherdess to little storied sheep—or perhaps like the lantern stationed on the edge of Narnia’s woods.
Stories Woven in Silver unpacks principles for reading together as families. It begins by walking through core elements of family worship, emphasizing the need to read Scripture before and above all other books, before discussing how stories can and should be a part of family spiritual formation. Having long understood the spiritual significance of stories, not much was new to me. Rather, Stories Woven in Silver solidified my desire to fill the hearts and heads of my son and future children (Lord willing) with thought-provoking, heart-shaping, question-sparking, character-building tales.
Chapters 7–17 of Stories Woven in Silver were my favorites as they gave wonderful, thorough book recommendations. I have read The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings—the core canon of Christian fiction—but am now eager to acquire series such as The Mistmantle Chronicles and The Green Ember. I suspect I will derive as much delight from these books as my son will! The question is: will I be able to wait until he is old enough to appreciate them, or will I give in to an Anne-like “irresistible temptation” and read them all now?
I have only two critiques of Stories Woven in Silver. The first is that the book spends too long getting to its main point, meandering instead through a somewhat tangential consideration of other family worship elements. Guidance for family worship is valuable in its own right, but it was not the reason I wanted to read this book.
My second critique is probably nitpicking. On page 49, in a chapter advocating for the inclusion of Shakespeare and mythology in Christian education, the authors write that Shakespeare’s “cumulative writings comprise over twenty thousand words.” I assume they meant twenty thousand individual or unique words rather than simply twenty thousand total words. After all, that would barely be the length of a small gift book. It was not difficult to discern their point, but I am surprised this confusing bit made it through their editors.
Overall, Stories Woven in Silver is a helpful and encouraging resource for all who aspire to make reading more central to their family life. It can be purchased from Crossway, Amazon, or anywhere else you ordinarily order books.
Note: I received a copy from Crossway in exchange for an honest review.
Ryanne Molinari 