Charlotte Mason Living Books

Living books are a mainstay of a Charlotte Mason education. But what do we know about living books, exactly? 

What are living books?

First, we define living books as something written by an author that is passionate about a subject of which he is also an expert. But there is more to know about living books. Let’s take a look at some of Miss Mason’s principles and how these help us define a living book. 

Why do we use living books? 

• Living books contain ideas that stimulate right thoughts 

Ideas are the source of food for children’s minds, and these ideas are found in books, pictures, and other sources. 

Right thought flows upon the stimulus of an idea, and ideas are stored as we have seen in books and pictures and the lives of men and nations; these instruct the conscience and stimulate the will, (Vol 6 page 130) 

• Living books let children dig their own knowledge for their own possession

I venture to propose one or two principles in the matter of school-books, and shall leave the far more difficult part, the application of those principles, to the reader. For example, I think we owe it to children to let them dig their knowledge, of whatever subject, for themselves out of the fit book; and this is for two reasons: What a child digs for is his own possession; what is poured into his ear, like the idle song of a pleasant singer, floats out as lightly as it came in, and is rarely assimilated. I do not mean to say that the lecture and the oral lesson are without their uses; but these uses are, to give impulse and to order knowledge; and not to convey knowledge, or to afford us that part of our education which comes of fit knowledge, fitly given. (Vol 3, Chapter 16, page 177)

The Results of a Living Book 

The children must enjoy the book. The ideas it holds must each make that sudden, delightful impact upon their minds, must cause that intellectual stir, which mark the inception of an idea,” Charlotte Mason, School Education, p. 178.

• The ideas in the book cause delight and intellectual stimulation 

Living books cause delight and stimulate the reader intellectually. Take a look at the passage below: 

They find that, in Bacon’s phrase, “Studies serve for delight”; this delight being not in the lessons or the personality of the teacher, but purely in their ‘lovely books,’ ‘glorious books.’ (Vol 6, page 7) 

However, delight does not always mean it’s a living book. 

That children like feeble and tedious…story books, does not at all prove that these are wholesome food; they like lollipops but cannot live upon them. (Vol 6, page 117) 

The question resolves itself into–What manner of book will find its way with upheaving effect into the mind of an intelligent boy or girl? We need not ask what the girl or boy likes. She very often likes the twaddle of goody-goody story books, he likes condiments, highly-spiced tales of adventure. We are all capable of liking mental food of a poor quality and a titillating nature; and possibly such food is good for us when our minds are in need of an elbow-chair; but our spiritual life is sustained on other stuff, whether we be boys or girls, men or women. By spiritual I mean that which is not corporeal; and which, for convenience’ sake, we call by various names–the life of thought, the life of feeling, the life of the soul. (Vol 3, Chapter 15, page 168)

• The book makes a lasting impact on the reader 

The ideas in a living book have the tendency to spark the reader’s interest, which is the beginning step towards assimilating it into his heart. Here is an example of the kind of lasting impact that a living book can have on a child: 

Animal stories do much to nourish in a child’s heart the spirit of St. Francis. A child whose heart had melted with pity for the trials of Raggylug would not be likely to forget the needs of his pet rabbits. No child who had learned to love the story of Black Beauty could ever afterwards neglect or ill-treat a horse. Even our visits to the Zoo and walks in the country mean more to us than they did formerly after reading The Jungle Books, and  Just So Stories, and Tommy Smith’s Animals. (The Parents’ Review, Children and Books presented by Mrs. Conyers Alston, President of the P.N.E.U. Branch, Stellenbosch, C.P. South Africa)

5 Marks of a Living Book 

1. Living books contain worthy thoughts and inspiring tales 

For the children? They must grow up upon the best . . . There is never a time when they are unequal to worthy thoughts, well put; inspiring tales, well told. Let Blake’s ‘Songs of Innocence’ represent their standard in poetry DeFoe and Stevenson, in prose; and we shall train a race of readers who will demand literature–that is, the fit and beautiful expression of inspiring ideas and pictures of life.” (Parents and Children, Page 263) 

The above passage tells us that living books are those that contain worthy thoughts and inspiring that the children deserve to read and hear.

2. Living books are excellently-written

From the same passage above, we see Miss Mason emphasizing the quality of how these “worthy thoughts” and “inspiring tales” as “well-put” and “well-told.” This tells us that living books are of the best literary quality. 

3. Living books can be both fiction and nonfiction 

When we think of books that meet this description, we might think primarily of fiction. I have seen several definitions stating that living books are in “story form.” Let’s remember, however, that Miss Mason also insisted on literary quality in the nonfiction books used in her schools, books on history, geography, nature, religion or science. 

When we hear the word living book and think of living ideas being portrayed in story form, we might automatically think of fiction books. The truth is, Miss Mason recommended not just fictional stories, but also true-to-life stories told in narrative form. This includes books for history, geography, science, and even religion.

4. Living books let us get in touch with the best minds. 

Again, as I have already said, 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. (Vol 3, Chapter 16, page 177)

We emphasize the importance of connecting with the mind of the thinker, which tells us that we can aim for as first-hand knowledge as possible. But Miss Mason also explains that it does mean that we cannot get anything apart from “the original thinker.” She believes that, once the original idea is set forth, those who grab hold of it may be able to share their own thoughts that are more suitable to our purposes, as stated below: 

Again, we need not always insist that a book should be written by the original thinker. It sometimes happens that second-rate minds have assimilated the matter in hand, and are able to give out what is their own thought (only because they have made it their own) in a form more suitable for our purposes than that of the first-hand thinkers. (Vol 3, page 178).

5. A living book tends to be easy to narrate. 

After the experience of over a quarter of a century in selecting the lesson books proper to children of all ages, we still make mistakes, and the next examination paper discovers the error! Children cannot answer questions set on the wrong book,” Vol 6, p. 248.

A book that is easy to narrate may not necessarily be a living book, but checking whether it is narratable can be a way to determine whether or not it’s a living book. 

In this passage, Miss Mason says that we may not always perfect the skill of choosing a living book, and we usually realize our mistake when examination comes and a majority of the class cannot narrate well from the book. 

Choosing Living Books for Your Homeschool

We hope these guidelines can help you choose the best books to use in your homeschool. If you need a little bit of hand-holding, we might recommend checking trusted book lists on different Charlotte Mason websites just to start you off. 

Here on Charlotte Mason International, we have a few blog posts that share a list of living books on different topics. Take a look at some of them here: 

• 11 Best Geography Living Books for Your CM Homeschool
• History Living Books for the Elementary Years
• 25 Must-Read American History Living Books for Elementary

–