The Best Christian Children's Books! Lists and More Lists!

Christian Children's Books
Your Child Will Love Reading!

You face two risks with the usual Christian children's books

That your child won't enjoy reading them
That the particulars of what one book teaches may be slightly at odds with what you want your child to believe.

Books, Christian or otherwise, are under siege in our culture from more dynamic forms of entertainment. Books have to compete with TV, music and video games. The time your generation spent with books is now more likely to be spent text messaging on a cell phone!

Since we know that a love of reading is key to our children's future success, it's up to us as parents to provide good fuel for that love! A Christian children's book that doesn't entertain, that doesn't compel your child to keep turning pages, is as bad as no book at all.

Maybe worse if it turns your child off of reading!

So how are you going to find good Christian books that your child will choose to read, even without your urging?

Teachings: Broad-based or specific?

Here's what I'm getting at. Should you be searching for books that are true to your specific form of worship?

For instance, if you're Catholic, should you be looking for Catholic children's books?

They're out there! They can be found! (Probably right at your church.) But are they the best way to go?

Best Children's Books seeks Christian children's books reviews.

Click here if you're interested in reviewing a book.

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Titles that appear as links are reviewed on this site.

I don't believe they are. I believe Christian children's books that compete in a broader marketplace are more likely to be enjoyed by your child. Why? For a very simple reason: they're more popular.

It's easy to be a big fish in a small pond. You don't have to be very good.

Church-goers worry their children are going to be led astray

Of course we worry about our children. Here's the risk though: while we obsess over what we can control, our children are led astray by the things we can't control.

So consider choosing Christian children's books that are broad-based in their teachings, that speak to all Christians. In fact, I would encourage you to consider books that promote Christian values even to children of secular families.

That can mean books that are Christian without crowing about being Christian!

Have you heard about the Children's Behavior Books?

They're stories with a message to help parents help kids overcome problem behaviors, like:

Lying/Fibbing
Playing Poorly with Others
Hard to Please
Not Cleaning Up
and more!

Stories should teach, don't you think? Check 'em out!

What is your greater fear?

That your children will someday choose a different church?
That your children will someday choose no church?

If you answered 2), then I suggest you cast about the broader marketplace of Christian children's books. Include Christian children's books that don't advertise themselves as such.

How am I going to find such books?

Well, yes, it is a little harder to know a book teaches good Christian values if it doesn't say This book is for Christian Kids on the cover!

But the good news is I'm going to help you in your search. Because I know of some very good people who have made an effort to locate good Christian children's books that your child will enjoy!

The Christophers

Do you know of the Christophers? Their mission "is to encourage people of all ages, and from all walks of life, to use their God-given talents to make a positive difference in the world."

The Chrisophers believe:

"each person has a God-given mission to fulfill, a particular job to do that has been given to no one else. Love and truth come to us through God, but these gifts are not ours to keep. By sharing them with others each of us becomes a Christ-bearer, a 'Christopher' in the most fundamental sense of that word."

Each year, the Chrisophers give awards for children's books (and other media) that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit."

In other words, they give awards to the best Christian children's books, even if they don't say "Christian children's books" on the cover!

The Christophers Christian Children's Book Awards

Children's Crown Christian Children's Book Awards

Gallery (Grades K-2) | Crown (Grades 3-6) | Lamplighter (Grades 6-8)

Other children's Christian books reviewed on this site.

The Children's Crown Awards for Christian Children's Books

Sandra Morrow, a librarian at Brentwood Christian School, is the woman who conceived and created the Children's Crown Awards for Christian children's books.

The awards now cover three age groups: the Children's Gallery Award for K-2, the Children's Crown for Grades 3-6, and the Lamplighter for Grades 6-8.

As a Christian school librarian, Ms. Morrow is of course an expert in Christian children's books. But the neat thing about her Christian children's book awards is how they're chosen...

Parents, teachers, librarians and students nominate worthy Christian children's books recently published. (You could nominate a Christian children's books you think highly of.) And then, each Spring, children vote the winners.

That's right! These Christian children's books are kid-certified. They're the Christian children's books that children themselves have said they loved reading!