Reader interview #3: Grace says books and reading are her "bread and butter".

Continuing my Reader Interview series, this month I'm interviewing Grace a primary teacher librarian. I was thrilled when she agreed to be interviewed for this blog series, mainly because I know school librarians have an enthusiastic yet critical appreciatioin of children's literature. They understand current trends and childhood experiences, and use that knowledge to specialise in matching books with kids (school librarians are my heros!). But I was also interested in what Grace would have to say about books with faith content - given she works at a Christian school and is a committed Christian herself. Her interview is interesting, insightful and packed full of fabulous book recommendations!

Penny: Tell me a little about yourself and how you use books in your relationships with children. 
Grace: I am a Primary Teacher-Librarian and have been working in P-12 school libraries for over 10 years. One of the greatest joys of my job is helping students discover the joy of reading and finding books they resonate with. I support teachers too: resourcing the curriculum and the various needs of students in their care. My job is so much more than books and reading but I consider it my "bread and butter".
Outside of work, I am an Aunty to many small nieces and nephews. Perhaps unsurprisingly, their birthday and Christmas presents are almost exclusively books. I enjoy the challenge of thinking where each child is at and then buying them a suitable book - sometimes this is tricky because I always have many book options!

"I enjoy the challenge of thinking where each child is at and then buying them a suitable book - sometimes this is tricky because I always have many book options!" 
- Grace V

Penny: When you are looking for Christian children's books, what is important to you?
Grace: Of utmost importance for me is that the books are Biblically accurate. If they are Bible stories, they must be true to the original story because the Bible is God’s Word and must be handled with care and faithfulness. For Fiction Christian books, I look for a plot and characters that are grounded in Biblical truth, are authentic and don’t feel forced or preachy. 
I think it is an exciting time for those interested in Christian children’s books. There is such a wide variety of quality books spanning not just Bible stories, but also topics such as prayer, the catechism, the attributes of God…just to name a few. There is far more available now than what was available as recently as 10 years ago.
I am going to shamelessly plug the Reformers Bookshop here. It’s a bookshop I genuinely love (not sponsored). All the books they sell are carefully selected and they have a wonderful range of Christian children’s books. I usually do a lot of research before purchasing books, but I find it quicker to select books from the Reformers because I know they’ve already done the hard work.

​Penny: What are some of your favourite books to share with your children and why?
Grace: Picture Books are my favourite books to share with children. They are far more complex and deep than first meets the eye.
My favourites are always changing as I come across new books, but currently two of my favourites are Timeless (Kelly Canby) and Paradise Sands (Levi Pinfold).
Timeless is full of clever wordplay. The protagonist, Emit (whose name is time spelt backwards), lives in a busy world where people have no time at all. He sets off on a quest to catch time (because time flies) and wait for it (because time stands still), but discovers that one has to simply make time (the illustrations show his family making clocks). I love seeing my students’ “aha” moments when they make connections where the words have double-meanings.
Paradise Sands is a mystical story about a girl, her three brothers and their mother who appears to be in a hospital. En route to see their mother, they find themselves at the ghostly Paradise Sands Hotel. There is a lion (but does he portray good or evil?), allusions to baptism, communion (breaking bread), refusal to eat the King’s food for three days (Daniel?). It feels like it could almost be a Christian book. I love the conversations this particular book sparks among my Stage 3s. The book generates more questions than it can answer but I love how it gets readers thinking, and thinking about Biblical perspectives and author’s intentions.

Penny: Can you think of a book that made a big impact on you as a child? What was it and why was it so important at that time?
Grace: The ‘Little House’ books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Set on the American frontier in the 1800s, Laura’s experiences were vastly different to mine. I loved the books because they opened my eyes to seeing that so many people lived differently to me. Children growing up in different countries had different experiences to me and children's lives at different points of history look very different to what they are today.

"I loved the books because they opened my eyes to seeing that so many people lived differently to me."
​- Grace V

Penny: Do you get much time to read in your everyday life? Tell us what you are reading at the moment.
Grace: I’ve recently re-discovered the joy and convenience of audiobooks. I can usually get a good couple of hours in each day and it helps me escape into another world while doing menial tasks. I mostly read YA fiction as it helps me with recommending books to students, but at the moment I am reading The Land Before Avocado by Richard Glover. It is a non-fiction book detailing what life was like in the 1960s and 70s in Australia and shows how far we have come. It covers every aspect of life - schooling, work, food, entertainment, family life, even road rules (or lack thereof). It is quite insightful and works hard to debunk the myth that “life was better back then”!

Penny: If you could recommend one Christian children's book to the readers of my blog, what would it be and why?
Grace: I’m going to take liberty here and several.
The Tales That Tell the Truth series are books every Christian family should have in their home. You might be familiar with the first book published in the series - The Garden, The Curtain and The Cross.
The books cover topics such as prayer, heaven, death and some of Jesus’ miracles. They are Biblically accurate and written in a way that is accessible for young children, older children and even adults. When reading them aloud to children, I noticed I have very little to add or elaborate on because they are written in such a clear, descriptive way.
I also love The Moon is Always Round by Jonathan Gibson. The book was written following the death of Gibson’s baby daughter, and the conversations he had with his young son about God’s goodness. It can be read to children experiencing any form of loss or grief and struggling to understand how God is still good. The book itself is quite moving and a great conversation starter.

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