The mid-twentieth century is often called the Golden Age of Children’s Literature, the 1930s to the early 1970s. Books published during this time period are highly valued and sought after by many living books libraries and librarians. Why?

From Michelle Howard of Children’s Preservation Library in Michigan and Living Learning Libraries in Florida:

“What difference does it make?” you may rightfully ask.  “A biography of George Washington must be the same whether printed in 1935 or 2000.  It will have all the same basic information, and the newer one will have much brighter pictures and crisper pages.”  Had I not seen the actual differences, I would have thought the same.

But, in fact, the differences are titanic!  Let me highlight them for you, because in so doing, you will understand even more that the older books are special gems which ought not be lost to our nation’s children and teens:

1) The wonderful earlier books were written when there was a more prevailing Judeo-Christian ethic in the country.  This affected literature—even if the author was not a professing Christian—in a profound way, because the ethic sees the human as a spiritual being, and the author thus writes to a more important part of the reader. He was trying to stir up, as C.S. Lewis said “something noble in the heart of the reader.”

Modern literature, in contrast, is born of an era suffused with Darwinism.  It sees the person not so much as a spiritual being, but as a functional conglomerate of bio-chemical reactions ruled from the brain. Thus, modern books speak mostly to the reader’s brain.

2) The great books, as we said, tried to stir up the reader’s heart. To do this, the author engaged the reader through compelling story, the same method Jesus used when speaking in parables. Likewise, most of the Bible itself is in narrative/story form, as God reveals Himself to and through people. Our Creator surely knows that we engage with and relate to story. We always want to hear what happened next! Thus, God’s Word is not a dry and impersonal dissertation or lecture.  It does not speak just to our brains, but to our hearts.

Modern literature, in contrast, is rarely narrative. It is not story. It is usually a factual and impersonal download of data. Open a modern book and you will see! Either each two-page spread (as in a DK book) is its own separate unit, or, if the book has more continuous text, it is broken up with frequent side-bars, inserts, and graphics. This is because the text itself is mechanistically mental, and is not usually gripping to the reader’s heart. Reader attention must instead be attempted through constant pictorial/graphics stimulation. In fact, most of the two-page-spread books I mentioned contain almost no connected text. Rather, they feature a strong central photograph, surrounded by smaller photos, each with a little subtext/blurb. The information is utterly fragmented, and is not contained inside a memorable narrative.

So often, I have observed that children will, at first, reach for a visually-oriented book, but I will gently persist in tempting them with an older, more narrative book. Soon they become curious about my excitement, and try the book gem. Invariably, the child comes back to me glowing! They rush to tell me about whatever creature or historical event was covered in the book, and they gush with fascination . . . and information!Effortlessly, they sing out, unbeknownst to them, all the scientific/historical/mathematical/geographical particulars which were in the story, because these had meaning and connection in the overall “story” of the eagle or siege or exploration. Yes, “living books” contain much information—so “story” does not necessarily mean “fiction”—but that information “builds up” toward bringing the topic to life, as it also elevates nobler ideas. This is much superior to modern books which “break down” the topic until it is merely dead factoids. Kids thus illuminated never reach for a “modern-style” book again. Now they want the narrative “good stuff!”

3) Earlier books do not burden children with gruesome details of cultural failure. Yes, these books include slavery, war, and hardship, but not in a way that crushes the children under the full brunt of human failure. When a child is not old enough to address a social ill, I personally feel it is unfair and unnecessary to burden them with the fullness of that reality. The younger the student, the better I feel it is when talking about slavery or war or hardship, to instead focus on the courage of a particular individual walking through that time, or the efforts caring people exert in an effort to solve the crisis.

I’ve really been quite shocked at how modern books discourage children about the world. In an attempt to teach them “sensitivity” at a young age (a worthy goal, but only if done rightly), they instead seem to point up one victim after another, and then lay blame. Modern government is often shown to be the only means of protection from “bad guys” and the only force capable of offsetting past errors. Almost never is a negative situation seen to result from a turn against Judeo-Christian principles.

4) Earlier literature, due to that aforementioned desire to have the reader engage deeply, often placed fictional children in real historical situations and with real historical figures, so they could “vicariously experience” the realities of an event or person’s life through an age-similar character’s eyes. This “historical fiction” was produced in both fantastic quantity and quality during the “Golden Age,” and even the biographies tried to include youth participants for the sake of young readers.  

Two more characteristics of these good books are worth noting:

• Biography/historical fiction was plentifully produced in the “Golden Age” because history was, correctly, deemed as worth knowing. It was still believed that it could show to children the great lessons taught by the past, for what was true then, would still be true now. As Darwinism, though, creeps more and more into children’s literature, with it comes the unspoken view that the past is of no importance, for humans have progressed beyond those eras. Post-Darwinist children’s literature, then, focuses on the “heroes” of today, the ones who have achieved success because they adapted to the demands and desires of modern culture. These “heroes,” then, are usually movie stars, pop singers, and left-leaning politicians. Check out the website of any modern children’s publisher, and you’ll see what I mean! You can find many biographies of Britney Spears, Spike Lee, or Jesse Jackson. Now, try to find one about Johannes Kepler or William Wilberforce. No can do . . . .
• You’ll notice that the young characters in the historical fiction and biography of yesteryear were not at odds with adults. They looked to them for insight, direction, and protection. In contrast, most youth characters in modern literature are left adrift by self-focused parents, and must alone figure out “what works for them.” Not only is adult input rare, but it is implied that there are no timeless truths needed for quality life, so that a young person can, based on only his own experiences, devise a worldview compatible with his personal preferences.

Well, I could go on and on, but you will have already discovered the greatness of these earlier books, or you wouldn’t be considering making your collection available to others as a library!  So, I am preaching to the choir! 

This post is part of our Ask The Librarian series, a Card Catalog Project. You can find more articles like this one here. And, we would love to connect with you! You can find us on Facebook, here.