Children's Books in a Montessori Classroom

From Montessori Album
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Maria Montessori took a view of children's literature that was was very different from most others' of her day and ours. She thought that it was best to avoid giving books to young children that had magic or other fantastical elements in the stories. She thought that children below a certain age would be confused about what things in the stories were real or not. She thought is was disrespectful to children to not provide them with an accurate portrayal of the world when they were still building there understanding of how the world worked.
Another useful criteria for selecting children's books comes from the 19th century British educator Charlotte Mason. She advised against books that used baby-talk, or dumbed-down stories, or that insulted the intelligence of the reader in any other ways. She referred to these books as "twaddle."
Please feel free to add books to the lists:

Realistic/Historical Fiction

Picture Books

  • Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson
  • Will I Have a Friend by Miriam Cohen
  • The Nutcracker Doll by Mary Newell DePalma
  • The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola
  • A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
  • The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
  • The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
  • I Love My Hair by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
  • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
  • A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams

Chapter Books

  • A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
  • Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Non-Fiction

Picture Books

Chapter Books

Biography

Picture Books

Chapter Books