Editor’s note: Suzanne Eitzen is the Explore Director, FDC (aka Elementary Library) Teacher, and Genesis Center Director for Elementary; she also heads up many of our mental health initiatives.
The Power of Books
I love books. I have loved books all of my life. Books have comforted me. They have challenged me. They have taken me on travels through time and around the world. They were my first portal and the beginning of my love for Germany; a love which transported me to a place where I met my husband, and a love that led us to long-term missionary service. Books were a secret language that I spoke with my children and now, they are a garden from which I nourish my grandchildren.
Books. I love books. Books inspire us. Books shape us.
Elementary students may have heard me say that I spent most of third grade in my school’s library. It’s true. My teacher didn’t know how to keep me busy, so she sent me daily to the library. To my happy place. To the spot where God spoke to me through the written word. What a delightful gift that I get to continue to daily spend my time in a library, surrounded by children who are curious and sensitive and wide-eyed as they discover the power of books themselves.
Earlier this fall, we hosted a Book Fair through I:55, a family-owned, faith-based organization whose vision is “to see every child delight in books that grow their minds, shape their hearts, and point them toward lasting truth, inspiring the next generation of readers.” What a mission statement. That is the cry of my heart, too, in my role as librarian! Through your generous purchases at the fair, we were able to raise nearly $3,000 for our school’s classroom libraries and the Falcon Discovery Center. Not only that, but we were able to confidently buy those books knowing they’d been curated by like-minded individuals who share our mission. Thank you!
As many of you know, we are also scheduled to host a Scholastic Christian book fair in just two weeks, during parent-teacher conferences. We stopped hosting Scholastic book fairs two years ago because more and more they were sending books that don’t align with our Christian values: books that may inspire and shape our children’s hearts, but not in ways we can support. So, imagine my surprise and tempered delight when Scholastic approached me last spring and asked if we would be willing to help them pilot a Christian book fair; a fair that would highlight books from three top Christian publishing houses and none of their own. After prayer and deliberation, we made the decision to host a family-based fair with the hope that we could gather feedback from you as parents.
Just before Fall Break, I had a conference call with our Scholastic representative and it became clear that their Christian book fair is not what they told us it was going to be and that the majority of the books they are sending us are their own. They may have curated the books to be a better fit for Christian communities, but it is not a Christian book fair. A tough decision needed to be made.
Sometimes we need to stop reading the book. We need to turn off the television. We need to walk out of the theater. We need to cancel the book fair. If we are going to be people of integrity, we need to be willing to make hard choices. Even when it is inconvenient, we need to be able to walk away. I love it when our students model that for us.
Last Monday, I received an email from an FRCS elementary parent. He shared with me that his son had decided to get rid of a book series by an author he loves because the content and characters had shifted and no longer aligned with his Christian values. The father said, we “did have a good discussion about the struggles of having to give up something good, like these fun stories, even when some of it stands for what is wrong.” It’s not easy to make those tough decisions, but what a confirmation this young man’s actions were for me. Deciding not to host the Scholastic fair was the right thing to do.
I am so grateful to be in community with families like this one; families who are having hard conversations about pertinent issues; students who are being trained to think critically and walk in integrity; parents who want to partner in the nurture and care of their children. Let’s continue to do it together, both in the classroom and around the kitchen table.
