1. Encourage your children to read different kinds of literature including biographies, fiction, and nonfiction books from many different sections of the library.

2. Judge classics carefully. Not every classic is wholesome.

3. Choose authors wisely. Just because an author wrote one wholesome book doesn't mean all his or her books are wholesome.

4. Though this is not a hard-and-fast rule, the original version of a book is usually far superior to an abridged version. If children aren't ready for the original, sometimes it's best to wait until they are.

5. Don't feel bound by rigid age levels or book categories. It's ok for boys to read "girl" books and for girls to read "boy" books, and sometimes a teen finds it delightful to read a children's book. However, be careful not to put "mature" content in the hands of an innocent child. Just because a child has the reading ability to read a book doesn't mean he or she is spiritually or emotionally ready to read it.

6. Be careful of false worldviews. Authors of both fiction and nonfiction put their own worldviews into books. Make sure an author's worldview matches God's worldview.

7. Consider the maturity and special needs of each individual child. Not every child is ready for the same book at exactly the same age.

8. Make decisions based on God’s teachings.

9. Realize that every author is a flawed vessel made of clay.

10. Weigh the benefits versus the drawbacks of a particular book. Sometimes a book is great except for one or two pages. In that case, it can become a read aloud so you can edit as you go.

11. Choose books that are well written.

12. Include many books that tell good stories.

13. Choose books that inspire, teach, challenge, or comfort.

14. Choose books that honor God.

15. Choose books that are redemptive, books that take something bad or average and make something great out of it.

Don’t let your children read just anything. It is not true that it doesn’t matter what children read as long as they are reading something.

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute,
if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
- Philippians 4:8 NASB