Labor Day: Books about Work

Readers: this is an adaptation of one of the first posts on Redeemed Reader, way back in 2011 (written by Emily Whitten, the “I” in the post below). The original post had more commentary but fewer recommended books; you can find the original post here.

“Of course ‘successful careers’ are important, but I would suggest thinking of them in the very different Christian paradigm of vocation.  Not, what career should I choose that will make me successful in the sense of making a lot of money, but what has God equipped me to do best and what is He calling me to do?   Most Christians find that the ‘successful career’ comes as a side-benefit to responding to God’s call, whereas if you follow success as an end in itself, you can lose your soul in pursuing it.”  Dr. Gene E. Veith, from our Interview with Dr. Veith: Part Two.

I thought it would be fun to think a little today about how to get your kids excited about work.  In general, our culture seems to have lost much of its understanding of the blessing of work.  Either work is an idol to which we go to find significance or we’re just “working for the weekend.”  That’s one reason I was so pleased that Dr. Gene Veith, Provost of Patrick Henry College, was willing to talk to us about education and work last May.  The word he used in his interview was “vocation.”  In an article entitled The Protestant Work Ethic with Ligonier Ministries, Dr. Veith explains:

‘Vocation’ is simply the Latinate word for “calling.” According to Luther, God calls each of us to various tasks and relationships. We have vocations in the family (marriage, parenthood), in the workplace (as master, servant, exercising our different talents in the way we make a living), and in the culture (as rulers, subjects, and citizens). We also have a vocation in the church (pastors, elders, organists, congregants), but the spiritual life is not to be lived out mainly in church and in church activities. Rather, when we come to church, we find the preaching of forgiveness for the sins we have committed in our vocations. Then, through Word and sacrament, our faith is strengthened. Our faith then bears fruit when we are sent back to our vocations in our families, our work, and our culture.

After reading Dr. Veith’s comments again, maybe I’ll talk about his ideas with my kids at breakfast today.  Ask them to think about how Sunday church—how the work of Christ on our behalf—has prepared them to do our work this week.  It would be a good exercise for me, too!

The Mary Poppins Effect

While there are many wonderful ideas and tools for teaching your kids the habit of loving God through work, one seems particularly relevant for our blog.  I can’t count the mileage we’ve gotten out of Mary Poppins’ “Spoonful of Sugar” song.  And that brings me to this principle: It’s easier to get your kids to work when they’ve read a book (or watched a movie) that glorifies hard-working kids or makes work fun in some way.  So, here’s a list of books we’ve reviewed that do just that.

Labor Day: Books About Work

We’ve added quite a few to the original list, but we’ve only scratched the surface! Enjoy these as a taste of books about work for kids of all ages.

PICTURE BOOKS

• Busy-Busy Little Chick by Janice L. Harrington: a Central African folk tale that is the reverse of “The Little Red Hen” (ages 0-4)
• The Prince’s Poison Cup: Perfect for discussing how Jesus’s work is the most important work of all. (Ages 4-9)
• Simonetta Carr’s biography of John Calvin: Christian biographies are one of the best ways to get kids excited about work.  (Ages 8-12)
• As Fast as Words Could Fly by Pamela M. Tuck: Typing can be work! (ages 5+)
• Brave Girl by Michelle Markel: About the shirtwaist makers’ strike of 1909 with amazing illustrations. (ages 7-10)
• One Hen by Katie Smith Milway: Economics and hard work in picture book format. (ages 4-8)
• One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul: Creativity and hard work. (ages 4-8)

CHAPTER BOOKS/MIDDLE GRADES

• Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke: About the blessings and hardships of honest work. (ages 7-10)
• The No. 1 Car Spotter by Atinuke: Work AND creativity in problem solving. (ages 7-10)
• New Shoes by Sara Varon: A hard-working donkey stars in this graphic novel chapter book. (ages 5+)
• Sam the Man and the Chicken Plan by Frances O’Roark Dowell: A 7-year-old wants a REAL job. (ages 7-10)
• Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins: A girl uses her gifts to bless her family. (ages 7-10)
• Close to Famous by Joan Bauer: Can a girl make the world’s best cupcake? (ages 11-14)
• The Year Money Grew on Trees: Part of Janie’s Free Enterprise series of reviews for 4th to 7th graders.
• The King of Mulberry Street by Donna Jo Napoli: ditto above
• Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen: ditto again
• Little Britches by Ralph Moody: Frontier living demands a good work ethic! (ages 10+)
• The Lemonade War by Jaqueline Davies: Siblings challenge each other, lemonade-stand style (ages 8-11)
• Sled Dog School by Terry Lynn Johnson: We’re ready to sign up for this young entrepreneur’s venture. (ages 8-12)
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kwakwamba (Young Readers Edition): A truly inspiring (true) story of one young man’s effort to bring electricity to his village. (ages 10-12)

TEENS/YOUNG ADULT

• Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt: About more than work, but this novel shows a teen persevering in a tough job. (ages 12+)
• Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer: A teen is determined to be the best shoe salesperson… (ages 12-16)
• Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri: Even urban cowboys have to work hard. (ages 12+)
• Becoming, Adapted for Young Readers by Michelle Obama: An enlightening look at the work behind the scenes in politics. (ages 14+)
• Maze Runner by James Dashner: The first book in this series has some surprising insights into the value of work. (ages 14+)
• The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (Young Readers Edition): These boys worked HARD. (ages 12+)
• Give Me Wings by Kathy Lowinger: A great (true) story revolving around initiative and vocation. (ages 12+)
• Radium Girls by Kate Moore (young readers edition): The harrowing, true story of radium poisoning and corporate irresponsibility. (ages 14+)
• The Martian by Andy Weir: Snarky, but tremendous insight into the value of resourcefulness and hard work. (ages 15+; classroom edition recommended)
• Audacity by Melanie Crowder: A novel-in-verse about the same Clara as the Brave Clara picture book above. (ages 15+)

Can you think of any other good books to get kids working?  I think The Secret Garden is pretty positive about gardening as well as tending the metaphorical gardens in one’s care.  Any others?  I’d love to add some to my library cue!