Madeline
Recommended. Age: 6+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
A small, sunny classic. Madeline is brave in pain, Miss Clavel runs to help in the night, and the other girls visit her in the hospital. Nothing in it works against the faith, and the habit on Miss Clavel and the order of the house quietly echo convent life. The only reservation is slight: the girls envying a scar is a gentle joke worth naming.
For parents
Read aloud from 3. Most children can read it alone by 6 or 7. Common Sense Media says 4 and up. Ask why Madeline was not afraid in the hospital, and who we can ask for help when we are scared. Ask what the girls did to cheer Madeline up, and whom we could visit who is sick.