Before I jump into the importance of great literature, let me give you a little background. When I was young, my mother wanted me to read good books. She gave me my own copies of things like Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. I devoured them and developed a love for reading. However, as I grew older, my experience with classic literature came to a halt. I was not interested in the selections we were supposed to read in my English classes, and I somehow managed to pull off satisfactory grades without ever reading the assigned books. I still loved to read, but had no one to guide my choices. I would go to the library and check out whatever my friends were reading—usually romance novels with a little bit of historical fiction thrown in. That was where my experience with great literature ended.

Fast forward fifteen or twenty years and I unexpectedly found myself homeschooling, which re-exposed me to the value of classic books. At this point, I had six children, four of whom had been in public elementary school. I had wanted my children to be good readers, so I made sure we had lots of books in the house. We were regular customers at book fairs, and I let my children pick out things they wanted to read, usually what they saw their friends reading. As I reviewed our home library, I found lots of books, but little of substance.

I went on the war path, determined to purge our library of lesser quality selections and replace them with quality litereature. I put together a list of classics that ranged from picture books all the way to adult literature. I kept that list in my purse and, for the next several years, was obsessed with stopping at every used bookstore, slowly checking books off as I acquired them. I ended up with well over 300 classics. My girls devoured them, and each ended up with a very good literature background.

It was amazing to see just how much reading my girls did. One of my daughters had read the Tolkien books by age eleven. They all devoured Jane Austen at an early age and pressured me into reading one of her books. I will never forget trying to plow through Persuasion. I realized just how stunted my reading ability was when I ran into some of her 100-word sentences. I would forget what the sentence was supposed to be about by the time I got to the end of it. Not so with my girls. The language of Jane Austen flowed for them like they were born speaking it.

I have to be honest here. My two boys never got into the classics. They devoured Tom Clancy books and science encyclopedias. (This was well before Harry Potter and some of the popular youth writers of today). They read a lot, but never made it near to anything resembling a Jane Austen book. That said, I still consider our homeschool an overall success when it came to literature.

So, why does the study of good literature really matter so long as a child can read?

Studying great literature offers benefits that go far beyond simply “reading a good story.” It strengthens thinking skills, deepens empathy, and helps students understand both history and themselves. Here are some key benefits:

1 Builds Critical Thinking Skills. Reading great literature teaches children to analyze characters’ motivations, interpret themes and symbols, evaluate moral dilemmas, and compare different perspectives. This strengthens reasoning, inference, and evidence-based discussion—skills that apply to science, history, and real-world decision making.

2. Develops Empathy. Great literature allows readers to step into someone else’s experience, helping them better understand emotions, cultures, and historical experiences different from their own.

3. Expands Vocabulary and Communication Skills. High-quality literature exposes students to rich vocabulary, complex sentence structure, and figurative language. This improves writing, speaking, and comprehension skills—skills that are important across all academic subjects.

4. Teaches History Through Human Stories. Literature often reflects the time period. Reading Pride and Prejudice gives insight into the social expectations of early 19th-century England. Stories bring historical periods to life in a way that textbooks sometimes cannot.

5. Explores Big Life Questions. Great literature asks enduring questions such as:

• • What is justice?
  • What makes a good leader?
  • What is courage?
  • How do people respond to hardship?
  • What are the consequences of unchecked ambition?

These discussions help students reflect on their own values and choices.

6. Strengthens Imagination and Creativity. Literature stimulates imagination and creative thinking. Even older works encourage students to visualize settings, predict outcomes, and think creatively about alternative possibilities.

7. Connects Generations. Many classic works are read across generations. When students read them, they join a larger cultural conversation that has been ongoing for decades—or even centuries.

Studying great literature is an integral part of language arts and plays an important role in developing good writing. It also directly benefits the reader in all the ways discussed above. Make sure you have great literature in your home. Check good books out at the library. Talk about it. Share it. Make it an important part of your family’s life.