Charlotte Mason, 'living books' and reading the classics responsibly with Amber O'Neal Johnston

"In my home, Charlotte Mason has an afro" - homeschooling mother of four, Amber O'Neal Johnston, talks about how she has adapted the Charlotte Mason philosophy to suit her children. We also talk about books as mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors, questions to ask when you are curating your home library, why we don't need to cancel the classics and so much more.

Books, people, websites mentioned:

• Heritagemom.com
• A Place to Belong: Celebrating Diversity and Kinship in the Home and Beyond (2022)by Amber O'Neal Johnston
• Soul School: Taking Kids On a Joy-Filled Journey Through the Heart of Black American Culture (2025) by Amber O'Neal Johnston
• Homegrown: Guidance and Inspiration for Navigating Your Homeschooling Journey (2025) by Amber O'Neal Johnston
• Saint Valentine (1992) by Robert Sabuda
• Charlotte Mason (educator and reformer)
• Stone Girl Bone Girl: The Story of Mary Anning (1999) by Laurence Anholt, illustrated by Sheila Moxley
• Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen
• The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson
• Frindle (1996) by Andrew Clement
• Wonder (2012) by R.J Palacio
• The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child's Bookshelf, Grace Lin TEDx Talk
• The Guardian Poll on Australia's best picture book
• The Little House on The Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Birchbark House (1999) by Louise Erdrich
• One Big Open Sky (2024) by Lesa Cline-Ransome
• The Cosby Show
• Pollyanna (1913) by Eleanor H Porter
• Charles Dickens (author)
• Stories of Colour
• Redeemed Reader
• Biblioguides
• Me and Mama (2020) by Cozbi A Cabrera
• Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (1987) by John Steptoe
• A Story About Afiya (2020) by James Berry and Anna Cunha
• Hip Hop Speaks to Children (2008) by Nikki Giovanni

More from Amber:

• Heritagemom.com
• Instagram - @heritagemomblog