A friendly disclaimer…

Since Stories of Color is all about living books, you might be wondering why we decided to introduce film and television productions into the mix. Quite simply, we understand that children learn in a variety of ways and watching something can serve as a powerful way to reinforce what they gain through reading. Whatever value you may find from this list, we definitely encourage that these stories be watched as complements to their literature counterparts, not just replacements. In fact, you may wish to begin by browsing books that are complemented by film and television first.

Also, you’ll notice very quickly that we have also not shied away from adding R-rated films and TV-MA shows and miniseries to our watchlist. This does not necessarily mean we endorse every one of these productions or would even let our own children watch them.

However, as our mission states, we entrust you to make the best decision for your own family. In some cases, that may mean inviting your teenage children to watch more mature productions in the hope that such stories foster greater compassion in them—the chief goal of education, according to Charlotte Mason. In other cases, it may mean ignoring such titles and filtering by ratings that you find more age-appropriate. There’s nobody better than you to make that decision. The “Parents’ guide” link provided on most of the production listings should help you make a more informed, case-by-case decision.

In the end, we hope that these stories help support the representative connections your children make over the long haul. Who knows, a thought-provoking family movie night—and a conversation to follow—might be in your near future.

P.S. To search for just the right productions, our catalog search tips still apply, too.