Reading list for home schooling families

Suggested Literature by Grade and Topic

These are books we have used and loved. As I read more
(or remember more)
I'll add to the list.
This IS a work in progress!

K-2

3-4

5-6

7-9

10-12

All ages

Books listed under historical titles are approximately in order
according to historical context.

Please remember these are only suggestions and that I'm not finished!

ONE MORE NOTE: I do not adhere to the values and standards put out in some of these book. But ones that I feel challenge my values and standards are ones that give me the opportunity to share with my children what I feel and believe. I have included in these lists books that fit that category. You should read these books before selecting them for your children to read. I have read every book in these lists.

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K-2
We read aloud as well have our children read silently.
Some of these books are most certainly for reading aloud
at this level. In that case I have indicated so.

American History
If you Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 (and ALL the other IF YOU .... books. Some listed below.)

The Josefina Story

If You Lived with The Hopi

Sam the Minuteman

George The Drummer Boy

Aaron and the Green Mountain Boys

Buttons for General Washington

George Washington's Socks

George Washington's Mother

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie

Grandpapa and Ellen Aroon (Wonderful book about Thomas Jefferson and one of his granddaughters. Read aloud)

If you Lived with the Cherokee

The Drinking Gourd

The Long way to a New Land

The Long way Westward

The Courage of Sarah Noble

Little House in the Big Woods (read aloud... Its great for family time!)

If You Lived in the Alaska Territory

Pioneer Bear

World History

Hannibal and His 37 Elephants

St George and the Dragon

Greek Town

(More Coming Soon)

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For fun (and character)
The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe (read aloud) and the rest of the series.

The Children's Book of Virtues (Read aloud)

Frog and Toad

The Velveteen Rabbit

The Giving Tree

The Knight Who Was Afraid of the Dark

I Love you the Purplest

ALL of the Jan Brett Series (I love them! Your kids will too)

The Fire Cat ( Warning, once you read this to a 5 or under, you'll have to read it over and over and over again until you know it by heart. "He was not a good cat. He was not a bad cat....")

Curious George (and the entire series)

The Ghost Train

The Littles Take a Trip (and the entire series)

Sir Small and the Dragonfly

Albert The Albatross

Little Bear's Visit

Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia (and other stories)

A Chair for my Mother

Strega Nona (and others in the series)

My Father's Dragon

The Railway Children (Read aloud perhaps)

Any of the Berenstain Bear books

Any of the Dr. Suess Books

Science

Hurricane

How Much is a Million?

Matthew's Meadow

Hungry, Hungry Sharks

All of the Magic School Bus Books are good resources

Grades 3-4

For Fun and Character
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (if you haven't read it already aloud and if you have, maybe your child should the series silently now. In my opinion, there's little better!)

Charlotte's Web

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Trouble with Tuck

The Borrowers

The Adventures of Nicholas

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (read aloud or 5th grade)

Nate the Great (and the series)

Encyclopedia Brown (and the series)

Kittens in the Kitchen (and the rest of the Animal Ark series. I like these because the modern day kids are never watching Tv but instead are always active in the community!)

The Berenstain Bear Scouts Series

The Voyage of Dr Doolittle

American History

Our Country's Founders

Justin Morgan Had a Horse

What's the Big Idea Ben Franklin?

King George's Head is made of Lead

The Boston Coffee Party

Why don't you get a Horse Sam Adams? (and all the rest of this series by Jean Fritz. Its a wonderful way to teach the Revolutionary War and the kids don't forget because the stories are so readable.)

Songs and Stories from the American Revolution

Our Country's Founders

Robinson Crusoe (was popular to read by our founding fathers)

Slumps, Grunts and Snickerdoodles

Paddle to the Sea

The Riddle of Penncroft Farm

Little House on the Prairie

Rascal

The Wolfling (You've gotta read this book!)

The Beatinest Boy

A Family Apart (and the rest of the Orphan Train Series)

Young Indiana Jones and the Plantation Treasure (and the next three in the Series.... The others I did not like.)

All-of-a-Kind Family

The Gold Cadillac

The Well

World History

Tales of a Chinese Grandmother (Read Aloud)

The Apple and the Arrow

Chaunticlear and the Fox

How the Leopard Got his Spots and Other Stories

Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest

Heidi

(More Coming)

Science

Mathematicians are People Too! (Books one and two. Excellent read for learning about the history of math and science. I love these books!)

Miss Pickerell goes to the Arctic (not exactly Science but cute and a fun read)

One Day in the Woods (and the rest of the series)

(More Coming)

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Grades 5-6

For Fun and Character

The Moffats

Pat of Silverbush

My Side of the Mountain

Wise Child (and Juniper)

Dragon's Milk

American History

The Birch bark House

Diary of an Early American Boy

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Printer's Apprentice

David Bushnell and his Turtle

Path of the Pale Horse

Thomas Jefferson; Father of our Democracy

Silver for General Washington

Sequoyah: Leader of the Cherokees

Streams to the River, River to the Sea

The Rest of the Little House and most especially
FARMER BOY

The Sign of the Beaver

Tom Sawyer

Freedom Train: The Story of Harriet Tubman (Our family has read this several times in several different grades.)

Confederate Spy Stories ( I don't call this book especially educational but I know my oldest son couldn't put it down.)

Little Women

Amos Fortune, Free Man

Where the Red Fern Grows

Mountain Born

The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk

Julie of the Wolves

Shiloh

Old Yeller

And Now Miguel

Strawberry Girl

World History and Cultures

The Bronze Bow

Shen of the Sea

The Samurai's Daughter

The Door in the Wall

Just So Stories

The Trumpeter of Krakow

Call it Courage

Island of the Blue Dolphins

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (simply SPOOKY!)

The Secret Garden

The Little Princess

Sherlock Holmes

Black Beauty

At Her Majesty's Request

Anne of Green Gables (yes, even boys! Victorian History and character.)

Number the Stars (be sure to read first and discuss with your child).

The Hiding Place (Might be a little mature so I'm listing it again for high schoolers.)

The Avion My Uncle Flew (This was SUCH a neat book. It is a mystery set in France. An American boy comes to stay with his French uncle just after the war. The book begins in English and ends in French. Don't worry, both you and your child will be able to read the basic French by the end of the story. I only wish I had a pronunciation guide in front of me as I tried to read this aloud.)

Science

Whalesong

Bill Nye the Science Guy's Big Blue Ocean

Make it Work: Oceans

Seashore (Eyewitness book)

(More Coming Soon)

Simply Good Reads for Kids

From the Mixed -Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

The Mouse and The Motorcycle (and the others in the series)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The Dark is Rising, Greenwitch and the rest of this series. Sean read the entire series in five days.

Gone-Away-Lake

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Grades 7-9

For Fun and Character

A Wrinkle in Time (and the rest of the series)

The Hobbit (and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

All Creatures Great and Small (and all of Herriot's books)

The Swiss Family Robinson

American History

Ride the West Wind (be sure to read it first so you can discuss certain mature topics)

A Light in the Forest

The Beaded Moccasins (Reading level is 5.6 but mature content makes it better for 7th in my opinion.)

Carry On Mr. Bowditch

Johnny Tremain

Sarah Bishop

Lincoln: a Photo biography

Riffles for Watie

Sing Down the Moon (read first and be ready to discuss content. An important book to read in my opinion.)

Sounder

Summer of the Monkeys

ANY of the JESSE STUART books

The Call of the Wild

White Fang

You Want Women to Vote, Lizzie Stanton?

The Well

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry

The Gold Cadillac (Can you tell I like this author very much?)

World History and Cultures

The Lion in the Gateway (Trojan and Greek War)

The Master's Men (This is an old book and hard to find. The library copy was falling apart. )

Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali

Stories of the East from Herodot

12th Night

The Ramsay Scallop

The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day

The Flame of Fire

Magellen and the Exploration of South America

Rats, Bulls and Flying Machines

The Prince and the Pauper

Oliver Twist

Exploration into Africa

The Road From Home (Armenian extermination.. Please read first.)

Escape From Warsaw

Ann Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

God's Smuggler (Be sure to read first to be able discuss mature topics)

The Outlaws of Sherwood

Science

Fit Kids

Owls in the Family

The Girl of the Limberlost

Simply Good Reads

A STring in the Harp

How to Be a Perfect Stranger (non fiction briefly describing many religions and Christian denominations)

The Old Man and the Sean

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

The Incredible Journey

My Side of the Mountain

Treasure Island

Redwall

Fahrenheit 451

The Black Cauldron

The Best of Father Brown

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Pride and Prejudice

Dealing with Dragons (and the series)

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Grades 10-12

For Fun and Character

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (if you haven't already read it)

American History

The Scarlett Letter

The Crucible

The Last of the Mohicans

Audobon By Himself

The Peaceable Kingdom; An American Saga. (Jan De Hartog)

Those Who Love (I love this book about Abigail and John Adams!)

Undaunted Courage (the book on tape is great to listen to on a trip)

The Dark Frigate

The Day Lincoln Was Shot

The Red Badge of Courage

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

In the Days of Victorio

When Legends Die

The Education of Little Tree (by now most have heard of the controversy surrounding the author. Perhaps a study of him is in order before reading the book. Then the contrast between his history and the book's themes will be even greater. I love this book because it is similar to my family's story. It is a work of fiction as far as researchers can tell. Still, the quality of the prose makes it a special book. )

Momma's Bank Account

Life With Father

Cheaper by the Dozen

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The Thurber Carnival

The Great Gatsby

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Yearling

Brave Men

World History

The Odyssey and the Iliad (also consider for 8th and 9th graders)

Hamlet

The Merchant of Venice

The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael (a series of mystery books by Ellis Peters. Brother Cadfael is a Welsh monk who was a crusader as a young man)

Romeo and Juliet

Macbeth

I, Juan De Pereja

Emma

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Eyre

Hard Times

A Tale of Two Cities

Great Expectations

Exodus and Trinity by Leon Uris

Keys to the Kingdom (A Catholic Priest's life in China)

The Good Earth

Homesick (Jean Fritz writes about her childhood)

The Hiding Place

Science

A Sand County Almanac

The Wilderness World of John Muir

(More Coming Soon)

A Good Read

The Sword of Shannara

(More Coming Soon)

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Book Links:

Amazon.com (I do get compensation if you click this link and then order a book. Please do not, though, feel obligated to buy from Amazon. We use the thrift store! You might want to copy this list and carry it with you when you go! I just love serendipity and a trip to the thrift store is a lesson in it!)

Chinaberry

Greenleaf Books This is one terrific company!