Homeschool reading lists
I was asked what some of the books were that we read in our homeschool, in addition to the literature books we purchased with our curriculum, and so today, I will share some reading lists with you. This isn’t a comprehensive list because some of the lesson plans were recycled over the years. I borrowed many from the library. Sometimes our books were history or science related, and other times they were based on the interests of the children.
Elementary reading lists
Kindergarten
I read these to my kindergartners:
Helpers from A to Z by Bobbie Kolman
Mail and How It Moves by Gail Gibbons
I Can Be a Police Officer by Catherine Matthias
Neighborhood Helpers by Jennifer Gillis
For some great picture books and other recommendations, check out this blog.
Second grade
Fiction
The Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron
More Stories Julian Tells by Ann Cameron
Julian, Secret Agent by Ann Cameron
Julian, Dream Doctor by Ann Cameron
Third Grade
Fiction
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
One of the Third Grade Thonkers by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Teddy’s Button by Amy Le Feuvre (Revolutionary War era)
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Stuart Little by E. B. White
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
Nonfiction
A Frontier Fort on the Oregon Trail by Scott Steedman
Young Observer Vampire Bats and Other Creatures of the Night by Philip Steele
The Life Cycle of a Frog by Angela Royston
Living Near a River by Allan Fowler
Living on the Plains by Allan Fowler
Living in the Mountains by Allan Fowler
Living in the Rain Forest by Allan Fowler
Living in a Desert by Allan Fowler
Polite Moments by Gary and Cathy Maldaner
Blizzards by Lorraine Jean Hopping
Now I Know All About Seeds by Susan Kuchalla
I Can Read About Weather by Robyn Supraner
John Smith and the Settlement of James Town by Robin S. Pook
Pocahontas by Lisa Sita
We got books from the library about Ben Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Noah Webster, about how animals talk, Engineers Everywhere, music composers, bicycle safety, and stranger safety also.
Fourth Grade
Fiction
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Blitz by Hetty Burlingame Beatty
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
Henry Higgins by Beverly Cleary
The Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling (We also watched the movie following the book.)
The Christmas Pony
Life with Lily by Mary Ann Kissinger and Suzanne Fischer
Leaving Gee’s Bend by Irene Latham
The Cricket in Times Square by George Seldon
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
Nonfiction
Lincoln Shot: A President’s Life Remembered by Barry Denneberg
Paper Clip Science Simple and Fun Experiments by Steven W. Moje
Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing Habitats Jim Arnosky
Crinkleroot’s Guide to Walking in Wild Places by Jim Arnosky
Amazing Space Facts
Daniel Boone by Katharine E. Wilkie
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon by Ellen Levine
If You Lived with the Sioux Indians by Ann McGovern
The First Thanksgiving by J. I. Anderson
The Story of Marquette and Jolliet by R. Conrad Stein
Up, Up, and Away: The Story of Amelia Earhart by Susan Canizares and Pamela Chanko
The Weather Tracker’s Handbook Explore the Changing Forces of Nature by Gregory C. Aaron
Plants Bite Back by Richard Platt
The Story of Ben Franklin by Eve Merriam
If I Grew Up with Abraham Lincoln by Ann McGovern
Abe Lincoln—Log Cabin to White House by Sterling North
If You Travelled on the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
Storm Chasers: Tracking Twisters by Gail Herman
The Life of a Butterfly by Robin Bernard
If You Sailed on the Mayflower by Ann McGovern
Let’s Play It Safe
Lewis and Clark: The Story Behind the Scenery by Dan Murphy
The Wright Brothers by Charles Ludwig
We also read about fire safety, life in the great ice ages, Sacajawea, Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King, George Washington Carver, Clara Barton, Jackie Robinson, Salk & Salem, Mother Theresa, Alexander Calder, Neil Armstrong, Samuel F. B. Morse, Tut’s Mummy, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, Robert E. Lee, Louis Pasteur, and P. T. Barnum. Check out your children’s and teen sections at the library.
Fifth Grade
Fiction
A Place for Peter by Elizabeth Yates
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge (A Watermill Classic)
Brave the Wild Trail by Milly Howard
Anna is Still Here by Ida Vos (after World War II)
Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop (WW II)
The Wilderness Family by Martin Quinn
Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
Nonfiction
How You Are Changing by Jane Graver
The Wonderful Ways Babies are Made by Larry Christenson
Noah Webster: A Man Who Loved Words by Elaine Cunningham
Little Pilgrim’s Progress by Helen L. Taylor
Middle School reading lists
Sixth Grade
Fiction
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
Seventh Grade
Fiction
The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis
Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis
The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis
Seven Alone (Originally called On to Oregon) by Honore Morrow, Revised by Phyllis Braun
On His Own by Horatio Alger, Jr.
Joshua’s Song by Joan Hiatt Harlow
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day by Scott O’Dell
Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Eighth Grade
Fiction
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
Both Sides of the Border by G. A. Henty
Nonfiction
Sex, Love and Romance, Sex Education from the Bible by Hugh F. Pyle
It Couldn’t Just Happen, Fascinating Facts About God’s World by Lawrence O. Richards
Money Matters for Teens Workbook (15 years +) by Larry Burkett
I shared a blog on the Storyteller Squad about biographies, you might like to read.
Other Books
Here is a list of books I read with them aloud as a group at some time during their homeschool years.
Rascal by Sterling North
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
The Moffats by Eleanor Estes
My Friend Flicka by Mary O Hara
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
From Dark to Dawn: A Tale of Martin Luther and the Reformation by Elizabeth Charles, edited and revised by James and Stacy McDonald
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Reflection of God’s Holy Land by Eva Marie Everson
The Mountain that Burns Within by Tad Hardy
Dry Bones and Other Fossils by Gary E. Parker
The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible by Paul S. Taylor
Books I read with my girls
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery
Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
Anne of Windy Poplars by L. M. Montgomery
Anne of House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery
Anne of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery
Rainbow Valley by L. M. Montgomery
Little House in the Highlands by Melissa Wiley
Little House by Boston Bay by Melissa Wiley
Little House in Brookfield by Maria D. Wilkes
Little Town at the Crossroads by Maria D. Wilkes
Little Clearing in the Woods by Maria D. Wilkes
On Top of Concord Hill by Maria D. Wilkes
Little House on Rocky Ridge by Roger Lea MacBride
Little Farm in the Ozarks by Roger Lea MacBride
In the Land of the Big Red Apple by Roger Lea MacBride
On the Other Side of the Hill by Roger Lea MacBride
Little Town in the Ozarks by Roger Lea MacBride
On the Ban of the Bayou by Roger Lea MacBride
Bachelor Girl by Roger Lea MacBride
The Ingalls Family of De Smet
Other books we read
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
My Antonia by Willa Cather
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace
The Women of Easter by Lee Curtis Higgs
In His Steps by Charles Monroe Sheldon
Aesop’s Fables
Summer Reading–Middle Grade
The Zucchini Warriors by Gordon Korman
The Barn Burner by Patricia Willis
Sparrow Hawk Red by Ben Mikaelsen
For more great books about science, see the blog that covers Apologia.
These are many of the books we read, but not all. You, too, can discover great books to read with your children and for them to read to you. I hope my lists have brought some books of your own to mind. Dig up some of your childhood favorites to share with your children. Above all, enjoy a variety of wholesome books. For more ideas for books for middle grade and young adult readers, check out the suggestions at the Storyteller Squad blog too. You’ll find them under the book reviews tab.
Happy reading with your children!
What are some books you have read with your children that you think should be added to the lists?
Photo by Guzel Maksutova on Unsplash.