READING LIST
Compiled by Sally Michael
The following books are recommended books for passing on values or just for fun! This is not meant to be a comprehensive list but rather a starting point to help parents and children choose wholesome books. The age recommendations will vary depending on whether the child is reading the book himself or an adult is reading it to the child. The recommendations in the list are based on a child reading the book himself.
Preschool books have not been included—Due to their brevity, they are easy for a parent to quickly read and evaluate. Many preschool books are merely instructional (counting, colors, etc.) or fun; others (such as many of the Dr. Seuss books) are good tools for parents to use in passing on their values.
Most of the books on this list are fictional works, as parents more closely need to evaluate works of fiction than nonfiction.
EARLY ELEMENTARY
The Adventures of Pinocchio-- Carlo Collodi
Amelia Bedelia-- Peggy Parish
"B" is for Betsy-- Carolyn Haywood (series)
Bambi-- Felix Salten
A Bear Called Paddington-- Michael Bond
Betsy-Tacy-- Maud Hart Lovelace series
The Black Stallion-- Walter Farley (see sequels)
The Bobbsey Twins series-- Laura Lee Hope
The Boxcar Children series--Gertrude Warner
The Cabin Faced West-- Jean Fritz
Caddie Woodlawn-- Carol Brink
Calico Bush-- Rachael Field
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-- Roald Dahl Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Charlotte's Web-- E. B. White Stuart Little
The Trumpet of the Swan
A Child's Garden of Verses-- Robert Louis Stevenson
Chocolate Fever-- Robert K. Smith
The Chocolate Touch-- Patrick Skene Catling
The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit-- Beatrix Potter
The Courage of Sarah Noble-- Alice Dalgliesh
The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder series-- T.L. Tedrow Missouri Homestead
Children of Promise Good Neighbors Home to the Prairie The World's Fair Mountain Miracle The Great Debate Land of Promise
Eddie books-- Carolyn Haywood (series)
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective-- Donald Sobol (sequels)
Fables-- Arnold Lobel
The Fables of Aesop-- Aesop
The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew-- Margaret Sidney The Five Little Peppers Midway
Frederick Douglass: Freedom Fighter-- Lillie Patterson
Freedom Train-- Dorothy Sterling
Frog and Toad are Friends-- Arnold Lobel Days with Frog and Toad
Frog and Toad All Year Frog and Toad Together Mouse Soup
Mouse Tales, etc.)
Gentle Ben-- Walt Morey
The Giving Tree-- Shel Silverstein Where the Sidewalk Ends
Hailstones and Halibut Bones-- Mary O'Neill
The Happy Hollisters...-- Jerry West (series)
Hans Andersen-- His Classic Fairy Tales-- translated by Erik Haugaard (includes The Emperor's New Clothes, The Fir Tree, The Little Match Girl, The Nightingale, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Thumbelina, The Ugly Duckling, etc.)
Heidi-- Johanna Spyri
Henry Reed, Inc.-- Keith Robertson
Household Stories of the Brothers Grimm-- translated by Lucy Crane (includes The Elves and the Shoemaker, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc.)
James and the Giant Peach-- Roald Dahl
Just So Stories-- Rudyard Kipling
Little House in the Big Woods-- Laura I. Wilder Little House on the Prairie
Farmer Boy
On the Banks of Plum Creek By the Shores of Silver Lake The Long Winter
Little Town on the Prairie These Happy Golden Years The First Four Years
The Littles-- John Peterson (sequels)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle-- Beverly Cleary
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle-- Hilary Knight (sequels)
Misty of Chincoteague-- Marguerite Henry King of the Wind
Black Gold Born to Trot
Justin Morgan had a Horse Brighty of the Grand Canyon Sea Star
Stormy, Misty's Foal White Stallion of Lippizza
The Moffats-- Eleanor Estes The Middle Moffat
Ginger Pye Rufus M.
Pecos Bill
Mr. Popper's Penguins-- Richard Atwater
Paul Bunyan-- Esther Shepherd
Rabbit Hill-- Robert Lawson Tough Winter
Ben and Me Mr. Revere and I
The Red Fairy Book-- Andrew Lange (see sequels)
Sarah, Plain and Tall-- Patricia Machlachlan
Soup and Me-- Robert Newton Peck
The Tale of Peter Rabbit-- Beatrix Potter
Thee, Hannah-- Marguerite de Angeli
Trail of Apple Blossoms-- Irene Hunt
Treasures of the Snow-- Patricia St. John
The Velveteen Rabbit-- Marjorie Williams
The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle-- Hugh Lofting (sequels)
Winnie the Pooh-- A. A. Milne The House at Pooh Corner Now We are Six
LATE ELEMENTARY AND JUNIOR HIGH
Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series-- Robert Arthur
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass-- Lewis Carroll
All Creatures Great and Small-- James Herriot (see sequels) *Note: These delightful tales of a country vet’s work and life contain occasional swear words. More appropriate for junior high than for late elementary.
All Things Bright and Beautiful All Things Wise and Wonderful The Lord God Made them All Every Living Thing
All-of-a-Kind Family-- Sydney Taylor More All-of-a-Kind Family
A Papa Like Everyone Else
Anne of Green Gables-- Lucy Maud Montgomery Anne of Avonlea
Anne of the Island Anne of Windy Poplars Anne's House of Dreams Anne of Ingleside
Arabian Nights-- Andrew Lang
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever-- Barbara Robinson The Best School Year Ever
Big Red-- Jim Kjelgaard Irish Red: Son of Big Red Outlaw Red
Haunt Fox Lion Hound Trailing Trouble
Black Beauty- The Autobiography of a Horse-- Anna Sewell
The Book of Virtue—William Bennett
Born Free-- Joy Adamson
The Borrowers-- Mary Norton The Borrowers Afield The Borrowers Afloat The Borrowers Aloft The Borrowers Avenged
The Bronze Bow-- Elizabeth Speare
The Buffalo Knife-- William Steele
Calico Captive-- Elizabeth George Speare
Call it Courage-- Armstrong Sperry
Carry on Mr. Bowditch-- Jean Lee Latham
Cheaper by the Dozen-- Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Carey (*Note: this delightful book about a family with twelve children contains an occasional swear word.)
Cricket in Times Square-- George Seldon
The Diary of Anne Frank-- Anne Frank
Early Thunder-- Jean Fritz
Escape from Warsaw (also called The Silver Sword)--Ian Serraillier
Freckles-- Gene Stratton Porter
A Gathering of Days-- Joan Blos
A Girl of the Limberlost-- Gene Stratton Porter
Grimms Fairy Tales-- Grimms Brothers
Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates-- Mary Mapes Dodge
Hardy Boys series-- F.W. Dixon
The Hobbit-- J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings
Huckelberry Finn-- Mark Twain
Illustrated Classics-- These are recommended for reluctant or average readers who will not plow through original language and yet would still benefit from reading a classic, or for an avid reader who is not ready for the original version but needs challenging literature.
The Incredible Journey-- Sheila Burnford
Island of the Blue Dolphins-- Scott O'Dell
The Jungle Book-- Rudyard Kipling
Kidnapped-- Robert Louis Stevenson
King Arthur-- Sir James Knowles
Lassie, Come Home-- Eric Knight
The Light in the Forest-- Conrad Richter
Little Britches-- Ralph Moody (Occasional swear words; shown as inappropriate) Man of the Family
The Fields of Home The Home Ranch
Mary Emma and Company Shaking the Nickel Bush The Dry Divide
A Little Princess-- Frances Hodgson Burnett
Little Women-- Louisa M. Alcott Little Men
Jo's Boys Eight Cousins Rose in Bloom An Old Fashioned Girl
The Matchlock Gun-- Walter D. Edmonds
The Moral Compass—William Bennett
My Friend Flicka-- Mary O'Hara
My Side of the Mountain-- Jean George
Nancy Drew series (older editions)-- Carolyn Keene
National Velvet-- Enid Bagnold
Nothing is Impossible-- Dorothy Aldis (biography of Beatrix Potter)
Old Yeller-- Frank Gibson
Otto of the Silver Hand-- Howard Pyle
Papa’s Wife—Thyra Ferre Bjorn (also sequels)
(The story of a pastor, his wife and their many children) Papa’s Daughter
Mama’s Way Dear Papa
Pippi Longstocking-- Astrid Lindgren Pippi Goes on Board
Pippi in the South Seas Seacrow Island
Mischievous Meg
The Children of Noisy Village Rasmus and the Vagabond
Pollyanna—Eleanor Porter
The Prince and the Pauper-- Mark Twain
The Pushcart War—Jean Merrill
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm-- Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Rescuers-- Margery Sharp Miss Bianca
Miss Bianca in the Orient Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines
Rip Van Windle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales-- Washington Irving
Robin Hood-- Louis Rhead
Robin Hood-- Prince of Outlaws-- Bernard Miles
Robinson Crusoe-- Daniel Defoe
Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry-- Mildred Taylor
Sarah Bishop-- Scott O'Dell
The Secret Garden-- Frances H. Burnett
The Sign of the Beaver-- Elizabeth George Speare
The Story Girl—Lucy Maud Montgomery The Golden Road
The Story of My Life-- Helen Keller
The Story of Thomas Alva Edison-- Margaret Cousins
Swiss Family Robinson-- Johann David Wyss
Tales from the Arabian Nights-- H.J. Dawood
The Tales of Uncle Remus-- retold by Julius Lester Adventures of Brer Rabbit
More Tales of Uncle Remus
Tom Sawyer-- Mark Twain
Treasure Island-- Robert Louis Stevenson
Up from Slavery-- Booker T. Washington
A Walk Across America-- Peter Jenkins (see sequels)
The Wheel on the School-- Meindert DeJong
Where the Red Fern Grows-- Wilson Rawls
The Wind in the Willows-- Kenneth Grahame
The Witch of Blackbird Pond-- Elizabeth George Speare
The Wizard of Oz-- Frank L. Baum The Lost Princess of Oz
The Yearling-- Marjorie Rawlings
HIGH SCHOOL
The Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha-- Miguel de Cervantes (The Adventures of Don Quixote-- translated and abridged by Dominick Daly)
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Hound of the Baskervilles
Ben Hur-- Lew Wallace
Brady-- Jean Fritz
The Call of the Wild-- Jack London
The Dangerous Journey--
David Copperfield-- Charles Dickens
Death Be Not Proud-- John Gunther
The Deerslayer-- James Fenimore Cooper
Emily of New Moon-- Lucy Maude Montgomery Emily's Quest
Emily Climbs
The Good Earth-- Pearl S. Buck
Great Expectations-- Charles Dickens
Ivanhoe-- Sit Walter Scott
Jane Eyre-- Charlotte Bronte
Johnny Tremain-- Esther Forbes
King Arthur and His Knights-- Mary McLeod
The Last of the Mohicans-- James Fenimore Cooper
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow-- Washington Irving
Moby Dick-- Herman Melville
Oliver Twist-- Charles Dickens
Pride and Prejudice-- Jane Austen
Robinson Crusoe-- Daniel Defoe
The Scarlet Letter-- Nathaniel Hawthorne
Silas Marner-- George Eliot
A Tale of Two Cities-- Charles Dickens
Tenant of Wildfell Hall—Anne Bronte
Uncle Tom's Cabin-- Harriet Beecher Stowe
White Fang-- Jack London
Wuthering Heights-- Emily Bronte
CHRISTIAN BOOKS (* for mature readers) A Man Called Peter-- Catherine Marshall
Ambassadors for Christ: Portraits of Believers from All Walks of Life-- John Woodbridge
Angels in the Camp-- Jan Markell
Beautiful Girlhood-- Karen Andreola
*Beyond Betrayal-- Carolyn Koons
Beyond Ourselves-- Catherine Marshall
Bruchko-- Bruce Olson
Christy- Catherine Marshall
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe-- C. S. Lewis Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader The Silver Chair]
The Horse and His Boy The Magician's Nephew The Last Battle
Dangerous Journey (the story of Pilgrim's Progress)--Marshall Morgan
Dating vs. Courtship—Paul Jehle
God's Smuggler-- Brother Andrew
God's Smuggler to China-- Brother David
The Hiding Place-- Corrie ten Boom (sequel: Tramp for the Lord)
Hind's Feet on High Places-- Hannah Hurnard (sequel: Mountains of Spices)
*How Should We Then Live-- Francis Schaefer
I Kissed Dating Goodbye—Joshua Harris
*John, Son of Thunder-- Ellen Gunderson Traylor
Joni-- Joni Eareckson (sequel: A Step Further)
*Know What You Believe-- Paul Little
*The Knowledge of the Holy-- A. W. Tozer
*Letters to Karen-- Charlie Shedd
Little Children's Progress-- Helen L. Taylor
Lords of the Earth-- Don Richardson
Of Knights and Fair Maidens—Jeff and Danielle Myers
*Passion and Purity—Elizabeth Elliot
Peace Child- Don Richardson
The People Who Couldn't Be Stopped-- Ethel Barrett
*Pilgrim's Progress-- John Bunyan (also: The Holy War)
Promises for Kids from the Book-- Richard L. Osborne
Proverbs for Kids from the Book-- Tyndale House Pub.
Sower Biography Series-- i.e. Susanna Wesley, Johnny Appleseed, The Wright Brothers, Billy Sunday, Florence Nightengale-- different authors (i.e. David Collins, Charles Ludwig)
Stepping Heavenward—Elizabeth Prentiss
Tales of the Kingdom-- David and Karen Mains (sequel: Tales of the Resistance)
*Their Light Still Shines-- Lewann Sotnak
*This Present Darkness-- Frank Peretti (sequel: Piercing the Darkness)
Through Gates of Splendor- Elisabeth Elliot (sequel: The Savage, My Kinsman)
Torches of Joy-- John Dekker
