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 Peterkin Papers-- Lucretia Hale

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

Homer Price-- Robert McCloskey

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

Stuart Little-- E.B. White

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 Black Arrow-- Robert Louis Stevenson

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

Invincible Louisa-- Cornelia Meigs

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
Peter Pan-- James Barrie
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

Understood Betsy-- Dorothy Canfield

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 abridfged 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

Kon-Tiki-- Thor Heyerdahl

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 *Foxe's Book of Martyrs-- John Foxe 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

Vanya-- Myrna Grant