Book Tree - Exodus Books

Store Location

Unlike many books of its kind, The Book Tree doesn't waste time trying to tell you why reading is important, what makes a good story, or how the authors came to be interested in making a list of their favorite books—all that's relegated to the brief, straightforward preface. Instead, mother Elizabeth McCallum and daughter Jane Scott simply provide lists of titles accompanied by short synopses to whet your appetite.

The authors are Christian, and often they'll point out ethical or spiritual elements of the books they've chosen to include, but this isn't a "build-a-Christian-worldview-through-literature" kind of book. It's simply a guide to great literature for preschoolers, elementary and middle school students, and high school kids, divided into age-appropriate chapters for easy reference.

Six chapters are divided (very broadly) by grade-level and genre:

Preschool Literature
Elementary School Fiction
Middle School Fiction
Elementary & Middle School Biography
High School Fiction
High School Biography

Some parents will no doubt be surprised by the age-groups to which some titles are assigned. For instance, Anne of Green Gables is included in "Elementary School Fiction," and in middle school kids are supposedly reading Dickens and H.G. Wells. No doubt some students will be advanced enough for this timeline, but others will not; use your judgement, and don't adhere to the recommendations slavishly.

By high school, students should be reading almost exclusively "great books," and this list reflects that: recommended titles in the last two chapters include everything from Quo Vadis and David Copperfield to Foxe's Book of Martyrs and The Screwtape Letters. Many may balk at this level of reading, but if kids are taught a love of reading from an early age, they'll be ready for (and wanting) a challenge when they get older.

Three indexes covering titles, authors, and subjects help parents navigate quickly, finding similar books or works by one author. Older students can probably use The Book Tree on their own, finding books that sound interesting to them. This isn't school-related, and there aren't discussion topics or anything to help guide study; the point is to get kids reading, and to get kids to enjoy reading.

Most of the books you'll find in The Book Tree are titles we carry at Exodus Books; many of them are among our staff favorites. We've listed what we have below, though if you find one we don't have we'd love for you to suggest it, and we'll do our best to bring it in. If you want kid who love literature but don't know where to start, this is a fantastic and easy-to-use resource you can use for many years to come.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

Did you find this review helpful?

Parent Categories

Fiction & Literature

Doorways to Great Reading

Book Tree

Book Tree

52 Items found Print

Active Filters:

Kindergarten (Ages 5-6)

	All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan from HarperCollins for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack from Sunburst Book Animal Realistic for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Around the Year by Tasha Tudor Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks for Preschool-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	Around the Year by Tasha Tudor from Simon and Schuster for Preschool-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade 1953 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $5.99
	Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey from Puffin Books Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1949 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey from Viking Press Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1949 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99
	Book Tree A Christian Reference for Children's Literature by Elizabeth McCallum & Jane Scott 2^nd edition from Canon Press for Preschool-12th grade in Recommended Book Lists (Location: LIR-REC) $17.10
	Caps for Sale A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for Nursery-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss & Crockett Johnson from HarperCollins Humorous Book on Botany for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.50 (5 in stock)
	Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss & Crockett Johnson from HarperFestival Humorous Book on Botany for Nursery-Kindergarten in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD) $9.99
	Chicken Soup With Rice by Maurice Sendak from HarperCollins for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.95
	Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey Deluxe 20th Anniversary Edition by Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by P. J. Lynch 20th Anniversary from Candlewick Press in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
	Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-6th grade 1955 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $5.99
	Curious George by H. A. Rey 36th printing from Houghton Mifflin Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Gift of the Magi by O. Henry from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Gift of the Magi by O. Henry from Picture Book Studio Realistic Fiction for Nursery-2nd grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
	Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein from HarperCollins for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99
	Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
	Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O'Neill from Doubleday & Company for Preschool-3rd grade in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
	Happy Little Family Fairchild Family Series #1 by Rebecca Caudill from Bethlehem Books for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.95
	Happy Little Family Fairchild Family Series #1 by Rebecca Caudill 1^st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Happy Little Family Fairchild Family Series #1 by Rebecca Caudill, illustrated by Decie Merwin 1^st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson from HarperCollins Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Henny Penny by Paul Galdone from Sandpiper Books for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne from Puffin Books Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne from Dutton Children's Books Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $19.99
	Little Bear An I Can Read Book Level 1 by Else Minarik & Maurice Sendak from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $5.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
	Little Bear Collection by Else Minarik from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
	Little Engine That Could - Original Edition by Watty Piper from Platt and Munk Publishers Personification Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Preschool-Kindergarten in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD) $8.99
	Little House by Virginia Lee Burton from Sandpiper Books Personification Stories for Preschool-3rd grade 1943 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction, Rhyming Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1940 Caldecott Honor Book in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $9.99
	Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey from Puffin Books Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1942 Caldecott Medal winner in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $9.99
	Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey from Viking Press Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1942 Caldecott Medal winner in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $19.99
	Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Burton from Houghton Mifflin Personification Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney from Puffin Books Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey from Puffin Books Realistic Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1953 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey from Viking Press Realistic Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1953 Caldecott Honor Book in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $18.99
	Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall from Puffin Books Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1980 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Runaway Bunny by Margaret Brown & Clement Hurd from HarperCollins for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Runaway Bunny by Margaret Brown & Clement Hurd from HarperFestival for Preschool-2nd grade in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD) $8.99
	Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats from Puffin Books Poetry for Kindergarten-2nd grade 1963 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats from Scholastic Inc. Poetry for Kindergarten-2nd grade 1963 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $1.50 (1 in stock)
	Stone Soup by Marcia Brown 2^nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1948 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack from Grosset & Dunlap Animal Realistic for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $5.99
	Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf from Puffin Books Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf from Viking Press Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne from Puffin Books Poetry for Kindergarten-4th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard 1961 Redesigned from E.P. Dutton & Co. Poetry for Kindergarten-4th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Wise Words Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life by Peter Leithart 3^rd edition from Canon Press for Kindergarten-5th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $15.00
	Wise Words Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life by Peter Leithart from Holly Hall Publications for Kindergarten-5th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Connect