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Doorways to Great Reading

If there's a one-world government, it's television. King of the Technological Age, he sits enthroned in homes around the world, a little box of images and sound emitting edicts to his unified followers from his electrical shrine. That description may be a bit overwrought, but the fact remains: more people these days would prefer to watch TV than read a good book.

Many parents are desperate to expose their kids to quality literature, whether it's a classic like Anne of Green Gables, a more recent novel like Mimus, or simply something other than the TV Guide. In response, a number of literature-based curricula have been developed, and in turn have become increasingly popular among both homeschool families and school educators.

As great and noble as this effort has been, there are a couple problems we see with the literature-curriculum approach: 1) literature is treated as curriculum, and 2) children aren't exposed to the depth and variety available because reading is limited to the curriculum suggestions. Consequently, a lot of children grow to dislike reading, associating it as they do with schoolwork and not having a good time.

We've accumulated many of the titles used by the major literature-based curriculum lines, and those products are among our best sellers. We're also not entirely opposed to the literature approach, but we also want to offer a much broader selection of literature, titles that don't find their way into the program guides but are nevertheless worth reading.

Numerous book lists, catalogues, and publishers (including many dedicated to reprinting the more obscure classic titles) have guided us in the construction of our fiction and literature sections. (Employees have also been an important factor in this process, and you can read about their favorites here.) Doorways to Great Reading collects the best of these lists in one place.

Discovering classic literature is more than just checking off titles from a master list, however. Though books like Honey for a Child's Heart, The Well-Educated Mind, and The Book Tree are great places to start and offer excellent guidelines, they are still jumping-off places. Developing the skills to find good books on your own (and imparting those skills to your children) is the end these books are supposed to help you achieve.

When Lucy Pevensie opened the wardrobe and found Narnia, her first experience with a snowbound landscape gave her little indication of the adventure and wonder she'd find there. Great books are the same way: the more you read, the more you realize how many are really out there, and the better you get at finding them.

If your adventure in the realms of literature hasn't started, or is still in its beginning stages, use the booklists you'll find here as maps of sorts, there to help you navigate but not to make the journey on your behalf. The travel is up to you, and whether you decide to explore Ben-Hur or The Wind in the Willows, it's travel that will take you far from your front door and back many times over.

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?
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115 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Trade Paperback, For Reading Aloud, In-Stock Books & Materials
Abraham Lincoln
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
75th Anniversary Edition from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Caldecott Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #2
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.01
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$11.04
Amos and Boris
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Ant and the Elephant
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Ashanti to Zulu
by Margaret Musgrove, Leo & Diane Dillon
from Puffin Books
Word Books for 2nd-5th grade
1977 Caldecott Medal winner
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$7.64
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.64
Bear That Heard Crying
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock & Helen Kinsey
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26
Best-Loved Doll
by Rebecca Caudill
from Henry Holt and Company
Personification Stories for
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$11.04
Billy and Blaze
by C. W. Anderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Birthday for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Blaze and the Forest Fire
by C. W. Anderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Blaze and the Gray Spotted Pony
by C. W. Anderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Blaze and the Lost Quarry
by C. W. Anderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Blaze and the Mountain Lion
by C. W. Anderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Blaze and Thunderbolt
by C. W. Anderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Blaze Finds the Trail
by C. W. Anderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Blaze Shows the Way
by C. W. Anderson
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Boy Who Held Back the Sea
by Thomas Locker
from Puffin Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Brave Irene
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Bread and Jam for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Buffalo Bill
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26
Buford the Little Bighorn
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Caboose Who Got Loose
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Personification Stories for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Chair For My Mother
by Vera B. Williams
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1983 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
Chester's Way
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.94
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$9.34 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$77.29
Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
Cinderella
by Marcia Brown (translator)
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1955 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26
Cowardly Clyde
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Doctor De Soto
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Dragons of Blueland
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #3
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.79
Elmer and the Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #2
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.79
Emily
by Michael Bedard
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
Emperor's New Clothes
by Virginia Burton, illustrator
from Sandpiper Books
Fairy Tale/Allegory for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.91
Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 1st-6th grade
$6.79
First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Floss
by Kim Lewis
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Animal Stories for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
by Arthur Ransome
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade
1969 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$21.24
Frances Collection
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$43.30
Gardener
by Sarah Stewart & David Small
from Sunburst Book
Realistic fiction for Kindergarten-4th grade
1998 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
George Washington
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26 $9.60 (1 in stock)
Glorious Flight
by Martin & Alice Provensen
from Puffin Books
Historical Non-Fiction/Picture Books for 1st-3rd grade
1984 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Half Magic
Half Magic Quartet Book 1
by Edward Eager
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.49
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill
from Bethlehem Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.01
House Is a House for Me
by Mary Ann Hoberman
from Puffin Books
Rhyming Stories for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World
by Faith McNulty
from HarperCollins
Non-fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World
by Marjorie Priceman
from Dragonfly Books
Humor for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Island Boy
by Barbara Cooney
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Kermit the Hermit
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26 $9.60 (1 in stock)
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from University of Minnesota
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.26
Lewis & Clark
by Steven Kroll
from Holiday House
Historical Non-Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Lewis & Clark Expedition (1801-1803) (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Library
by Sarah Stewart
from Square Fish Publishing
Rhyming Books for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Little House
by Virginia Lee Burton
from Sandpiper Books
Personification Stories for Preschool-3rd grade
1943 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
Little House - Full Color Trade Paper Set
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$79.82
Little House on the Prairie
Little House Series #2
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Little Red Riding Hood
by Trina Schart Hyman, retelling Grimm
from Holiday House
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1984 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Little Town on the Prairie
Little House Series #7
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Lon Po Po
by Ed Young
from PaperStar Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade
1990 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.94 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Long Winter
Little House Series #6
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.34
Madeline's Rescue
by Ludwig Bemelmans
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction, Rhyming Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1954 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$7.64
Making of a Knight
by Patrick O'Brien
from Charlesbridge
Picture Books/Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$6.76 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Many Moons
by James Thurber
2nd edition from Harcourt
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.80
Medieval Feast
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
by Virginia Burton
from Houghton Mifflin
Personification Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Millions of Cats
by Wanda Gág
from PaperStar Books
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Minn of the Mississippi
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$11.04 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Miss Rumphius
by Barbara Cooney
from Puffin Books
Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
More All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #3
by Sydney Taylor
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.01
Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea
by Cynthia Rylant
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Stories for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.09
My Father's Dragon
My Father's Dragon Trilogy #1
by Ruth Stiles Gannett
from Random House
Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1949 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.76 $4.00 (1 in stock)
New Coat for Anna
by Harriet Ziefert
from Random House
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Obadiah the Bold
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.46
Once a Mouse
by Marcia Brown
2nd edition from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1962 Caldecott Medal Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems
by Donald Hall
from Oxford University
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$11.01
Paddle-to-the-Sea
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1942 Caldecott Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$13.99
Paul Bunyan
by Steven Kellogg
from William Morrow & Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Petunia
by Roger Duvoisin
from Dragonfly Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
Prayer for a Child
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 1st-3rd grade
1945 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
Rachel and Obadiah
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.46
Rapunzel
by Paul Zelinsky
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade
1998 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.49
Roxaboxen
by Alice McLerran
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
Saint George and the Dragon
by Margaret Hodges & Trina Schart Hyman
from Little, Brown & Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-3rd grade
1985 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Sam, Bangs & Moonshine
by Evaline Ness
from Henry Holt and Company
Allegorical and Moral Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1967 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Sam, Bangs & Moonshine
by Evaline Ness
from Trumpet Club
Allegorical and Moral Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1967 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.20 (1 in stock)
Snow Treasure
by Marie McSwigan
from Dutton Children's Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Song and Dance Man
by Karen Ackerman
from Dragonfly Books
for 1st-3rd grade
1989 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.94
Star-Spangled Banner
by Peter Spier
from Yearling
American History for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$9.34
Starry Messenger
by Peter Sis
from Square Fish Publishing
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1997 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.64
Story of the World - Softcover Set
by Susan Wise Bauer
from Well-Trained Mind Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Story of the World (Location: HISCUR-SoW)
$62.84
Thanksgiving Story
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
1955 Caldecott Honor Book
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$8.99 $5.50 (2 in stock)
Thanksgiving Story
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
1955 Caldecott Honor Book
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$1.20 (1 in stock)
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