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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.
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500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Acceptable Time
Wrinkle in Time Series #5
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Yearling
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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)
$12.95
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.95
Anna Karenina
Signet Classics
by Leo Tolstoy, translated by David Magarshack
from Signet Classics
Realistic Fiction for 11th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.95
Anne of Green Gables
Anne #1
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Anne of Green Gables
Anne #1
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Anne of Green Gables
Anne #1
by L. M. Montgomery
Reprint from Puffin Books
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Anne of Green Gables
Anne #1
by L. M. Montgomery
from Tundra Books (NY)
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Anne of Green Gables
Anne #1
by L. M. Montgomery
from Tundra Books (NY)
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Anne of Green Gables - Boxed Set
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$63.92
Baby Island
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Baby Sister for Frances
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from Atlas Editions
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Beauty
by Robin McKinley
First Paperback Edition, 2018 from Greenwillow Books
Fantasy/Retold Fairy Tale for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Best-Loved Doll
by Rebecca Caudill
from Henry Holt and Company
Personification Stories for
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill
Betsy-Tacy #3
by Maud Hart Lovelace
First Harper Trophy Edition from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy-Tacy
Betsy-Tacy #1
by Maud Hart Lovelace
2nd edition from HarperCollins
Family/Friendship Story for 3rd-6th grade
HarperTrophy
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Betsy-Tacy and Tib
Betsy-Tacy #2
by Maud Hart Lovelace
2nd edition from HarperCollins
Family/Friendship Story for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Yesterday's Classics
Christmas/Advent for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.95
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Houghton Mifflin
Christmas/Advent for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Black Stallion
Black Stallion #1
by Walter Farley
from Yearling
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Black Stallion Returns
Black Stallion #2
by Walter Farley
from Yearling
Realistic Animal Fiction for 5th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Blue Willow
Puffin Newbery Library
by Doris Gates
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
1941 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Borrowers
Borrowers Series #1
by Mary Norton
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1952 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Borrowers Afield
Borrowers Series #2
by Mary Norton
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Borrowers Afloat
Borrowers Series #3
by Mary Norton
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Borrowers Aloft
Borrowers Series #4
by Mary Norton
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Borrowers Avenged
Borrowers Series #5
by Mary Norton
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Brighty of the Grand Canyon
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
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)
$9.99
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)
$18.99 $8.00 (2 in stock)
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Cabin Faced West
by Jean Fritz
from Puffin Books
Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Caleb's Story
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Calico Bush
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1932 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Calico Bush
by Rachel Field
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1932 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Calico Captive
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Carolina's Courage
by Elizabeth Yates
from Bob Jones University Press
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
$15.95
Cinderella
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
3rd edition from Bantam Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
Coronation of Glory
Reformation Trail Series #12
by Deborah Meroff
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.95
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
Daddy-Long-Legs
Puffin Classics
by Jean Webster
from Puffin Books
Orphan Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Dancing Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Death Comes for the Archbishop
by Willa Cather
from Vintage Classics
Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Eight Cousins
Puffin Classics
by Louisa May Alcott
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Emily
by Michael Bedard
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Emily's Runaway Imagination (Dockray illustrations)
by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Tracy Dockray
2008th edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Emily's Runaway Imagination (Krush illustrations)
by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Beth and Joe Krush
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (2 in stock)
Emma
Penguin Classics
by Jane Austen
from Penguin Classics
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Emma
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$26.00
Emma
by Jane Austen
from Oxford University
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.95
Emma
by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$12.99
Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves
by Roy Maynard & Edmund Spenser
from Canon Press
Allegory/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$20.00 $9.00 (5 in stock)
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)
$8.99
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Frances Collection
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$37.44
Freckles
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Dover Publications
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Gathering of Days
by Joan Blos
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1980 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Girl of the Limberlost
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Dover Publications
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Golden
Once Upon a Time Series
by Cameron Dokey
from Simon Pulse
for 6th-9th grade
$8.99
Gone with the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Romance for 9th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$20.99
Grain of Rice
by Helena Clare Pittman
from Yearling
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-4th grade
$7.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Hannah
Stepping Stones: A Chapter Book
by Gloria Whelan
from Random House
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Heidi
Puffin Classics
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Eileen Hall and illustrated by Cecil Leslie
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Hidden Art of Homemaking
by Edith Schaeffer
from Tyndale House
for 9th-Adult
in Purposeful Homemaking (Location: SS-HOM)
$16.99
Hitty
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Personification story for 4th-8th grade
1930 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Honey for a Woman's Heart
by Gladys Hunt
from Zondervan
in Recommended Book Lists (Location: LIR-REC)
$6.30 (1 in stock)
Hundred Dresses
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Invincible Louisa
by Cornelia Meigs
from Little, Brown & Company
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1934 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$13.99
Irish Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Yearling
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
Anv from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
1981 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperTeen
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from Thomas Crowell
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Jane Eyre
Puffin Classics
by Charlotte Bronte
from Puffin Books
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.19
Jane Eyre
Everyman's Library
by Charlotte Bronte
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$22.40
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
from Dover Publications
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.40
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte, Illustrated by F. H. Townsend
from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.19
Justin Morgan Had a Horse
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-6th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry
1950th edition from Rand McNally
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$19.99
Laddie
by Gene Stratton-Porter
from Indiana University Press
Romance for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.95
Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon
Penguin Classics
by Jane Austen
from Penguin Classics
Realistic fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Lantern in Her Hand
by Bess Streeter Aldrich
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Let Me Be a Woman
by Elisabeth Elliot
from Tyndale House
for 10th-Adult
in Biblical Womanhood (Location: XFA-WOM)
$15.99
Library
by Sarah Stewart
from Square Fish Publishing
Rhyming Books for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
from Sunburst Book
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
$9.99
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