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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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387 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Hardcover
500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by ??
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from David McKay Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Tintin Volume 1 (3-in-1)
Adventures of Tintin
by Herge
from Little, Brown & Company
Comic Book for 2nd-6th grade
in Adventures of Tintin (Location: COM-TIN)
$27.99
Africa Is Not a Country
by Margy Burns Knight
from Millbrook Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
African Critters
by Robert Haas
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
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)
Anak, the Eskimo Boy
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$8.95
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Rhyming Fantasy for 1st-4th grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street
by Dr. Seuss
15th printing 1967 from Vanguard Press
Rhyming Fantasy for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Andrew Henry's Meadow
by Doris Burn
from Philomel Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
Exodus Books 5-Star Rating
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Animalia
by Graeme Base
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Ann And Liv Cross Antarctica
by Ann Bancroft, Liv Arnesen
from Da Capo Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
Anselm of Canterbury
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Ark, The
by Margot Benary-Isbert
2021 Revision from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$23.00
Astrid the Unstoppable
by Maria Parr, translated from the Norwegian by Guy Puzey
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Athanasius
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Augustine of Hippo
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Babar the King
by Jean de Brunhoff
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.95
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)
Barber Who Wanted to Pray
by R. C. Sproul
from Crossway Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.39
Bartholomew and the Oobleck
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
for 2nd-4th grade
1950 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
50th Anniversary Edition from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Beauty and the Beast
by M. Charlotte Craft, K. Y. Craft
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Bedtime for Frances
by Russell Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Best Beekeeper of Lalibela
by Cristina Kessler
from Holiday House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Best Nest
by P.D. Eastman
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
BFG
by Roald Dahl
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 2nd-6th grade
Biggest Story
by Kevin DeYoung
from Crossway Books
for 1st-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Biggest Story Bible Storybook
by Kevin DeYoung, illustrated by Don Clark
from Crossway Books
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$27.99
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)
Blind Colt
Weekly Reader
by Glen Rounds
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Blind Colt
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Blind Colt
A World Famous Horse Story Library selection
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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
Bonjour, Babar!
by Jean De Brunhoff, introduction by Kevin Henkes
from Random House
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Boxes for Katje
by Candace Fleming
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Boy Who Drew Birds
by Jacqueline Davies
New title from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.99
Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
by Bryan Mealer, William Kamkwamba
Reprint from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Boy Who Loved Music
by David Lasker
1st edition from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Boy, a Mouse, and a Spider
by Barbara Herkert, illustrated by Lauren Castillo
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.99
Bright Star
by Gary Crew
from Kane Miller
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky
by Chief Seattle, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
1st edition from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Brother Hugo and the Bear
by Katy Beebe
from Eerdmans
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$17.99
Brothers at Bat
by Audrey Vernick
from Clarion Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Great Depression (1929-1939) (Location: HISA-20GD)
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)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Kate Seredy
from Macmillan
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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
Canterbury Tales
by Barbara Cohen & Trina Schart Hyman
from William Morrow & Company
Medieval Literature for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$17.50 (1 in stock)
Casey at the Bat
by Ernest L. Thayer & Christopher Bing
1st edition from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
2001 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
Cats in Krasinski Square
by Karen Hesse
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Champion of Children
by Tomek Bogacki
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Chee-Lin: A Giraffe's Journey
by James Rumford
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cheshire Cheese Cat
by Carmen Agra Deedy, Randall Wright
1st edition from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Simon and Schuster
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99 $14.50 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, Illustrated by Maria L. Kirk
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, unknown illustrator
from Henry Altemus Company
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Introduction to the World
by Heather Alexander
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 3rd-5th grade
in Introductory Geography (Location: GEO-INTRO)
$19.99
Child's Story Bible
by Catherine Vos
2nd edition from Eerdmans
for 2nd-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$28.00
Children from Australia to Zimbabwe
by Anna Rhesa Versola, Maya Ajmera
Revised ed. from Charlesbridge
for 1st-3rd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Children Just Like Me
by Anabel Kindersley, Barnabas Kindersley
from DK Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$19.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Children Just Like Me: Celebrations
by Anabel Kindersley, Barnabas Kindersley
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-5th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes
by Faye-Lynn Wu
Hardcover with jacket and disc from Tuttle Publishing
for 1st-3rd grade
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang
by Ian Fleming
from Random House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Cinderella
by K. Y. Craft
from Chronicle Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit (adapted)
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Don Daily
from Running Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Cody and the Fountain of Happiness
Cody series #1
by Tricia Springstubb, Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Come Look With Me
by Kimberly Lane
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-5th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
Cricket in Times Square
by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Crickwing
by Janell Cannon
1st edition from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Crippled Lamb
by Max Lucado
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Crippled Lamb
by Max Lucado
Reprint from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Crouching Tiger
by Ying Chang Compestine
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
D is for Down Under
Discover the World
by Devin Scillian, illustrated by Geoff Cook
1st Printing from Sleeping Bear Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
Dangerous Journey
by Oliver Hunkin (abridger)
from Eerdmans
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$25.00
Diego Rivera
by Duncan Tonatiuh
First Edition from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Digging-est Dog
by Al Perkins
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$9.99
Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
by Barbara Kerley
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
2002 Caldecott Honor Book, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$19.99
E Is for Ethiopia
World Alphabets
by Ashenafi Gudeta, Dama Boru, Betelhem Abate, Ataklti Mulu
from Frances Lincoln
for 1st-3rd grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
Easter Story
by Brian Wildsmith
from Eerdmans
Bible Stories for 1st-3rd grade
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Edward and the Pirates
by David McPhail
from Little, Brown & Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Eight Days
by Edwidge Danticat
1st edition from Orchard Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Elena's Serenade
by Campbell Geeslin
1st edition from Atheneum
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas
by Lynne Cox
from Schwartz & Wade
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Ember Falls
Green Ember #2
by S. D. Smith
from Story Warren Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Ember's End
Green Ember #2
by S. D. Smith
from Story Warren Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Emperor's Silent Army
by Jane O'Connor
from Viking Press
for 3rd-5th grade
2003 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in China (Location: HISMC-CHI)
Exodus
by Brian Wildsmith
from Eerdmans
Bible Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$21.00
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