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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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334 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Mass market paperback
100 Cupboards
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Abel's Island
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-5th grade
1977 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
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)
Adam of the Road
Puffin Newbery Library
by Elizabeth Gray
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Adam of the Road
Puffin Modern Classics
by Elizabeth Gray
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Adventures of Robin Hood
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green, illustrated by Arthur Hall
from Puffin Books
Legends and Folklore for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Air Raid - Pearl Harbor!
by Theodore Taylor
from Harcourt
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$8.99
Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights
Puffin Classics
by N.J. Dawood, illustrated by William Harvey
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales for 2nd-6th grade
$7.99
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Penguin Classics
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Puffin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 2nd-7th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
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
Angel on the Square
by Gloria Whelan
from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $5.50 (1 in stock)
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 - 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
Anthony Burns
by Virginia Hamilton
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Ballad of Sir Dinadan
Squire's Tales Book 5
by Gerald Morris
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.95
Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Bambi
by Felix Salten
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99
Banner in the Sky
by James Ramsey Ullman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Beauty
by Robin McKinley
First Paperback Edition, 2018 from Greenwillow Books
Fantasy/Retold Fairy Tale for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
Behind Enemy Lines
Trailblazers
by Nancy Drummond
from Christian Focus Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Ben and Me
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Ben Franklin of Old Philadelphia
Landmark Series
by Margaret Cousins
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
from HarperCollins
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill
Betsy-Tacy #3
by Maud Hart Lovelace
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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
Betty Greene
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Big Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Holiday House
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
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
Black Beauty
Puffin Classics
by Anna Sewell
from Puffin Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Black Pearl
by Scott O'Dell
Reprint from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (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
Breadwinner, The
by Deborah Ellis
from Groundwood Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$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
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt!
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99
By the Great Horn Spoon!
by Sid Fleischman
from Little, Brown & Company
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 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 Pulse
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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)
Call it Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
1941 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Cay
by Theodore Taylor
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Centerburg Tales
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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
Chasing Vermeer
Balliet Art Mystery Series
by Blue Balliett, Brett Helquist (Illustrator)
from Scholastic Inc.
Mystery & Suspense for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Dover Publications
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 $1.50 (2 in stock)
Christmas Around the World
by Mary D. Lankford
from Mulberry Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Chronicles of Narnia - Mass-Market Boxed Set
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$55.00
Companion to Narnia
by Paul F. Ford
from HarperCollins
for 5th-10th grade
in Exploring Narnia (Location: LIR-NAR)
$17.99
Corn Grows Ripe
Puffin Newbery Library
by Dorothy Rhoads
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
1957 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Corrie Ten Boom
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
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
Cricket in Times Square
by George Selden
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Cricket in Times Square
by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams, foreword & updates by Stacey Lee
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$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)
Dandelion Fire
100 Cupboards Book #2
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Dark Is Rising
Dark Is Rising Sequence #2
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1974 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dark Is Rising
Dark Is Rising Sequence #2
by Susan Cooper
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1974 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Daughter of the Mountains
by Louise Rankin
from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure Animal for 3rd-7th Grade
Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1984 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Devil's Arithmetic
by Jane Yolen
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Doctor Dolittle's Post Office
by Hugh Lofting
from Mayflower Books
for 3rd-7th grade
1923 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Door in the Wall
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1950 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
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)
Ellen Tebbits
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Emily of New Moon
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Enchanted Castle
Puffin Classics
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H. R. Millar
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Encyclopedia Brown #01
by Donald J. Sobol
from Puffin Books
Mystery for 3rd-7th grade
in Encyclopedia Brown Series (Location: SER-ENC)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Endless Steppe
by Esther Hautzig
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Eric Liddell
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Escape From Warsaw
by Ian Serraillier, illustrated by Irwin Hoffman
from Scholastic Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage Carlson, illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1959 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Fantastic Mr. Fox
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Five Children and It
Puffin Classics
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H. R. Millar
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Five Little Peppers #1
by Margaret Sidney
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Freedom Train
by Dorothy Sterling
from Scholastic Inc.
Biography for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.99
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
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
Gentle Annie
by Mary Francis Shura
from Scholastic Inc.
Fictionalized Biography for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Gentle Ben
by Walt Morey
from Puffin Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Gladys Aylward
Christian Heroes: Then & Now
by Geoff & Janet Benge
from YWAM Publishing
Biography for 4th-7th grade
in Christian Heroes: Then and Now (Location: BIO-BENGE)
$11.99
Golden Goblet
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1962 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Good Master
Puffin Newbery Library
by Kate Seredy
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade
1936 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Great Brain
Great Brain #1
by John D. Fitzgerald
from Puffin Books
Humorous Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Biography for 5th-8th grade
1990 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Great Northern?
Swallows and Amazons #12
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Grey King
Dark Is Rising Sequence #4
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1976 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
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