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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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Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Trade Paperback, For Reading Aloud
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)
$17.95
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
America's Paul Revere
by Esther Forbes
from Sandpiper Books
Biography for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99
Ant and the Elephant
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Applewhites at Wits End
by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fir from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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)
$8.99
Bear Called Paddington
by Michael Bond
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Benjamin Franklin
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Best-Loved Doll
by Rebecca Caudill
from Henry Holt and Company
Personification Stories for
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Blue Birds
by Caroline Starr Rose
Dgs from Puffin Books
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Buffalo Bill
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Buford the Little Bighorn
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$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)
$9.99
Caboose Who Got Loose
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Personification Stories for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$10.99 $6.00 (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)
$90.93
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)
Columbus
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Cowardly Clyde
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Emily
by Michael Bedard
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 1st-6th grade
$7.99
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
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)
$24.99
Gardener
by Sarah Stewart & David Small
from Sunburst Book
Realistic fiction for Kindergarten-4th grade
1998 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
George Washington
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Half Magic
Half Magic Quartet Book 1
by Edward Eager
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
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)
$7.99
Island Boy
by Barbara Cooney
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Kermit the Hermit
by Bill Peet
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Legend of Luke
Redwall #12
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Leif the Lucky
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from University of Minnesota
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Lewis & Clark
by Steven Kroll
from Holiday House
Historical Non-Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Lewis & Clark (Location: HISA-19L&C)
$7.99 $4.50 (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)
$75.11
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)
$8.99
Little Pilgrim's Progress
by Helen Taylor
from Moody Press
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.99
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)
$8.99
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)
$9.99
Loamhedge
Redwall #16
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
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)
$6.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Long Patrol
Redwall #10
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
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)
$9.99
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)
$10.99
Making of a Knight
by Patrick O'Brien
from Charlesbridge
Picture Books/Historical Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Mariel of Redwall
Redwall #4
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Marlfox
Redwall #11
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Martin the Warrior
Redwall #6
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
May B.
by Caroline Starr Rose
from Yearling
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Medieval Feast
by Aliki
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$7.99 $4.50 (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)
$9.99
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)
$12.99
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)
$12.95
On to Oregon!
by Honore Morrow
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Outcast of Redwall
Redwall #8
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
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)
$12.95
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
Pearls of Lutra
Redwall #9
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes
by Jonathan Auxier
Reprint from Amulet Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.95
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)
$9.99
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)
$8.99
Sign of the Beaver
by Elizabeth George Speare
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Snow Treasure
by Marie McSwigan
from Dutton Children's Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Star-Spangled Banner
by Peter Spier
from Yearling
American History for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$10.99
Starry Messenger
by Peter Sis
from Square Fish Publishing
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
1997 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.99
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
Surviving the Applewhites
by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fir from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
The Egg
by M. P. Robertson
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
These Happy Golden Years
Little House Series #8
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Three Names
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Understood Betsy
by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
from University Press of New England
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Understood Betsy (abridged)
by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
from Bob Jones University Press
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
War Between the Vowels and the Consonants
by Priscilla Turner
from Sunburst Book
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Wise Words
by Peter Leithart
3rd edition from Canon Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
$15.00
Wise Words
by Peter Leithart
from Holly Hall Publications
for Kindergarten-5th grade
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