Family Stories

"Family stories" isn't really a recognized genre, but it should be. Sure, most novels deal with families on some level, but we aren't talking about the dysfunctional ones so common in modern (and Russian) fiction. For us, family stories are those that celebrate family life through a particular family's story, whether it's a Ma and Pa taking their girls across country in a covered wagon, an Austrian count saving his wife and kids from the Nazis, or a Jewish family in New York prior to World War I.

Tolstoy's famous observation that "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," is constantly disproved in these stories. Unhappy families are usually unhappy as a result of selfishness and sin, while happy ones enjoy remarkably diverse experiences that broaden each individual member and the whole family unit together. That's not to say happy families never suffer—they often suffer even more than others, but the difficulties bring them closer together and build character.

By extension, families who take heed of these real and fictional families' response to hardship will find themselves similarly bonded, thankful for each other instead of resentful, happy to sacrifice individual desires for the benefit of the group rather than demanding special favors. Other than Christ's Body, the family is the most important social group for Christians, and we prefer family stories that reflect a pursuit of godliness—the too-often-neglected Papa's Wife is an excellent example.

Some of the stories here are just for fun, though. Cheaper by the Dozen may not spur you on to piety, but it will make you laugh till your sides hurt. The Sarah, Plain and Tall books aren't churchy, but the love of Jacob Witting for his children and the woman who becomes their mother is instructive for us all. Family stories make good family reading, too, because the best ones appeal to each member. Besides, any activity that brings everyone together can never be considered a waste of time.

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196 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)
26 Fairmont Avenue
by Tomie De Paola
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
26 Fairmount Avenue
by Tomie dePaola
from Mondo Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
All Those Secrets of the World
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor; illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Follett Publishing Co.
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$34.00 (1 in stock)
B Is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
B Is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beans on the Roof
by Betsy Byars, illustrated by Melodye Rosales
1st edition from Delacorte Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona Collection Book 1
by Beverly Cleary
Reissue from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Bobbsey Twins #08
by Laura Lee Hope
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
Bobbsey Twins #08 (tweed)
by Laura Lee Hope
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
Bobbsey Twins at Home
by Laura Lee Hope
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bobbsey Twins in the Country
by Laura Lee Hope
Undated from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Boxcar Children
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
from Albert Whitman & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Boxcar Children (Location: SER-BOX)
Bracelet, The
by Yoshika Uchida
from PaperStar Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Busybody Nora
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 - Audio Book (CD)
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
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
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
Caddie Woodlawn's Family
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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)
Caleb's Story
by Patricia MacLachlan
1st Edition 2nd Printing from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Canada Geese Quilt
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.99
Canada Geese Quilt
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
from Cobblehill Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Candymakers
by Wendy Mass
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Carnival in Paris
by Natalie Savage Carlson
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Cartoonist
by Betsy Cromer Byars, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from Viking Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cathie Stuart
by Nora Tully MacAlvay
1958 2nd Printing from Viking Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$7.99
Chalk Box Kid
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from The Folio Society
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web - Full Color Edition
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Doctor Like Papa
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, Illustrated by James Bernardin
First Edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dream Days
by Kenneth Grahame
from Akadine Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dream Days
by Kenneth Grahame
from Ten Speed Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dream Days
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$6.95
Echo Mountain
by Lauren Wolk
from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Edward Eager's Tales of Magic
by Edward M. Eager
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.99
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
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)
Farmer Boy (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Farmer Boy - Audio CD
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Unabridged from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
Figgs & Phantoms
by Ellen Raskin
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
First Farm in the Valley
by Anne Pellowski
from Bethlehem Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.50
First Four Years (Pictorial Cover)
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Five Little Peppers & How They Grew
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Margaret Sidney
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Five Little Peppers & How They Grew
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Margaret Sidney, illustrated by William Sharp
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Five Little Peppers Abroad
Five Little Peppers #3
by Margaret Sidney
from Living Book Press
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
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
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Margaret Sidney, illustrated by Barbara Cooney
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Margaret Sidney
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Margaret Sidney
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
by Margaret Sidney
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Five Little Peppers #1
by Margaret Sidney
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Rainbow Classics
by Margaret Sidney
from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Five Little Peppers Grown Up
Five Little Peppers #4
by Margaret Sidney
from Living Book Press
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Five Little Peppers Grown Up
Five Little Peppers #4
by Margaret Sidney
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Five Little Peppers Midway
Five Little Peppers #2
by Margaret Sidney
from Living Book Press
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Five Little Peppers Midway
Five Little Peppers #2
by Margaret Sidney, Illustrated by Norma Garris
from Whitman Publishing Company
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Five Little Peppers Phronsie Pepper
Five Little Peppers #4
by Margaret Sidney
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Gift from the Mikado
by Elizabeth P. Fleming
from Westminster John Knox Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gift of the Magi: Collectors Edition
by O. Henry, illustrated by Robert Sauber
from Unicorn Publishing House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Good Old Archibald
by Ethelyn M. Parkinson
from Bethlehem Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.95
Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Half Magic Quartet
by Edward M. Eager
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill
from Bethlehem Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill, illustrated by Decie Merwin
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Happy Times in Noisy Village
by Astrid Lindgren
from Bethlehem Books
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
Happy Yellow Car
by Polly Horvath
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Frances Brundage
1930s? from Saalfield Publishing Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Louise Brooks and illustrated by Roberta MacDonald
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Marian Edwardes and illustrated by Maud & Miska Petersham
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
Windermere Series 4
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1938 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
Rainbow Classics
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Marian Edwards and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
1st Printing from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
Windermere Readers #3
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
Windermere Series 3
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1938 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Here's a Penny
by Carolyn Haywood
from Sandpiper Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
House on Walenska Street
by Charlotte Herman
from Avyx, Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
How My Parents Learned to Eat
by Ina R. Friedman
from Sandpiper Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
In Grandma's Attic
by Arleta Richardson
from David C. Cook
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
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 - Hardcover Set
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$139.11
Little House - Softcover Boxed Set
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$79.91
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Series #1
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Series #1
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99
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 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)
$17.99
Little House on the Prairie (pictorial hardcover)
Little House Series #2
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Maverick Cow
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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
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