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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74 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Used Books & Materials
After the Rain
by Norma Fox Mazer
from HarperTeen
for 6th-8th grade
1988 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (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)
$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 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)
Anna All Year Round
by Mary Downing Hahn
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Yearling
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
Christmas Doll
by Elvira Woodruff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Day No Pigs Would Die
by Robert Newton Peck
1994 Printing from Random House
Realistic Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Dobry
by Monica Shannon; illustrated by Atanas Katchamakoff
15th printing 1967 from Viking Press
for 4th-8th grade
1935 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (2 in stock)
Double Fudge
by Judy Blume
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Education of Little Tree
by Forrest Carter
from University of New Mexico Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #5
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Gail Owens
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
from Henry Holt and Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage Carlson
from Harper & Row
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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 and How They Grew
by Margaret Sidney
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
by Margaret Sidney, illustrated by Anna Marie Magagna
1962, Second Printing from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Fledgling
by Jane Langton
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
1981 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg
37th printing from Atheneum
for 4th-6th grade
1968 Newbery Medal Winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
35th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Getting Near to Baby
by Audrey Couloumbis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
2000 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Girl Named Disaster
by Nancy Farmer
First Printing Dec.2011 from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Golden Age
by Kenneth Grahame
from Wordsworth Classics
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Age
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Ten Speed Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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 Grows Up
by Charles Tritten
from Golden Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Heidi Grows Up
by Johanna Spyri, Charles Tritten
from Dell Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Journey to Jo'burg
by Beverley Naidoo
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 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)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Peter Spier
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$19.99 $9.50 (1 in stock)
Mary Poppins from A to Z
by P. L. Travers, illustrated by Mary Shepard
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Miracles on Maple Hill
by Virginia Sorensen, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
2003 edition from Harcourt
Family Stories for 4th-7th grade
1957 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
Miracles on Maple Hill
by Virginia Sorensen, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Harcourt
Family Stories for 4th-7th grade
1957 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Moon Over Manifest
by Clare Vanderpool
1st edition from Delacorte Press
for 6th-10th grade
2011 Newbery Award Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
More All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #3
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)
More Perfect Than the Moon
by Patricia MacLachlan
Fir from Scholastic Reference
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
More Perfect Than the Moon
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
by Alice Hegan Rice, illustrated by Norma and Dan Garris
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
On the Banks of Plum Creek - Audio CD
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Penderwicks
by Jeanne Birdsall
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Penderwicks on Gardam Street
by Jeanne Birdsall
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Phoenix and the Carpet
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H. R. Millar (uncredited)
from Wordsworth Classics
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
R My Name is Rachel
by Patricia Reilly Giff
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Racketty-Packetty House
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Harrison Cady
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
30th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
1986 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Scottish Seas
by Doug Jones
from Canon Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Sergeant Finney's Family
by Carol Farley, illustrated by Leonard Shortall
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Sunflower Seeds
by John Verney
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Shirley Temple Edition of Captain January & The Little Colonel
by Laura E. Richards and Annie Fellows Johnston
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Stink Alley
by Jamie Gilson
from HarperCollins
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Treasure Seekers
Puffin Classics
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by Cecil Leslie
from Puffin Books
Family Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Sunshine Country
by Kristiny Royovej
from Christian Focus Publications
for 4th-6th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Readers #9
by Johann Wyss, frontispiece by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Terrible, Horrible Edie
by E. C. Spykman
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Tick-a Tock-a Clock
by Ellen Sue Klose
from Review and Herald Publishing Association
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Time Bike
by Jane Langton
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Travels With my Family
by Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel
from Groundwood Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Trolley Car Family
by Eleanor Clymer, illustrated by Ursula Koering
1975 Printing from Scholastic Book Services
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away
by Mary Nash
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Winter With the Moodys
Moodys #3
by Sarah Maxwell
from Communication Concepts
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
World of the Trapp Family
by William Anderson
1st edition
for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
from Puffin Books
Humorous Family Stories for 5th-9th grade
2001 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Year Down Yonder
by Richard Peck
1st edition from Sun Dial Press
for 4th-9th grade
2001 Newbery Award Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Year of the Black Pony
by Walt Morey
from Bethlehem Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Year of the Black Pony
by Walt Morey
from Blue Heron Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (2 in stock)