Outside of a Dog Booklist

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"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
—Groucho Marx

We are frequently asked to recommend literature to kids, and while there's nothing better than taking the time to know what the individual likes and recommend for their tastes, we've definitely settled on a number of books that are our personal favorites. This list is meant to promote books that will branch kids beyond the latest pop-fiction, and beyond many of the curricular lists you'll find floating around.

The PDF version of Outside of a Dog offers a page of links helping you navigate the overwhelming resources scattered throughout this website. It includes recommended read-alouds for preschoolers and kindergartners and contains 50+ titles for grades 1-8, offering you summer reading aplenty for years on end. It doesn't promote a liberal agenda, cater to the lowest common denominator, or present books designed to make anyone look smart. We haven't limited ourselves to classics or "must-read" titles. There are plenty of those, but just as many are personal favorites that have kindled our own love of reading. These are books that will open the wide doors of reading to kids turned off by more than standard fare. Throughout the list, author names are links, often taking you to short biographies, links to more information, and a list of what we have.

It's also intended to challenge older readers, with two lists for high school students and two for adults:

150+ great literature and fiction titles
150+ non-fiction titles, containing history, biographies, basic philosophy, and titles that focus on spiritual matters and practical Christian living. We want to encourage you to be culture-changers for Christ

The printed version is a little different. It doesn't include the links, of course, nor does it have the preschool/kindergarten reading lists or the adult lists. It does include an "advanced" high school list, which is what was adapted into the adult lists. Also, in the digital version, the grade level lists have been tweaked, with some new favorites added, and some reading level suggestions adjusted.

This category on our site offers all of our recommended books in one place. We are working on adding an Exodus rating to every single one. Browse the list, or filter by grade with the sidebar.

Whether you're six or sixteen (or sixty!), whether you're a dog person or not, some new best friends are waiting!

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Outside of a Dog Booklist

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1st Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

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3rd Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

4th Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

5th Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

6th Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

7th Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

8th Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

9th-12th Outside of a Dog - Fiction

9th-12th Outside of a Dog - Nonfiction

Adult Fiction Outside of a Dog Booklist

Adult Nonfiction Outside of a Dog Booklist

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Science Fiction

	2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke from ROC Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Among the Barons The Shadow Children Sequence #04 by Margaret Peterson Haddix from Simon and Schuster for 5th-8th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Among the Betrayed The Shadow Children Sequence #03 by Margaret Peterson Haddix from Simon and Schuster for 5th-8th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.99
	Among the Brave The Shadow Children Sequence #05 by Margaret Peterson Haddix from Simon and Schuster for 5th-8th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.99
	Among the Enemy The Shadow Children Sequence #06 by Margaret Peterson Haddix from Aladdin Paperbacks for 5th-8th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.99
	Among the Free The Shadow Children Sequence #07 by Margaret Peterson Haddix from Aladdin Paperbacks for 5th-8th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.99
	Among the Hidden The Shadow Children Sequence #01 by Margaret Peterson Haddix from Simon and Schuster for 5th-8th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Among the Impostors The Shadow Children Sequence #02 by Margaret Peterson Haddix from Aladdin Paperbacks for 5th-8th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.99
	Around the World in Eighty Days Puffin Classics by Jules Verne from Puffin Books Adventure Stories for 6th-10th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99
	Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller from HarperCollins for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.99
	Children of Dune Dune Chronicles Book 3 by Frank Herbert from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Children of Dune Dune Chronicles Book 3 by Frank Herbert from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $50.00
	City of Ember Book of Ember #1 by Jeanne DuPrau 1^st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers for 4th-7th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $8.99
	Diamond of Darkhold Book of Ember #4 by Jeanne DuPrau from Yearling for 4th-7th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $8.99
	Dune Dune Chronicles Book 1 by Frank Herbert from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $10.99
	Dune Dune Chronicles Book 1 by Frank Herbert, introduction by Brian Herbert Second Ace hardcover, 2019 from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $40.00
	Dune Messiah Dune Chronicles Book 2 by Frank Herbert from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99
	Dune Messiah Dune Chronicles Book 2 by Frank Herbert from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $50.00
	Earth Abides by George R. Stewart from Harper Voyager for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.99
	Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card from Tor Classic Science Fiction for 7th-Adult in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $9.99
	Eyre Affair Thursday Next Book 1 by Jasper Fforde from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.00
	Foundation Foundation Trilogy #1 by Isaac Asimov Revised from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Foundation and Empire Foundation Trilogy #2 by Isaac Asimov from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Giver by Lois Lowry from HMH Books for Young Readers for 7th-10th grade 1994 Newbery Medal winner in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $11.99
	Giver by Lois Lowry from HMH Books for Young Readers for 7th-10th grade 1994 Newbery Medal winner in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
	Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Hitchhiker's Trilogy #1 by Douglas Adams from Ballantine Books Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.99
	I, Robot by Isaac Asimov from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.99
	Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury from Simon and Schuster for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $10.99
	Invisible Man by H. G. Wells from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin from Charles Scribner's Sons for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.00
	Life, the Universe and Everything Hitchhiker's Trilogy #3 by Douglas Adams from Ballantine Books Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny from HarperCollins for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $13.99
	Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Reprint from Simon & Schuster Macmillan Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Motel of the Mysteries by David Macaulay from Houghton Mifflin Humor for 4th-8th grade in Humor & Comedy (Location: FIC-COM) $14.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Out of the Silent Planet Space Trilogy Book 1 by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.00
	Out of the Silent Planet Space Trilogy Book 1 by C. S. Lewis 46th Printing from Collier Books for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Paris in the Twentieth Century The Lost Novel by Jules Verne from Random House for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $15.00
	People of Sparks Book of Ember #2 by Jeanne DuPrau Reprint from Yearling for 4th-7th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $8.99 $3.50 (2 in stock)
	Perelandra Space Trilogy Book 2 by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.99
	Restaurant At the End of the Universe Hitchhiker's Trilogy #2 by Douglas Adams from Ballantine Books Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.99
	Restaurant At the End of the Universe Hitchhiker's Trilogy #2 by Douglas Adams Book Club Edition from Harmony Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Second Foundation Foundation Trilogy #3 by Isaac Asimov from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.99
	So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish Hitchhiker's Trilogy #4 by Douglas Adams from Ballantine Books Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.99
	So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish Hitchhiker's Trilogy #4 by Douglas Adams from Crown Publishers Humorous Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.00
	That Hideous Strength Space Trilogy Book 3 by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Allegorical Fantasy for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.99
	Time Machine by H. G. Wells from Penguin Classics for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $11.00 $6.00 (1 in stock)
	War of the Worlds Signet Classics by H. G. Wells from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95 $3.50 (1 in stock)
	When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead from Yearling for 5th-9th grade 2010 Newbery Medal winner in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI) $7.99
	Woman Who Died A Lot Thursday Next Book 7 by Jasper Fforde from Penguin Putnam for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $17.00
	Wrinkle in Time Wrinkle in Time Series #1 by Madeleine L'Engle from Square Fish Publishing Fantasy for 4th-9th grade 1963 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Wrinkle in Time Wrinkle in Time Series #1 by Madeleine L'Engle from Quality Paperback Book Club Fantasy for 4th-9th grade 1963 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)

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