Outside of a Dog Booklist

"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!

Did you find this review helpful?
46 Items found Print
Active Filters: Realistic Fiction, 3rd Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist
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
Anna Hibiscus
by Atinuke
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
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
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
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
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (2 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)
Centerburg Tales
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Centerburg Tales
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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)
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
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
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
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1952 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Homer Price
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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 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 Pear
by Eleanor F. Lattimore
from Harcourt
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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
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
Matchlock Gun
by Walter Edmonds
from PaperStar Books
Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
1942 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Middle Moffat
Moffats #2
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1943 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Moffat Museum
Moffats #4
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Moffats
Moffats #1
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Moffats
Moffats #1
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt, Brace & World
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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
No. 1 Car Spotter and the Broken Road
by Atinuke
from Kane Miller
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
No. 1 Car Spotter and the Car Thieves
by Atinuke
from Kane Miller
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
No. 1 Car Spotter and the Firebird
by Atinuke
from Kane Miller
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
No. 1 Car Spotter Goes to School
by Atinuke
from Kane Miller
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Little House Series #4
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1938 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
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
Pinky Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Pinky Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Rufus M.
Moffats #3
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1944 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Seabird
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1949 Newbery Honor Book
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99
Snow Treasure
by Marie McSwigan
from Dutton Children's Books
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Theater Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
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
Treasures of the Snow (adapted)
by Patricia St. John, adapted by Mary Mills
2nd edition from Moody Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Tree in the Trail
by Holling C. Holling
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in BFB Holling Geography (Location: HISCUR-BFG)
$12.99