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

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37 Items found Print

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Realistic Fiction,

5th Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

	Anne of Green Gables Anne #1 by L. M. Montgomery from Bantam Books Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Anne of Green Gables Anne #1 by L. M. Montgomery from Tundra Books (NY) Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $19.99
	Anne of Green Gables Anne #1 by L. M. Montgomery from Tundra Books (NY) Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99
	Anne of Green Gables Anne #1 by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Eric Kincaid from Wordsworth Editions Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Black Beauty Puffin Classics by Anna Sewell from Puffin Books Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade 1984 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.39
	Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary from William Morrow & Company Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade 1984 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $3.20 (1 in stock)
	Golden Goblet by Eloise J. McGraw from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1962 Newbery Honor Book in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99
	Jo's Boys Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Louis Jambor from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Jo's Boys Illustrated Junior Library Series 1 by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Louis Jambor from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Jo's Boys Illustrated Junior Library Series 3 by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Louis Jambor from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Jo's Boys Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Louis Jambor from Grosset & Dunlap for 4th-8th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Journey to Topaz A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation by Yoshiko Uchida from Heyday Books Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Journey to Topaz A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation by Yoshiko Uchida from Heyday Books Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $12.00
	Little Men by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Troy Howell from Dilithium Press, Ltd. Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women Puffin Classics by Louisa May Alcott from Puffin Books Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $10.99
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Judith Cheng Special from Simon and Schuster Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Clara M. Burd from John C. Winston Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Barbara Cooney from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Tasha Tudor Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli from Little, Brown & Company Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade 1991 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Mitchells Five for Victory Mitchells Series #1 by Hilda Van Stockum from Bethlehem Books Family Stories for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $16.95
	Peter Duck A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees Swallows and Amazons #3 by Arthur Ransome from David R. Godine for 5th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $15.95
	Secret Garden Puffin Classics by Frances Burnett from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Secret Garden by Frances Burnett, illustrated by Charles Robinson from SeaWolf Press Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $8.95
	Secret Garden Puffin Classics by Frances Burnett from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Secret Garden Everyman Children's Classics by Frances Burnett, illustrated by Charles Robinson from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC)
	Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski from HarperCollins Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade 1946 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99
	Swallowdale Swallows and Amazons #2 by Arthur Ransome from David R. Godine for 5th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $15.95
	Swallowdale Swallows and Amazons #2 by Arthur Ransome from Jonathan Cape for 5th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Swallowdale Swallows and Amazons #2 by Arthur Ransome from Puffin Books for 5th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Swallows and Amazons Swallows and Amazons #1 by Arthur Ransome from Overlook Press Family stories/boating for 5th-9th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Swiss Family Robinson Puffin Classics by Johann Wyss from Puffin Books Realistic Stories/Adventure for 4th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	We Were There on the Oregon Trail by William O. Steele from American Home-School Publishing Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	White Stag Puffin Newbery Library by Kate Seredy from Puffin Books Heroic Legend for 4th-6th grade 1938 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare Reissue from Sandpiper Books Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1959 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, illustrated by William Low from Square Fish Publishing Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1933 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99

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