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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Parent Categories

Fiction & Literature

Doorways to Great Reading

Outside of a Dog Booklist

Subcategories

1st Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

2nd Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

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

38 Items found Print

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Romantic Fiction

	Captain Blood Penguin Classics by Rafael Sabatini from Penguin Classics Historical Romance for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $16.00
	Dobry by Monica Shannon, illustrated by Atanas Katchamakoff from Puffin Books for 4th-8th grade 1935 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	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)
	Emma Penguin Classics by Jane Austen from Penguin Classics Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $9.00 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Emma by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson 200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $12.99
	Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter from Indiana University Press Romance for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter from Dover Publications Romance for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter from Living Book Press Romance for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter from Indiana University Press Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter from Dover Publications Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99
	Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell from Charles Scribner's Sons Romance for 9th-12th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $20.99
	Jane Eyre Puffin Classics by Charlotte Bronte from Puffin Books Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.19
	Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte from International Collectors Library Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Illustrated by F. H. Townsend from SeaWolf Press Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $11.19
	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 Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Hodges Soileau and Louis Jambor from Reader's Digest Realistic Romantic Fiction for 6th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	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)
	Lorna Doone A Romance of Exmoor by R. D. Blackmore from Oxford University Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $13.95
	Lorna Doone A Romance of Exmoor by R. D. Blackmore from Living Book Press Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $21.99
	Louisa May Alcott Little Women / Good Wives / Little Men by Louisa May Alcott from Octopus Books Limited Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Mansfield Park Penguin Classics by Jane Austen from Penguin Classics Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $9.00
	Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson 200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $12.95
	Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise J. McGraw from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99
	Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise J. McGraw Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
	Northanger Abbey Penguin Classics by Jane Austen from Penguin Classics Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $8.00
	Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, illustrated by Hugh Thomson 200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $8.95
	Persuasion Penguin Classics by Jane Austen from Penguin Classics Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $7.00
	Persuasion by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson 200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $8.95
	Pride and Prejudice Penguin Classics by Jane Austen from Penguin Classics Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $9.00
	Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Illustrated by Hugh Thomson 200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $11.95
	Pygmalion Dover Thrift Editions by George Bernard Shaw from Dover Publications Drama/Comedy for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $3.00 $1.50 (2 in stock)
	Scaramouche Signet Classics by Rafael Sabatini from Signet Classics Historical Romance for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Scarlet Pimpernel Signet Classics by Baroness Orczy from Signet Classics Action/Adventure for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.95
	Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini from W. W. Norton and Co. Historical Romance for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $23.95
	Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen from Dover Publications for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $6.00

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