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!

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58 Items found Print
Active Filters: Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children
Adventures of Robin Hood
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green, illustrated by Arthur Hall
from Puffin Books
Legends and Folklore for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
by Edith Nesbit
from Yesterday's Classics
Shakespeare/Drama for Children for 4th-8th grade
$13.95
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
by Edith Nesbit
from Living Book Press
Shakespeare/Drama for Children for 4th-8th grade
$15.99
Beauty and the Beast
by M. Charlotte Craft, K. Y. Craft
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Bremen Town Musicians
by Ilse Plume retelling Brothers Grimm
Tra from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1981 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$10.99
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$10.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
by K. Y. Craft
from Chronicle Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
3rd edition from Bantam Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$19.99
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.99
Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Fables
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-3rd grade
1981 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 1st-6th grade
$7.99
Gingerbread Boy
by Paul Galdone
from Clarion Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Golden
Once Upon a Time Series
by Cameron Dokey
from Simon Pulse
for 6th-9th grade
$8.99
Grain of Rice
by Helena Clare Pittman
from Yearling
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-4th grade
$7.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Grimms' Fairy Tales
Sterling Classics
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 4th-8th grade
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
Puffin Classics
by Hans Christian Andersen
3rd edition from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales for 2nd-6th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
King's Equal
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Kitchen Knight
by Margaret Hodges
from Holiday House
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
from Sunburst Book
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
$9.99
Little Red Hen
by Paul Galdone
from Clarion Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Little Red Riding Hood
by Trina Schart Hyman, retelling Grimm
from Holiday House
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1984 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Lon Po Po
by Ed Young
from PaperStar Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade
1990 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Magic Fish
by Freya Littledale
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
Mouse Soup
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Ordinary Princess
by M. M. Kaye
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-6th grade
$7.99
Paul Bunyan
by Steven Kellogg
from William Morrow & Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Princess and the Goblin
Puffin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99 $4.00 (9 in stock)
Princess and the Goblin
Everyman Library
by George MacDonald
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
$18.00
Princess and the Goblin
by George MacDonald
from Living Book Press
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Princess and the Goblin
Puffin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Canon Press
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$13.95
Princess and the Goblin
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Charles Folkard
from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Saint George and the Dragon
by Margaret Hodges & Trina Schart Hyman
from Little, Brown & Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-3rd grade
1985 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Shadow of the Bear
by Regina Doman
4th edition from Chesterton Press
Modern Fairy Tale for
Shadow Spinner
by Susan Fletcher
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-8th grade
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Shen of the Sea
by Arthur Bowie Chrisman
from Dutton Juvenile
for 3rd-5th grade
1926 Newbery Medal
$17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Sleeping Beauty
by K. Y. Craft
from Chronicle Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Stone Soup
by Ann McGovern
from Scholastic Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Tales from Shakespeare
Puffin Classics
by Charles & Mary Lamb
from Puffin Books
Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Tales from Shakespeare
by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Elizabeth Shippen Elliott
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade
Tales from Silver Lands
by Charles J. Finger
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1925 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Tales from Silver Lands
by Charles J. Finger
1971 printing from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-8th grade
1925 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Thirteen Clocks
by James Thurber
from New York Review of Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Thirteen Clocks
by James Thurber
from Penguin Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00
Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig
by Eugene Trivizas, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
Reprint from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Twelve Dancing Princesses
by Marianna Mayer
from William Morrow & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Twelve Dancing Princesses
by Ruth Sanderson
Reprint from Crocodile Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.95
Two Princesses of Bamarre
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Two Princesses of Bamarre
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 4th-7th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ugly Duckling
by Hans Christian Andersen, Jerry Pinkney
First edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
2000 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Wanderings of Odysseus
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$7.99
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)