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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9th-12th Outside of a Dog - Fiction

9th-12th Outside of a Dog - Nonfiction

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	Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Puffin Classics by Mark Twain from Puffin Books for 6th-10th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass Penguin Classics by Lewis Carroll from Penguin Classics Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $11.00
	All Creatures Great and Small James Herriot Series Book 1 by James Herriot from St. Martin's Press Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $18.00
	Belles On Their Toes by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey from HarperCollins Family Stories for 4th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $12.99
	Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey from HarperCollins Family Stories for 4th-9th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $16.99
	Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey 1st edition 1st printing from HarperCollins Family Stories for 4th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Church Mouse by Graham Oakley from Kane Miller for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse from W. W. Norton and Co. Humor for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $14.95
	Flora & Ulysses The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo Reprint from Candlewick Press for 3rd-6th grade 2014 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Frog and Toad All Year An I Can Read Book Level 2 by Arnold Lobel from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $5.99
	Frog and Toad Are Friends An I Can Read Book Level 2 (Reading with Help) by Arnold Lobel from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade 1971 Caldecott Honor Book in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $4.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
	Frog and Toad Are Friends An I Can Read Book Level 2 by Arnold Lobel from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade 1971 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $11.89 (1 in stock)
	Frog and Toad Together An I Can Read Book Level 2 by Arnold Lobel from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade 1973 Newbery Honor Book in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR) $4.99
	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
	Holes Holes Series #1 by Louis Sachar from Yearling for 4th-6th grade 1999 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99
	Holes with Bonus Material Holes Series #1 by Louis Sachar 10th Anniversary Edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 4th-6th grade 1999 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne from Puffin Books Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne from Dutton Children's Books Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-4th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $19.99
	If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.99
	Leave it to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse from W. W. Norton and Co. Humor for 7th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $14.95
	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)
	My Heart Lies South The Story of My Mexican Marriage by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño from Bethlehem Books Biography for 8th-12th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.95
	Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye from Puffin Books Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.99
	Peterkin Papers by Lucretia P. Hale from Dover Publications Humorous Fiction for 7th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Peterkin Papers by Lucretia P. Hale from Living Book Press Humorous Fiction for 7th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.95
	Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster from Yearling Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jule Feiffer from Random House Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer, appreciation by Maurice Sendak from Random House Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Princess Bride by William Goldman from Harvest Books for 8th-12th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $18.00
	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)
	Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse Reprint from W. W. Norton and Co. Humor for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $13.95
	Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp from HarperCollins Biography for 7th-10th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $16.99
	Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting from Dover Publications for 3rd-7th grade 1923 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $14.95
	Wind in the Willows Puffin Classics by Kenneth Grahame from Puffin Books Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Tasha Tudor from Collins Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Robert Ingpen from Sterling Publishing Co. Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $24.95
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, abridged and illustrated by John Worsley from Lemon Tree Press Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame from Wordsworth Editions Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows Junior Deluxe Editions by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Tasha Tudor Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Helen Ward from Borders Press Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by John Burningham from Viking Kestrel Books Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Nancy Barnhart from Barnes & Noble Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by James Lynch from The Folio Society Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $25.00 (1 in stock)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Charles van Sandwyck from The Folio Society Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Joanne Moss from Breslich & Foss Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Michael Foreman from Harcourt Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Helen Ward from Templar Books Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck from Puffin Books Humorous Family Stories for 5th-9th grade 2001 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)

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