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?
49 Items found Print
Active Filters: Fantasy Fiction, 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Mass market paperback
100 Cupboards
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Abel's Island
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-5th grade
1977 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Penguin Classics
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00
Ballad of Sir Dinadan
Squire's Tales Book 5
by Gerald Morris
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.95
Centerburg Tales
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Cricket in Times Square
by George Selden
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Cricket in Times Square
by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams, foreword & updates by Stacey Lee
from Square Fish Publishing
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade
1961 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Dandelion Fire
100 Cupboards Book #2
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Enchanted Castle
Puffin Classics
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H. R. Millar
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Five Children and It
Puffin Classics
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H. R. Millar
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Happy Birthday Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle #5
by Betty MacDonald and Anne MacDonald Canham
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
2nd edition from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Homer Price
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Humor for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Indian in the Cupboard
Indian in the Cupboard #1
by Lynne Banks
from Yearling
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Jungle Book
Puffin Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Puffin Books
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Just So Stories
Puffin Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Key to the Indian
by Lynne Banks
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Mr. Popper's Penguins
by Richard & Florence Atwater, illustrated by Jim Madsen
from Little, Brown & Company
Humorous Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1939 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Mr. Popper's Penguins
by Richard & Florence Atwater, illustrated by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humorous Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1939 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mr. Revere and I
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Mr. Revere and I
by Robert Lawson
from Little, Brown & Company
Humor/historical fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert O'Brien; illustrated by Zena Bernstein
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
1972 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Mystery of the Cupboard
by Lynne Banks
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Ordinary Princess
by M. M. Kaye
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-6th grade
$7.99
Peter Pan
Puffin Classics
by J. M. Barrie
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$6.39
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 Jules Feiffer, appreciation by Maurice Sendak
from Random House
Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Pinocchio
Puffin Classics
by Carlo Collodi, translated by E. Hardin and illustrated by Gioia Fiammenghi
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Pippi Goes on Board
Pippi Longstocking #2
by Astrid Lindgren
from Puffin Books
Humor for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Pippi in the South Seas
Pippi Longstocking #3
by Astrid Lindgren
from Puffin Books
Humor for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Pippi Longstocking OSI
Pippi Longstocking #1
by Astrid Lindgren
from Puffin Books
Humor for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
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 (10 in stock)
Princess and the Goblin
Puffin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Canon Press
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Princess, the Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight
Squire's Tales Book 6
by Gerald Morris
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Queen Zixi of Ix
by L. Frank Baum
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Quest of the Fair Unknown
Squire's Tales Book 8
by Gerald Morris
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.99
Redwall
Redwall #1
by Brian Jacques
from ACE Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Salamandastron
Redwall #5
by Brian Jacques
from Firebird Press
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Secret of the Indian
by Lynne Banks
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Doctor Dolittle
by Hugh Lofting
from Yearling
Animal Fantasy for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Twenty-One Balloons
by William Pene du Bois
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1948 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
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
from Wordsworth Editions
Humorous Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Wizard of Oz
Puffin Classics
by L. Frank Baum
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Wolves Chronicles #1
by Joan Aiken
from Yearling
Historical Fantasy for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Signet Classics
by L. Frank Baum
from Signet Classics
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.95