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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53 Items found Print
Active Filters: Caleb's Reviews, 5th grade (Ages 10-11)
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
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon Pulse
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Call it Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
1941 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
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
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 4th-8th grade
2003 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes
Dover 2018 from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1924 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
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
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)
Door in the Wall
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1950 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Fantastic Mr. Fox
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Flora & Ulysses
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)
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1952 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Amy Schlitz
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
2008 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-8th grade
1988 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
High King
Prydain Chronicles #5
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1969 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$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
I, Juan de Pareja
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
King of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
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)
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
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)
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Puffin Modern Classics
by Mildred Taylor
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1977 Newbery Medal winner
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Roller Skates
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ruth Sawyer
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Roller Skates
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ruth Sawyer
from Yearling
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Roller Skates
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Valenti Angelo
from Viking Press
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$17.00 (1 in stock)
Shadow of a Bull
by Maia Wojciechowska
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1965 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (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)
Single Shard
by Linda Sue Park
from Sandpiper Books
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
2002 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Smoky the Cowhorse
by Will James
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-8th grade
1927 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
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
Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2004 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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)
Trial and Triumph
by Richard Hannula
from Canon Press
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$21.00
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
View From Saturday
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-9th grade
1997 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
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
Waterless Mountain
by Laura Adams Armer
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1932 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Westing Game
Puffin Modern Classics
by Ellen Raskin
from Puffin Books
Mystery/Suspense for 5th-8th grade
1979 Newbery Medal winner
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
from Yearling
for 5th-9th grade
2010 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$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)
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
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
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wizard of Oz Book 1
by L. Frank Baum
Unknown from Dover Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Wrinkle in Time
Wrinkle in Time Series #1
by Madeleine L'Engle
from Square Fish Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
1963 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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)
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