Teaching the Classics Booklist

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Some of the best things are born of necessity. While no one twisted Adam and Missy Andrews' arms to get them to create Teaching the Classics, a number of local home school parents (knowing the Andrews' academic backgrounds) did ask repeatedly to be shown how to teach their kids to appreciate and analyze literature. The Andrews eventually complied, distilling what parents need to know to lead Socratic-style discussions about great books into a relatively short lecture series and syllabus.

Teaching the Classics isn't a curriculum. There are no assignments, no lesson plans, and no workbooks, and you certainly can't hand anything to your kids and have them work on their own. Instead, it's a lifestyle tool, providing you and your children the necessary tools to understand literature, and by extension any ideas that make their way into your home, whether through the newspaper, movies, or talk radio. In his engaging DVD lectures, Adam Andrews shows the importance of reading quality fiction, and then equips you to do so.

Because it's not a curriculum, there's no required reading list, but there is an appendix in the teacher syllabus offering a book list of recommended titles for young children, elementary and middle school kids, and high school students. Each title is arranged alphabetically by author, with a brief description of the listed book. We carry about 90% of these titles (we're working on bringing all of them in), and they're listed below. Remember, these aren't required reading, but they do make an excellent place to start.

We're very impressed with Teaching the Classics, as well as the other products developed by Adam and Missy Andrews. Good books are important to us, but we see no point in reading them only for entertainment purposes. Literature needs to be engaged, and as Christians we have a responsibility to engage it in a particular way, a way the Andrews are willing and able to share with those of us who didn't major in English. The variety of titles in the list below shows how versatile their approach really is, though we encourage you to start with picture books no matter what age your kids are, as they offer a non-threatening venue for putting somewhat foreign concepts into practice.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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Teaching the Classics Booklist

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	Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt from Berkley Books Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade 1965 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Aeneid by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald from Vintage Classics Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 10th-Adult in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC) $16.00 $8.50 (1 in stock)
	All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan from HarperCollins for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman from Random House Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB) $9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman from J.B. Lippincott Co. Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1955 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $15.00 (1 in stock)
	Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward from Houghton Mifflin Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade 1953 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $2.00 (1 in stock)
	Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare from Houghton Mifflin Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade 1962 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
	Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz from Puffin Books Historical fiction for 4th-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Calico Bush by Rachel Field from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1932 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Calico Bush by Rachel Field from Dell Publishing Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1932 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $2.00 (1 in stock)
	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)
	Canterbury Tales Selected, translated, adapted and illustrated by Barbara Cohen & Trina Schart Hyman from William Morrow & Company Medieval Literature for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $17.50 (1 in stock)
	Caps for Sale A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business by Esphyr Slobodkina from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for Nursery-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss & Crockett Johnson from HarperCollins Humorous Book on Botany for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.50 (5 in stock)
	Cinderella by Marcia Brown (translator) from Aladdin Paperbacks Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1955 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams from Farrar, Straus and Giroux Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade 1961 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Donde viven los monstruos (Where the Wild Things Are) Spanish Edition by Maurice Sendak from HarperCollins Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1964 Caldecott Medal winner in Spanish Resources (Location: FL-SPARE) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg 35th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade 1968 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
	Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss from Random House Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell from Yearling Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1961 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell from Houghton Mifflin Realistic Fictio for 5th-8th grade 1961 Newbery Medal Winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $12.00 (2 in stock)
	Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell Anv from Sandpiper Books Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1961 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
	Johnny Tremain Illustrated American Classics by Esther Forbes from Houghton Mifflin Historical Fiction/Adventure for 3rd-10th grade 1944 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $14.00 (1 in stock)
	Lieutenant Hornblower Hornblower Series #2 by C. S. Forester from Little, Brown & Company Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Dinah Dryhurst Reprint from Breslich & Foss Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds from PaperStar Books Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade 1942 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
	Old Yeller by Fred Gipson from HarperCollins Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade 1957 Newbery Honor Book in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Olivia by Ian Falconer from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade 2001 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $18.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Olivia - Board Book by Ian Falconer from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade 2001 Caldecott Honor Book in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD) $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)
	Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister from North-South Books Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $18.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1977 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness from Henry Holt and Company Allegorical and Moral Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1967 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness from Holt, Rinehart and Winston Allegorical and Moral Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1967 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness from Trumpet Club Allegorical and Moral Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1967 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $1.50 (1 in stock)
	Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan 30th Anniversary from HarperCollins Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade 1986 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Sounder by William H. Armstrong from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1970 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Sounder by William H. Armstrong from Harper & Row Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1970 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf from Viking Press Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Tales from Shakespeare Manhattan Young People's Library by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Louis Rhead from Gilbert H. McKibben Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Thy Friend, Obadiah (hardcover) by Brinton Turkle 1972 Seafarer Edition from Viking Press Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1970 Caldecott Honor Book in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt from Square Fish Publishing Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
	Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt from Scholastic Inc. Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls from Bantam Books Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak from HarperCollins Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1964 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak 25th Anniversary from HarperCollins Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1964 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $18.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Anna Leplar from Parragon Publishing Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Wuthering Heights with Related Readings by Emily Bronte from McGraw-Hill Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Yearling with Reading Group Guide by Marjorie Rawlings from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)

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