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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In-Stock Books & Materials

	Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Sterling Classics by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen from Sterling Publishing Co. for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $14.95
	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) $16.99
	Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey from Viking Press Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1949 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99
	Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink from Simon and Schuster Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade 1936 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $19.99
	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)
	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)
	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)
	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 Houghton Mifflin Realistic Fictio for 5th-8th grade 1961 Newbery Medal Winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $12.00 (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)
	Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Charles Wilbour from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $42.00
	Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter, illustrated by Warren Chappell from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $15.95
	Little Engine That Could - Original Edition by Watty Piper from Platt and Munk Publishers Personification Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Little House - Hardcover Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins for 3rd-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $139.11
	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)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by M.E. Gray Unabridged from Everyman's Library Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $16.95
	Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey from Viking Press Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1942 Caldecott Medal winner in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $19.99
	Mitten A Ukrainian Folktale by Jan Brett Rei/Cas from Putnam Juvenile Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99
	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)
	Princess and the Goblin Everyman Library by George MacDonald from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $18.00
	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)
	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)
	Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin from Houghton Mifflin Biographies of Scientists and Inventors for 1st-3rd grade 1999 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.99
	Sounder by William H. Armstrong from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1970 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.00 (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 from Beautiful Feet Books Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1970 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $14.95
	To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 35 Anv from HarperTrophy Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult 1961 Pulitzer Prize winner in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $26.99
	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)

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