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Doorways to Great Reading

If there's a one-world government, it's television. King of the Technological Age, he sits enthroned in homes around the world, a little box of images and sound emitting edicts to his unified followers from his electrical shrine. That description may be a bit overwrought, but the fact remains: more people these days would prefer to watch TV than read a good book.

Many parents are desperate to expose their kids to quality literature, whether it's a classic like Anne of Green Gables, a more recent novel like Mimus, or simply something other than the TV Guide. In response, a number of literature-based curricula have been developed, and in turn have become increasingly popular among both homeschool families and school educators.

As great and noble as this effort has been, there are a couple problems we see with the literature-curriculum approach: 1) literature is treated as curriculum, and 2) children aren't exposed to the depth and variety available because reading is limited to the curriculum suggestions. Consequently, a lot of children grow to dislike reading, associating it as they do with schoolwork and not having a good time.

We've accumulated many of the titles used by the major literature-based curriculum lines, and those products are among our best sellers. We're also not entirely opposed to the literature approach, but we also want to offer a much broader selection of literature, titles that don't find their way into the program guides but are nevertheless worth reading.

Numerous book lists, catalogues, and publishers (including many dedicated to reprinting the more obscure classic titles) have guided us in the construction of our fiction and literature sections. (Employees have also been an important factor in this process, and you can read about their favorites here.) Doorways to Great Reading collects the best of these lists in one place.

Discovering classic literature is more than just checking off titles from a master list, however. Though books like Honey for a Child's Heart, The Well-Educated Mind, and The Book Tree are great places to start and offer excellent guidelines, they are still jumping-off places. Developing the skills to find good books on your own (and imparting those skills to your children) is the end these books are supposed to help you achieve.

When Lucy Pevensie opened the wardrobe and found Narnia, her first experience with a snowbound landscape gave her little indication of the adventure and wonder she'd find there. Great books are the same way: the more you read, the more you realize how many are really out there, and the better you get at finding them.

If your adventure in the realms of literature hasn't started, or is still in its beginning stages, use the booklists you'll find here as maps of sorts, there to help you navigate but not to make the journey on your behalf. The travel is up to you, and whether you decide to explore Ben-Hur or The Wind in the Willows, it's travel that will take you far from your front door and back many times over.

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.
Did you find this review helpful?
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183 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Kindergarten (Ages 5-6), Hardcover, In-Stock Books & Materials
A is for Abigail
by Lynne Cheney
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$16.99
Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have a Horse
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29
All the Places to Love
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Andrew Henry's Meadow
by Doris Burn
from Philomel Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
Exodus Books 5-Star Rating
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14 $8.40 (1 in stock)
Animalia
by Graeme Base
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.60 (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)
$8.49
Babar and Father Christmas
by Jean De Brunhoff
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Babar and His Children OSI
by Jean De Brunhoff
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Babar and Zephir / Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar) and Beatrix Potter (Squirrel Nutkin)
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Babar the King
by Jean de Brunhoff
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.56
Barber Who Wanted to Pray
by R. C. Sproul
from Crossway Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29 $7.20 (1 in stock)
Beauty and the Beast
by M. Charlotte Craft, K. Y. Craft
from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Beetle Book
by Steve Jenkins
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$16.99
Beginner's Bible
by Karyn Henley, Kelly Pulley (illustrator)
from Zonderkidz
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$19.54 $9.60 (2 in stock)
Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible
Beginner's Gospel Story Book
by Jared Kennedy, Illustrated by Trish Mahoney
from New Growth Press
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$28.89
Biggest Story Bible Storybook
by Kevin DeYoung, illustrated by Don Clark
from Crossway Books
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$29.74
Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci
by Romola Anderson, R. C. Anderson
1st edition from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$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)
$17.84
Boxes for Katje
by Candace Fleming
1st edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Boy, a Dog, a Frog, and a Friend
by Mercer & Marianna Mayer
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Bremen Town Musicians
by Ilse Plume retelling Brothers Grimm
Tra from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1981 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Brother Hugo and the Bear
by Katy Beebe
from Eerdmans
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$15.29
Christmas Is Here
by Lauren Castillo
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$11.04
Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
by Susan Wojciechowski, illustrated by P. J. Lynch
20th Anniversary from Candlewick Press
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$15.29
Chrysanthemum
by Kevin Henkes
from Greenwillow Books
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Clown of God
by Tomie dePaola
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Clown of God
by Tomie dePaola
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Color Kittens
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$5.09
Danny and the Dinosaur
An I Can Read Book Level 1
by Syd Hoff
from Sandy Creek
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Day on Skates
by Hilda van Stockum
from Bethlehem Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
1935 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.96
Digging-est Dog
by Al Perkins
from Random House
for Kindergarten-3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49
Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins
by Barbara Kerley
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-3rd Grade
2002 Caldecott Honor Book, NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.99
Dog vs. Strawberry
by Nelly Buchet; illustrated by Andrea Zuill
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Dragon Quest
by Allan Baillie, Illustrated by Wayne Harris
First US Edition from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.44
Drawn Together
by Minh Le, illustrated by Dan Santat
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29
Edward the Emu
by Sheena Knowles, illustrated by Rod Clement
Reprint from HarperTrophy
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Emeline at the Circus
by Marjorie Priceman
Reprint from Dragonfly Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.79
Escape Artist
by Thor Hanson, illustrated by Galia Bernstein
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Expected One
by Scott James
from B&H Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$12.99
Fables
by Arnold Lobel
from HarperCollins
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Preschool-3rd grade
1981 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Finding Narnia
by Caroline McAlister, Illustrated by Jessica Lanan
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$18.69
Finding Winnie
by Lindsay Mattick
First Edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
2016 Caldecott Winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Flora and the Penguin
by Molly Idle
from Chronicle Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.44
Fly Went By
by Mike McClintock
from Random House
Rhyming Books for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49
Folk Tale Classics Heirloom Library - Boxed Set
Folk Tale Classic Library
by Paul Galdone
Box from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$21.24
Folk Tale Classics Keepsake Collection - Boxed Set
Folk Tale Classic Library
by Paul Galdone
Box from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-1st grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$21.24
For You Are a Kenyan Child
by Kelly Cunnane
from Atheneum
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Four Feet, Two Sandals
by Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed, illustrated by Doug Chayka
1st edition from Eerdmans
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Friend Who Forgives
Tales that Tell the Truth
by Dan DeWit & Catalina Echeverri
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$14.44
Girl and the Bicycle
by Mark Pett
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Go Forth and Tell
by Breanna J. McDaniel; illustrated by April Harrison
from Penguin Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.14
Go, Dog, Go!
by P. D. Eastman
from Random House
Animal Fantasy/Rhyming Stories for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49
God Counts
by Irene Sun
from New Growth Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Alphabet & Counting Books (Location: PIC-ALPH)
$15.29
God’s Very Good Idea
by Trillia Newbell and Catalina Echeverri
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$14.44
Golden Plate
by Bernadette Watts
from NorthSouth
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.26
Grandfather's Journey
by Allen Say
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1994 Caldecott Medal winner
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.49 $4.80 (1 in stock)
Grandfather's Journey
by Allen Say
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$15.29
Granny Smith Was Not an Apple
by Sarah Glenn Fortson, illustrated by Kris Aro McLeod
from Peter Pauper Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.44
Grasshopper and the Ants
by Jerry Pinkney
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Gravity
by Jason Chin
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Physics (Location: SCI-PHY)
$16.14
Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
Bright & Early Books
by Al Perkins
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$8.49
He is Risen
by Patti Rokus
from Zondervan
for Preschool-1st grade
in Easter & Lent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Henry's Freedom Box
by Ellen Levine
from Scholastic Press
for Nursery-1st grade
2008 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Horton Hatches the Egg
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
read-aloud poetry picture book for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14 $8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$16.99
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
by Dr. Seuss
from Random House
Christmas Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.44
How to Raise a Reader
by Pamela Paul & Maria Russo
from Workman Publishing
for Nursery-10th grade
in Recommended Book Lists (Location: LIR-REC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Hugo and the Impossible Thing
by Renee Felice Smith and Chris Gabriel, illustrated by Sydney Hanson
from Flamingo Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29
I Have an Olive Tree
by Eve Bunting
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29
I Worked Hard on That!
by Robyn Wall; illustrated by A. N. Kang
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
I, Too, Am America
by Langston Hughes and Brian Collier
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
If the World Were 100 People
by Jackie McCann, illustrated by Aaron Cushley
from Crown Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$15.29
If the World Were a Village
by David J. Smith
1st edition from Kids Can Press
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Diversity & Multicultural Books (Location: HISMC-MUL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
If You Give a Moose a Muffin
by Laura Numeroff
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
by Laura Numeroff
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
If You Plant a Seed
by Kadir Nelson
from Balzer & Bray
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Ira Sleeps Over
by Bernard Waber
from Houghton Mifflin
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ish
by Peter H. Reynolds
First Edition from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.75
John Ronald’s Dragons
by Caroline McAlister, Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$19.54
Joni Eareckson Tada
by Kristyn Getty; illustrated by Hsulynn Pang
from Good Book Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.74
Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider
by Jessica Lanan
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$16.99
Last Stop on Market Street
by Matt De La Pena
1st edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
Realistic Fiction for Preschool-3rd grade
2016 Newbery Medal, 2016 Caldecott Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor 2016
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Leaf Can Be . . .
by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija
from Millbrook Press
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29
Lion and the Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney
from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-1st
2010 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.14
Little Engine That Could - Original Edition
by Watty Piper, illustrated by George & Doris Hauman
from Platt and Munk Publishers
Personification Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.34
Little Red Caboose
by Marian Potter
from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$5.09 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Little Red Riding Hood
by Trina Schart Hyman, retelling Grimm
from Holiday House
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1984 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Lon Po Po
by Ed Young
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
Caldecott Medal Winner 1990
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lost and Found
by Oliver Jeffers
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29
Lotus Seed
by Sherry Garland
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans
from Viking Press
Realistic Fiction, Rhyming Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1940 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$16.99
Marshmallow Clouds
by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek, illustrated by Richard Jones
from Candlewick Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$16.99
Mitten
by Jan Brett
Rei/Cas from Putnam Juvenile
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Mitten
by Jan Brett
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Moses
by Carole Boston Weatherford
1st edition from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
2007 Caldecott Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.14
Mother Goose
by Gyo Fujikawa
from Union Square Kids
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$13.59 $6.40 (1 in stock)
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