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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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Active Filters: Fantasy Fiction, 4-Star Rating
Allan Quatermain
by H. Rider Haggard
from SeaWolf Press
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Bargain for Frances
An I Can Read Book Level 2
by Russell & Lillian Hoban
from HarperCollins
Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.99
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Dragon Rider
by Cornelia Funke
Deluxe from Chicken House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Dragon Rider
by Cornelia Funke
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dragon Rider
by Cornelia Funke, translated by Anthea Bell
from Chicken House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Dragon Rider: Griffin's Feather
Dragon Rider #2
by Cornelia Funke
Deluxe from Chicken House
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Dragon's Tooth
Ashtown Burials #1
by N.D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Drowned Vault
Ashtown Burials #2
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.99
Ella Enchanted - Special Read-Aloud Edition
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Empire of Bones
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales
by Gail Carson Levine
from HarperCollins
for 1st-6th grade
$7.99
Golden
Once Upon a Time Series
by Cameron Dokey
from Simon Pulse
for 6th-9th grade
$8.99
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner, 2010 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Half Magic
Half Magic Quartet Book 1
by Edward Eager
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Happy Birthday, Moon
by Frank Asch
Revised from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Inkdeath
Inkheart Trilogy #3
by Cornelia Funke
1St Edition from Scholastic Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Inkheart
Inkheart Trilogy #1
by Cornelia Funke
from Scholastic Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Inkspell
Inkheart Trilogy #2
by Cornelia Funke
from Chicken House
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Jumanji
by Chris Van Allsburg, Robin Williams (Narrator)
30th Anniversary Edition from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade
1982 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
King Solomon's Mines
by H. Rider Haggard
from Dover Publications
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.00
King Solomon's Mines
by H. Rider Haggard
from SeaWolf Press
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Lost in a Good Book
Thursday Next Book 2
by Jasper Fforde
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00
Lost in a Good Book
Thursday Next Book 2
by Jasper Fforde
First American Edition from Viking Press
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mimus
by Lilli Thal, translated by John Brownjohn
from Annick Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mysterious Benedict Society
Mysterious Benedict Society #1
by Trenton Lee Stewart
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Mysterious Benedict Society
Mysterious Benedict Society #1
by Trenton Lee Stewart
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
One of Our Thursdays Is Missing
Thursday Next Book 6
by Jasper Fforde
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Out of the Silent Planet
Space Trilogy Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
46th Printing from Collier Books
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Parsifal's Page
Squire's Tales Book 4
by Gerald Morris
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Perelandra
Space Trilogy Book 2
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
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 Goes on Board
Pippi Longstocking #2
by Astrid Lindgren
from Viking Press
Humor for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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
Pippi Longstocking #1
by Astrid Lindgren
from Puffin Books
Humor for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Queen of Attolia
by Megan Whalen Turner
Reissue from Greenwillow Books
for 9th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.99
Saint George and the Dragon
by Margaret Hodges & Trina Schart Hyman
from Little, Brown & Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-3rd grade
1985 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Savage Damsel and the Dwarf
Squire's Tales Book 3
by Gerald Morris
from Houghton Mifflin
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Silmarillion
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Ballantine Books
Fantasy for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Something Rotten
Thursday Next Book 4
by Jasper Fforde
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
That Hideous Strength
Space Trilogy Book 3
by C. S. Lewis
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Allegorical Fantasy for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
The Underneath
by Kathi Appelt
Reprint from Atheneum
for 5th-8th grade
2009 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Thief
by Megan Whalen Turner
Reissue from Greenwillow Books
for 9th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Well of Lost Plots
Thursday Next Book 3
by Jasper Fforde
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
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