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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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107 Items found Print
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Active Filters: Action & Adventure Stories, 9th grade (Ages 14-15)
Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle
from Penguin Classics
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.20
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Puffin Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Adventures of Robin Hood
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green, illustrated by Arthur Hall
from Puffin Books
Legends and Folklore for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Allan Quatermain
by H. Rider Haggard
from SeaWolf Press
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Around the World in 80 Days
by Jules Verne, Translated by George M. Towle
Illustrated Fir from SeaWolf Press
Adventure for 6th-10th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.85
Around the World in Eighty Days
Puffin Classics
by Jules Verne
from Puffin Books
Adventure Stories for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Ben-Hur
Signet Classics
by Lew Wallace
from Signet Classics
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.95
Big Six
Swallows and Amazons #9
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Black Arrow
Dover Evergreen Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.99
Black Arrow
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
from SeaWolf Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.95
Black Arrow
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Frances Brundage
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Call of the Wild
Puffin Classics
by Jack London
2008th edition from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Captain Blood
Penguin Classics
by Rafael Sabatini
from Penguin Classics
Historical Romance for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Captains Courageous
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Signet Classics
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Captains Courageous
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Living Book Press
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Captains Courageous
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Rudyard Kipling
from Reader's Digest
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Coot Club
Swallows and Amazons #5
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Coral Island
by R. M. Ballantyne
from Wordsworth Classics
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas, translated, with an introduction and notes, by Robin Buss
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.00
Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas, translation by Robin Buss
from Modern Library
Realistic Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Danger in the Desert
by Roger Cohen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
from Tyndale House
for 9th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Fortune of War
Aubrey/Maturin #6
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Golden Ocean
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Great Northern?
Swallows and Amazons #12
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Great Northern?
Swallows and Amazons #12
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
H.M.S. Surprise
Aubrey/Maturin #3
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Horse and His Boy
Chronicles of Narnia Book 3
by Lewis, C. S.
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99 $7.00 (4 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)
$9.99
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 7th-10th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Kidnapped
Puffin Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
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)
Kon-Tiki
by Thor Heyerdahl
from Pocket Books
Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Kon-Tiki
by Thor Heyerdahl, Translated by F. H. Lyon
from Rand McNally
Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Last Battle RUC
Chronicles of Narnia Book 7
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
1956 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Last of the Mohicans
Leatherstocking Tales #2
by James Fenimore Cooper
Reprint from Penguin Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.00
Last of the Mohicans
Leatherstocking Tales #2
by James Fenimore Cooper
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Chronicles of Narnia Book 2
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.99
Lorna Doone
by R. D. Blackmore
from Oxford University
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.95
Lorna Doone
by R. D. Blackmore
from Living Book Press
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$21.99
Magician's Nephew
Chronicles of Narnia Book 1
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.99
Master and Commander
Aubrey/Maturin #1
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Doyle, Illustrated by Sidney Paget
100th Anniversary Edition from SeaWolf Press
for 7th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.96
Men of Iron
by Howard Pyle
2nd edition from Bob Jones University Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Men of Iron
by Howard Pyle
2nd edition from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Michael Strogoff
by Jules Verne
from Bottom of the Hill Publishing
for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$17.99
Michael Strogoff
by Jules Verne, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Michael Strogoff
by Jules Verne
from SeaWolf Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Missee Lee
Swallows and Amazons #10
by Arthur Ransome
A Godine Storyteller from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Missee Lee
Swallows and Amazons #10
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Missee Lee
Swallows and Amazons #10
by Arthur Ransome
from Puffin Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
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)
Outlaws of Sherwood
by Robin McKinley
from ACE Publishing
for 8th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.00
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
Peter Duck
Swallows and Amazons #3
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.95
Picts & the Martyrs
Swallows and Amazons #11
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Picts & the Martyrs
Swallows and Amazons #11
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pigeon Post
Swallows and Amazons #6
by Arthur Ransome, illustrated by Mary Shepard
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
1936 Carnegie Medal
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.95
Pigeon Post
Swallows and Amazons #6
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Plain Tales from the Hills
by Rudyard Kipling
Reissue from Oxford University
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.95
Post Captain
Aubrey/Maturin #2
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Prince Caspian
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Prince Caspian TOS
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Princess Bride
by William Goldman
from Harvest Books
for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$18.00
Prisoner of Zenda
Penguin Classics
by Anthony Hope
1st edition from Oxford University
Adventure/Political Satire for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.95
Queen of Attolia
by Megan Whalen Turner
Reissue from Greenwillow Books
for 9th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.99
Redwall
Redwall #1
by Brian Jacques
from ACE Publishing
Fantasy for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Redwall
by Brian Jacques
1st edition from Firebird Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Rifles for Watie
by Harold Keith
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
Robinson Crusoe
Signet Classics
by Daniel Defoe
from Signet Classics
Realistic Adventure Novel for 8th-Adult
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
$5.95
Robinson Crusoe
Sterling Classics
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Sackett's Land
The Sacketts Book 1
by Louis L'amour
from Bantam Books
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.99
Scaramouche
Signet Classics
by Rafael Sabatini
from Signet Classics
Historical Romance for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Scarlet Pimpernel
Signet Classics
by Baroness Orczy
from Signet Classics
Action/Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.95
Scottish Chiefs
by Jane Porter
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Epic for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Scottish Chiefs
by Jane Porter
from CreateSpace
Historical Epic for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Sea-Hawk
by Rafael Sabatini
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Historical Romance for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$23.95
Secret Water
Swallows and Amazons #8
by Arthur Ransome
Revised from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.95
Silver Chair
Chronicles of Narnia Book 6
by C. S. Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Ballantine Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight / Pearl / Sir Orfeo
by Anonymous, J. R. R. Tolkien (Translator)
from Mariner Books
Medieval Fairy Tale/Poetry for 8th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$16.99
Stories of Edgar Allan Poe
Sterling Classics
by Edgar Allen Poe, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
Surgeon's Mate
Aubrey/Maturin #7
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Swallows and Amazons
Swallows and Amazons #1
by Arthur Ransome
from Overlook Press
Family stories/boating for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Tales of Edgar Allan Poe
Books of Wonder
by Edgar Allen Poe (illustrated by Barry Moser)
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Thief
by Megan Whalen Turner
Reissue from Greenwillow Books
for 9th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Thirty-Nine Steps
Dover Thrift Editions
by John Buchan
from Dover Publications
Action Adventure for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00
Treasure Island
Puffin Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Puffin Books
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, Michael Clay Thompson
from Royal Fireworks Press
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts (Location: GRA-MCT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric P. Kelly
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric P. Kelly, illustrated by Angela Pruszynska
from Macmillan
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Voyage of the Dawn Treader TOS
Chronicles of Narnia Book 5
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Walkabout
by James Marshall
from New York Review of Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.99
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
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