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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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Abolition of Man
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Philosophy/Religion for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Against the Church
by Doug Wilson
1st edition from Canon Press
for Adult
in Ecclesiology (Location: XTH-ECC)
$15.00
Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Am I Called?
by Dave Harvey
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Church Ministry & Service (Location: XWO-MIN)
Amazing Grace
by Eric Metaxas
from HarperOne
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99
Animal Farm
by George Orwell
from Plume Books
Utopian/Dystopian Literature for 6th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Art for God's Sake
by Philip Graham Ryken
from P&R Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Creating Culture (Location: XCU-CRE)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Art of War
by Sun Tzu
Later Printing from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$5.95 $3.00 (1 in stock)
As I Lay Dying
by William Faulkner
from Vintage Classics
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Best Things in Life
by Peter Kreeft
from InterVarsity Press
for 9th-Adult
in Philosophy (Location: XWV-PHI)
$18.00 $8.50 (2 in stock)
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
from HarperCollins
Dystopian Literature for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Canticle for Leibowitz
by Walter M. Miller
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
by Jean Lee Latham
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1956 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Christianity & Culture
by T. S. Eliot
from Harvest Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.00
Church History in Plain Language (old)
by Bruce L. Shelley
3rd edition from Thomas Nelson Publishers
Church History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Church History Overviews (Location: XCH-OVE)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Consequences of Ideas
by R. C. Sproul
from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Worldview Resources (Location: XWV-RES)
$15.99
Coraline
by Neil Gaiman
from William Morrow & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$16.99
Cost of Discipleship
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Foreword by Eric Metaxas
1st edition from Touchstone
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.19
Covenantal Apologetics
by K. Scott Oliphint
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Presuppositional Apologetics (Location: XAP-PRE)
Crazy Busy
by Kevin DeYoung
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$10.19
Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 4th-8th grade
2003 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Dark Frigate
by Charles Boardman Hawes
Dover 2018 from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1924 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Dicey's Song
by Cynthia Voigt
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
1983 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Down and Out in Paris and London
by George Orwell
from Mariner Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Earth Abides
by George R. Stewart
from Harper Voyager
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Enemy Within
by Kris Lundgaard
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$9.99
Every Thought Captive
by Richard Pratt
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Presuppositional Apologetics (Location: XAP-PRE)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Extravagant Grace
by Barbara Duguid
from P&R Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in The Gospel (Location: XTH-GOS)
$12.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Families Where Grace Is in Place
by Jeff VanVonderen
Reprint from Bethany House
for Adult
in Covenant Family (Location: XFA-COV)
$15.99
Farewell to Arms
by Ernest Hemingway
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.00
Flora & Ulysses
by Kate DiCamillo
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2014 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ernest Hemingway
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.99
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1952 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
God at Work
by Gene Veith
2nd edition from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Work & Vocation (Location: SS-VOC)
$12.79
Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!
by Laura Amy Schlitz
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
2008 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Gormenghast Novels
by Mervyn Peake
from Overlook Press
Historical Fiction for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$31.95
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
by John Bunyan
from Penguin Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$15.00
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
Gringos
by Charles Portis
1st edition from Overlook Press
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.95
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-8th grade
1988 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Hidden Art of Homemaking
by Edith Schaeffer
from Tyndale House
for 9th-Adult
in Purposeful Homemaking (Location: SS-HOM)
$16.99
High King
Prydain Chronicles #5
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1969 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Holes
Holes Series #1
by Louis Sachar
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
1999 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Hollywood Worldviews
by Brian Godawa
from InterVarsity Press
for 11th-Adult
in Culture & Discernment (Location: XCU-DIS)
Homage to Catalonia
by George Orwell
from Mariner Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Home: A Short History of an Idea
by Witold Rybczynski
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Purposeful Homemaking (Location: SS-HOM)
$12.80
How Christianity Changed the World
by Alvin J. Schmidt
from Zondervan
for 10th-Adult
in Church History Overviews (Location: XCH-OVE)
How Should We Then Live?
by Francis A. Schaeffer
2021 Edition from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Philosophy (Location: XWV-PHI)
$19.99
I, Juan de Pareja
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction/Slavery for 5th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Ideas Have Consequences
by Richard M. Weaver
from University of Chicago
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
Ideas Have Consequences
by Richard M. Weaver
Expanded Edition from University of Chicago
for Adult
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$18.00
Idols for Destruction
by Herbert Schlossberg
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Culture & Discernment (Location: XCU-DIS)
$24.00
Inside Out
by Larry Crabb, Lawrence J. Crabb
Rev Upd from NavPress
for Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$15.99
Intellectuals
by Paul Johnson
from HarperCollins
Biography for Adult
in Philosophy (Location: XWV-PHI)
$11.99
Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison
2nd edition from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Lancelot: A Novel
by Walker Percy
1st edition from Picador
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.00
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
Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. Le Guin
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Lilith
by George MacDonald
from Eerdmans
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.99
Lincoln: A Photobiography
by Russell Freedman
from Houghton Mifflin
Biography for 5th-9th grade
1988 Newbery Medal winner
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.99 $7.50 (5 in stock)
Lord of Light
by Roger Zelazny
from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.99
Lorna Doone
by R. D. Blackmore
from Oxford University
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.95
Love in the Time of Cholera
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
from Vintage Classics
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.95
Manalive
by G.K. Chesterton
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.95
Matterhorn
by Karl Marlantes
Reprint from Hickory Grove Press
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Meaning of Marriage
by Tim Keller, Kathy Keller
Reprint from Riverhead Books
for 11th-Adult
in Covenant Marriage (Location: XFA-MAR)
$18.00
Mimus
by Lilli Thal, translated by John Brownjohn
from Annick Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
My Name is Asher Lev
by Chaim Potok
from Anchor Books
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.95
Name of the Rose
by Umberto Eco
from Harcourt
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Octopus
by Frank Norris
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.95
Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$12.00
Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$13.99
Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway Library Edition from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
On the Road
by Jack Kerouac
from Penguin Putnam
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Outliers
by Malcolm Gladwell
Reprint from Back Bay Books
for Adult
in Success & Leadership (Location: HSR-LEAD)
$18.99
Phantastes
by George MacDonald
from Eerdmans
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$16.99
Popologetics
by Ted Turnau
from P&R Publishing
for 11th-Adult
in Presuppositional Apologetics (Location: XAP-PRE)
$19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Postmodern Times
by Gene Veith
from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Philosophy (Location: XWV-PHI)
$21.99
Power and the Glory
by Graham Greene
2nd edition from Penguin Classics
for 12th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00
Pursuit of Holiness
by Jerry Bridges
from NavPress
for 9th-Adult
in Pursuing Holiness (Location: XCL-HOLY)
Reason for God
by Timothy Keller
Reprint from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in Beginning Christian Apologetics (Location: XAP-BEG)
$18.00
Road to Serfdom
by F. A. Hayek
from University of Chicago
for Adult
in Law & Political Theory (Location: GOV-LAW)
$17.00
Road to Wigan Pier
by George Orwell
from Mariner Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Shot of Faith (to the Head)
by Mitch Stokes
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 11th-Adult
in Beginning Christian Apologetics (Location: XAP-BEG)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Sketches from Church History
by S. M. Houghton
from Banner of Truth Trust
Church History Reference for 9th-Adult
in Church History Overviews (Location: XCH-OVE)
$23.00
Smoky the Cowhorse
by Will James
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 5th-8th grade
1927 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99
Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Ray Bradbury
from Simon and Schuster
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Soul of Science
Turning Point Christian Worldview
by Nancy Pearcey & Charles Thaxton
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Faith & Science (Location: XAP-SCI)
$17.00
Spy Who Came in from the Cold
by John Le Carre
from Penguin Putnam
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$16.00
Starship Troopers
by Robert Heinlein
from ACE Publishing
Science Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$18.00
Table in the Mist
by Jeff Meyers
from Athanasius Press
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Commentaries (Location: XBI-COMM)
$18.95
Tactics
by Gregory Koukl
10th Anniversary Edition from Zondervan
for 9th-Adult
in Evangelism & Missions (Location: XAP-EVA)
$19.99
Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-6th grade
2004 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Tales from Silver Lands
by Charles J. Finger
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
1925 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99
Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child
by Anthony Esolen
2nd edition from Intercollegiate Studies Institute
for Adult
in Parenting (Location: XFA-PAR)
$18.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
1st edition from Vintage Classics
for 10th-Adult
Pulitzer Prize Winner 2007
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.00
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
from Anchor Books
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.00
Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
from Mariner Books
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.95
Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Christians & Thought (Location: XAP-THO)
$15.19
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