Outside of a Dog Booklist

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"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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Outside of a Dog Booklist

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1st Grade Outside of a Dog Booklist

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9th-12th Outside of a Dog - Fiction

9th-12th Outside of a Dog - Nonfiction

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	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)
	Best Things in Life A Contemporary Socrates Looks at Power, Pleasure, Truth and the Good Life by Peter Kreeft from InterVarsity Press for 9th-Adult in Philosophy (Location: XWV-PHI) $18.00 $8.50 (2 in stock)
	Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade 1941 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
	Charlotte's Web by E. B. White from HarperCollins for 2nd-6th grade 1953 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Church History in Plain Language (old) by Bruce L. Shelley 3^rd edition from Thomas Nelson Publishers Church History Reference for 9th-Adult in Church History Overviews (Location: XCH-OVE) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand from Bantam Books Drama for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $2.50 (2 in stock)
	Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, translated by Brian Hooker 1963 Reprint from Heinemann Educational Books Drama for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $2.50 (1 in stock)
	Dobry by Monica Shannon; illustrated by Atanas Katchamakoff 15th printing 1967 from Viking Press for 4th-8th grade 1935 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $20.00 (2 in stock)
	Every Thought Captive A Study Manual for the Defense of Christian Truth 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 God's Glory Displayed in Our Weakness by Barbara Duguid from P&R Publishing for 10th-Adult in The Gospel (Location: XTH-GOS) $12.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Flora & Ulysses The Illuminated Adventures 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)
	Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji from Dutton Juvenile for 4th-9th grade 1928 Newbery Medal winner in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $14.00 (2 in stock)
	Hiroshima by John Hersey from Vintage Classics Historical Non-Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.95 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	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)
	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)
	M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton from Aladdin Paperbacks for 6th-10th grade 1975 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli from Little, Brown & Company Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade 1991 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds from PaperStar Books Historical Fiction for 2nd-4th grade 1942 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
	One Thousand Gifts A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp from Zondervan in Suffering & Hope (Location: XCL-SUF) $18.99 $8.00 (2 in stock)
	Popologetics Popular Culture in Christian Perspective by Ted Turnau from P&R Publishing for 11th-Adult in Presuppositional Apologetics (Location: XAP-PRE) $19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Radical Disciple Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling by John Scott from InterVarsity Press for Adult in Discipleship & Community (Location: XCL-DIS) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	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)
	Roller Skates Puffin Newbery Library by Ruth Sawyer from Puffin Books Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade 1937 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Roller Skates Puffin Newbery Library by Ruth Sawyer from Yearling Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade 1937 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $1.50 (1 in stock)
	Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Valenti Angelo from Viking Press Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade 1937 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $17.00 (1 in stock)
	Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1965 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Shen of the Sea Chinese Stories for Children by Arthur Bowie Chrisman from Dutton Juvenile for 3rd-5th grade 1926 Newbery Medal in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $17.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Shot of Faith (to the Head) Be a Confident Believer in an Age of Cranky Atheists by Mitch Stokes from Thomas Nelson Publishers for 11th-Adult in Beginning Christian Apologetics (Location: XAP-BEG) $16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Slave Dancer by Paula Fox from Simon and Schuster Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade 1974 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Slave Dancer by Paula Fox from Simon and Schuster Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade 1974 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Slave Dancer by Paula Fox from Bradbury Press Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade 1974 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Slave Dancer by Paula Fox, illustrated by Eros Keith from Bradbury Press Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade 1974 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Sounder by William H. Armstrong from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1970 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein from ACE Publishing Science Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.00 $9.50 (2 in stock)
	Tales from Silver Lands by Charles J. Finger 1971 printing from Doubleday & Company for 4th-8th grade 1925 Newbery Medal winner in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (2 in stock)
	Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen 2^nd edition from Intercollegiate Studies Institute for Adult in Parenting (Location: XFA-PAR) $18.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe from Anchor Books for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $15.00 $7.00 (1 in stock)
	Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe from Fawcett Books for 10th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Time Machine by H. G. Wells from Penguin Classics for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $11.00 $6.00 (1 in stock)
	To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee from Warner Books Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	View From Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg from Aladdin Paperbacks for 5th-9th grade 1997 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
	War of the Worlds Signet Classics by H. G. Wells from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95 $3.50 (1 in stock)
	White Stag Puffin Newbery Library by Kate Seredy from Puffin Books Heroic Legend for 4th-6th grade 1938 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Wonderful Wizard of Oz Wizard of Oz Book 1 by L. Frank Baum Unknown from Dover Publications for 3rd-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Worldliness Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World by C. J. Mahaney from Crossway Books for 10th-Adult in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP) $12.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck from Puffin Books Humorous Family Stories for 5th-9th grade 2001 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)

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