Teaching the Classics Booklist

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Some of the best things are born of necessity. While no one twisted Adam and Missy Andrews' arms to get them to create Teaching the Classics, a number of local home school parents (knowing the Andrews' academic backgrounds) did ask repeatedly to be shown how to teach their kids to appreciate and analyze literature. The Andrews eventually complied, distilling what parents need to know to lead Socratic-style discussions about great books into a relatively short lecture series and syllabus.

Teaching the Classics isn't a curriculum. There are no assignments, no lesson plans, and no workbooks, and you certainly can't hand anything to your kids and have them work on their own. Instead, it's a lifestyle tool, providing you and your children the necessary tools to understand literature, and by extension any ideas that make their way into your home, whether through the newspaper, movies, or talk radio. In his engaging DVD lectures, Adam Andrews shows the importance of reading quality fiction, and then equips you to do so.

Because it's not a curriculum, there's no required reading list, but there is an appendix in the teacher syllabus offering a book list of recommended titles for young children, elementary and middle school kids, and high school students. Each title is arranged alphabetically by author, with a brief description of the listed book. We carry about 90% of these titles (we're working on bringing all of them in), and they're listed below. Remember, these aren't required reading, but they do make an excellent place to start.

We're very impressed with Teaching the Classics, as well as the other products developed by Adam and Missy Andrews. Good books are important to us, but we see no point in reading them only for entertainment purposes. Literature needs to be engaged, and as Christians we have a responsibility to engage it in a particular way, a way the Andrews are willing and able to share with those of us who didn't major in English. The variety of titles in the list below shows how versatile their approach really is, though we encourage you to start with picture books no matter what age your kids are, as they offer a non-threatening venue for putting somewhat foreign concepts into practice.

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.

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Teaching the Classics Booklist

53 Items found Print

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7th grade (Ages 12-13),

Mass market paperback

	Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt from Berkley Books Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade 1965 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt from Berkley Books Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade 1965 Newbery Honor Book in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99
	Adam of the Road Puffin Newbery Library by Elizabeth Gray from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1943 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99
	Adam of the Road Puffin Modern Classics by Elizabeth Gray from Puffin Books Historical Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1943 Newbery Medal winner in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Puffin Classics by Mark Twain from Puffin Books for 6th-10th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	All Creatures Great and Small James Herriot Series Book 1 by James Herriot from St. Martin's Press Realistic Fiction for 7th-Adult in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $18.00
	Anne of Green Gables - Boxed Set by L. M. Montgomery from Bantam Books Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $63.92
	Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1955 Newbery Honor Book in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99
	Black Beauty Puffin Classics by Anna Sewell from Puffin Books Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Blue Willow Puffin Newbery Library by Doris Gates from Puffin Books for 4th-7th grade 1941 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink from Simon Pulse Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade 1936 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99
	Calico Bush by Rachel Field from Aladdin Paperbacks Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1932 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
	Calico Bush by Rachel Field from Dell Publishing Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1932 Newbery Honor Book in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $2.00 (1 in stock)
	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
	Chronicles of Narnia - Mass-Market Boxed Set by C. S. Lewis from HarperCollins Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $55.00
	Enchanted Castle Puffin Classics by E. Nesbit, illustrated by H. R. Millar from Puffin Books Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg from Aladdin Paperbacks Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade 1968 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99
	Gentle Ben by Walt Morey from Puffin Books Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $7.99
	Heidi Puffin Classics by Johanna Spyri, translated by Eileen Hall and illustrated by Cecil Leslie from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99
	Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom from Bantam Books Biography for 6th-10th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $8.99
	Hobbit There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien 2^nd edition from Ballantine Books Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Invisible Man by H. G. Wells from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell from Yearling Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1961 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell Anv from Sandpiper Books Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1961 Newbery Medal winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $8.99 $5.00 (2 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) $8.99
	Jungle Books Signet Classics by Rudyard Kipling from Signet Classics Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle Dover Children's Thrift Classics by Washington Irving from Dover Publications Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $4.00
	Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter from Vintage Classics Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.95
	Little House - Softcover Boxed Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $79.91
	Little Women Puffin Classics by Louisa May Alcott from Puffin Books Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $10.99
	My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George from Puffin Books Adventure for 4th-8th grade 1960 Newbery Honor Book in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $8.99
	Old Yeller by Fred Gipson from HarperCollins Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade 1957 Newbery Honor Book in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Old Yeller by Fred Gipson from Scholastic Inc. Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade 1957 Newbery Honor Book in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster from Yearling Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Reissue from Yearling Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $19.99
	Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer, appreciation by Maurice Sendak from Random House Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Princess and the Goblin Puffin Classics by George MacDonald from Puffin Books Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99 $4.00 (9 in stock)
	Princess and the Goblin Puffin Classics by George MacDonald from Canon Press Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $13.95
	Pushcart War by Jean Merrill 50th Anniversary Edition from New York Review of Books Satire for 6th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane from Bantam Books Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $4.95
	Redwall Set (Mass-market paperbacks) by Brian Jacques from ACE Publishing Fantasy for 3rd-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	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 (abridged) Puffin Classics by Daniel Defoe from Puffin Books Realistic Adventure Novel for 6th-12th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $7.99
	Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1977 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Puffin Modern Classics by Mildred Taylor from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade 1977 Newbery Medal winner in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Scarlet Pimpernel Puffin Classics by Baroness Orczy from Puffin Books Action/Adventure for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $5.99
	Secret Garden Puffin Classics by Frances Burnett from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Swiss Family Robinson Puffin Classics by Johann Wyss from Puffin Books Realistic Stories/Adventure for 4th-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Tales from Shakespeare Puffin Classics by Charles & Mary Lamb from Puffin Books Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt from Scholastic Inc. Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls from Bantam Books Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI) $8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Wrinkle in Time Wrinkle in Time Series #1 by Madeleine L'Engle from Square Fish Publishing Fantasy for 4th-9th grade 1963 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings from Simon Pulse Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $9.99

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