thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 If you have the time and the inclination, would you please post here a list of books that you think all (or most) of children in the USA/Canada should read by the time they reach high school. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 You don't ask much do you?:tongue_smilie: Preschool/Kindergarten age: Winnie the Pooh A collection of basic nursery tales (Little Red Riding Hood, Little Red Hen, The Gingerbread Boy, 3 Billy Goats Gruff etc.) Caps for Sale Millions of Cats The Cat in the Hat (even though I despise this book, I think it is culturally important to know) Mother Goose Goodnight Moon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Little House series Harry Potter series Narnia books The Hobbit Grimm's Fairy Tales Perrault's Fairy Tales Fairy Tales collections of as many cultures as you can find Greek and Roman myths a version of the Bible A History of US Mother Goose Poems That's a very very short essential list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Bump :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 (edited) Julie, that's an impressive list! Thanks. Here are some of my ideas- not in any order: Mother Goose Rhymes Fairy Tales Aesop's Fables The Island of the Blue Dolphins From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates The Secret Garden Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry The Call of the Wild The Borrowers Curious George Harry Potter series Tales from the One Thousand and One Nights Rip Van Winkle All of a Kind Family The Black Stallion Nate the Great Frog and Toad books And at least one book from each of the following authors: E. B. White L. M. Montgomery Beverly Cleary Robert Louis Stevenson Dr. Seuss Laura Ingalls Wilder C. S. Lewis Jules Verne Roald Dahl There are so many great picture books, too, but those would be difficult to list. Edited January 7, 2011 by thescrappyhomeschooler Forgot One Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 You don't ask much do you?:tongue_smilie: Preschool/Kindergarten age: Winnie the Pooh A collection of basic nursery tales (Little Red Riding Hood, Little Red Hen, The Gingerbread Boy, 3 Billy Goats Gruff etc.) Caps for Sale Millions of Cats The Cat in the Hat (even though I despise this book, I think it is culturally important to know) Mother Goose Goodnight Moon Caps for Sale was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I was so excited when my ds1 picked it out at the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 No, I can't list any that *every* child should read, quite honestly. There are plenty of wonderful books out there, a zillion lists of all kinds, and combined with each person or family's tastes and interests, will result in a unique reading experience. Sorry, don't mean to be a party pooper, but these lists sometimes end up feeling like a cookie-cutter school curriculum which I'm trying to avoid. I know we can all pick and choose from the lists and create our *own* lists, but sometimes those loom over us like a benchmark of success or failure or "should have"--at least for me--instead of letting our studies and delights lead us to great literature. No offense intended. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 (edited) A partial list: The Chronicles of Narnia The Little House series The Wizard of Oz Anne of Green Gables Pippi Longstocking Treasure Island The Secret Garden Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales Grimm's fairy tales Native American stories Oh the THINKS You Can Think! (and other Dr. Seuss books, but I like this one particularly) James Herriot's Treasury for Children Blueberries for Sal Raggedy Ann Stories The Phantom Tollbooth One Thousand and One Arabian Nights Greek & Roman myths Charlie & the Chocolate Factory Fantastic Mr. Fox (and other Roald Dahl books) The Wind in the Willows The House at Pooh Corner The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles Misty of Chincoteague Beverly Cleary books (esp. Henry Huggins and/or The Mouse and the Motorcycle for boys, Ellen Tebbits and/or Emily's Runaway Imagination for girls) The Jungle Book The Wind in the Willows The Legend of the Bluebonnet The Railway Children Stuart Little (and everything else by E.B. White) The Poky Little Puppy Sarah, Plain and Tall Corduroy A Child's Garden of Verses Where the Wild Things Are poetry by Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky books by Geraldine McCaughrean The House Above the Trees King of the Wind Edited January 7, 2011 by Aurelia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted January 7, 2011 Author Share Posted January 7, 2011 No, I can't list any that *every* child should read, quite honestly. There are plenty of wonderful books out there, a zillion lists of all kinds, and combined with each person or family's tastes and interests, will result in a unique reading experience. Sorry, don't mean to be a party pooper, but these lists sometimes end up feeling like a cookie-cutter school curriculum which I'm trying to avoid. I know we can all pick and choose from the lists and create our *own* lists, but sometimes those loom over us like a benchmark of success or failure or "should have"--at least for me--instead of letting our studies and delights lead us to great literature. No offense intended. :) I do understand what you mean. I don't want my kids to feel pressured to read everything on a certain list. I'm interested in what major books have influenced our childhoods and stayed with us as adults, and are part of a collective consciousness of our culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer3141 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I picked up, 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up from Amazon recently and my friends have too. We don't always agree with what we find but it has been a good jumping off point for us for library trips. And I've discovered authors and genres and books that I had previously dismissed for whatever reason, read the synopsis and then decided if we should try the books anyway. I've discovered that my DD has fallen in love with a prolific author by the name of Paul Goble. She has taken to NA myths right now. And searching for a book led me to Patricia Polacco, another prolific author who writes really, good stuff but has less "pizazz" than the superstar authors out there now. And the book has been helpful to me in breaking out of my cultural norms. I didn't know what a "tar beach" was until we read well, Tar Beach. DD has also fallen in love with an author named Niki Daly and her character Jamela. And nope, that wasn't a book I would have gone searching for DD. I never would have known how DD could so easily relate to that naughty little kid sometimes. :001_huh: I would have also called it quits at Anderson and Grimm and then never gotten into French and Italian folktales and comparing them and laughing about the comparisons. ("Mommy, do Italian people like anything else beside FOOD??") We're homeschooling a 5 and 6 year old. They both love anything by William Steig, Leo Lionni, and Norman Lear cracks us all up!! We all hated much of Randolph Caldecott's poetry. We like the House that Jack Built but the poem about the parents dying and the evil uncle who then murders the kids left us all confused. Who the heck could have read that to their kids and then tucked them into bed, even 200 years ago? "Go to sleep, kids and let's hope Mom and Dad don't die because if we do, Uncle Max will pay a couple of hunters to stab you so he can get your trust fund." Now go to sleep." :glare: Although, we did like his pictures so there was that. And a story that utterly fascinated my kids was Charles Dickens' The Magic Fishbone. It's a great story! Jen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyFourSons Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The Ambleside Online booklist includes almost all the books I've seen here with more, if you don't want to navigate their site there is an excel file with all the books Kindergarten-12th grade that they recommend. I could email it if anyone is interested, just send me an email. elizabethkanning@yahoo.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I picked up, 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up from Amazon recently and my friends have too. We don't always agree with what we find but it has been a good jumping off point for us for library trips. And I've discovered authors and genres and books that I had previously dismissed for whatever reason, read the synopsis and then decided if we should try the books anyway. I've discovered that my DD has fallen in love with a prolific author by the name of Paul Goble. She has taken to NA myths right now. And searching for a book led me to Patricia Polacco, another prolific author who writes really, good stuff but has less "pizazz" than the superstar authors out there now. And the book has been helpful to me in breaking out of my cultural norms. I didn't know what a "tar beach" was until we read well, Tar Beach. DD has also fallen in love with an author named Niki Daly and her character Jamela. And nope, that wasn't a book I would have gone searching for DD. I never would have known how DD could so easily relate to that naughty little kid sometimes. :001_huh: I would have also called it quits at Anderson and Grimm and then never gotten into French and Italian folktales and comparing them and laughing about the comparisons. ("Mommy, do Italian people like anything else beside FOOD??") We're homeschooling a 5 and 6 year old. They both love anything by William Steig, Leo Lionni, and Norman Lear cracks us all up!! We all hated much of Randolph Caldecott's poetry. We like the House that Jack Built but the poem about the parents dying and the evil uncle who then murders the kids left us all confused. Who the heck could have read that to their kids and then tucked them into bed, even 200 years ago? "Go to sleep, kids and let's hope Mom and Dad don't die because if we do, Uncle Max will pay a couple of hunters to stab you so he can get your trust fund." Now go to sleep." :glare: Although, we did like his pictures so there was that. And a story that utterly fascinated my kids was Charles Dickens' The Magic Fishbone. It's a great story! Jen Thanks for this lead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I picked up, 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up from Amazon recently and my friends have too. And the book has been helpful to me in breaking out of my cultural norms. I didn't know what a "tar beach" was until we read well, Tar Beach. And a story that utterly fascinated my kids was Charles Dickens' The Magic Fishbone. It's a great story! Jen Thanks for these great recommendations. I'd heard of Tar Beach, but had forgotten about it. Magic Fishbone looks delightful. We LOVE Dickens! :D I do have a list of our favorite picture books and chapter books. PICTURE BOOKS: Amos and Boris Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare Wagon Wheels The Boy Who Held Back the Sea Tye May and the Magic Brush Miss Rumphius Roxaboxen The Story of Ferdinand Alexander Books Dandelion Martha Miss Twiggly Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters Lassie Angelo Berlioz the Bear The Worry Stone Sylvester and the Magic Pebble The First Dog Mandarin Ducks Uncle Jed’s Barbershop Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt Brave Irene Stone Soup A New Coat for Anna Cranberry Thanksgiving The King’s Equal Chanticleer Doctor De Soto Fritz and the Beautiful Horses Two Bobbies Gilgamesh Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie Tut’s Mummy James Heriot’s Treasury for Children Anything by Bill Peet Drinking Gourd – An I Can Read Book Curious George: Journey WW2 Book - can't remember the name - excellent CHAPTER BOOKS: * Charlotte’s Web * Anything by Thornton Burgess - these books are SUPERB. They teach so much about life. They're animal-based stories and are very deep. My dc have loved these * The Doll People, The Meanest Doll in the World, great series * The Racketty-Packetty House by Frances Hodgson Burnett * Humphrey the Hamster series * Gooseberry Park by Cynthia Rylant * Tale of Despereaux * Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane * Elmer the Dragon series * A Llama in the Family * Narnia series * Indian in the Cupboard * Harry, the Poisonous Centipede * Roald Dahl books * Beverly Cleary * Freddy Books - we have the Freddy Anniversary Collection and the dc loved that. * Owls in the Family * Detectives in Togas (as well as its sequel) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I like this list and take ideas from it all the time... http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiffnkids Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I came across this last night. http://www.kidsreads.com/lists/reading-lists.asp Very nice lists divided by age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Island of the Blue Dolphins To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Sawyer Diary of Anne Frank Greek and Roman myths, plus some Norse fairy tales Little House series Hobbit/LOTR (if they really dislike the books at least watch the films!!) The Good Earth Harry Potter series Dr. Suess Perter Pan poetry anthology Little Britches (at least first three books) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Huckleberry Finn A Christmas Carol Of Mice and Men (older teens) Just tossing out my favorites - I agree with most of what others have already posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.