Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I have been meaning to fiddle around and create a sort of top-ten Read Alouds list for each grade level. These are books that I would actually want to read, rather than hand off to the child for independent reading. (Though, I'd like to create a top ten for that too!) Am I missing any big ones? Are my grade levels way off? 5.5-6.5 K Beatrix Potter Aesop's Fables Grimm's Fairy Tales Andersen's Fairy Tales Winnie The Pooh House on Pooh Corner Charlotte's Web Trumpet of the Swan Dr. Doolittle My Father's Dragon 6.5-7.5 1st Greek Myths Railway Children Treasure Seekers Mr. Popper's Penguins Little House in the Big Woods Little House on the Prairie Swallows and Amazons We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea Cheaper by the Dozen Wheel on the School 7.5-8.5 2nd Pippi Longstocking Half Magic By the Great Horn Spoon Phantom Tollbooth The Princess and the Goblin The Princess and Curdie The Light Princess Mud 1 Mud 2 Mud 3 The MUD trilogy is by MCT and are not classic books, but I have them and they look like a good stepping stone to more advanced reading. 8.5-9.5 3rd Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Peter Pan Wind in the Willows The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian Voyage of the Dawn Treader Sliver Chair Horse and His Boy Magician's Nephew The Last Battle 9.5-10.5 4th James Harriot At the Back of the North Wind Where the Red Fern Grows Tom Sawyer The Jungle Book Heidi Black Beauty The Secret Garden The Yearling Wizard of Oz 10.5-11.5 5th Treasure Island Call of the Wild Invisible Man Retold Ulyssess Retold Beowulf Retold Illiad/Odyssey Journey to the Center of the Earth 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Arabian Nights Viking Tales 11.5-12.5 6th The Prince and the Pauper The Pirate Book (Pyle) Robinson Crusoe Swiss Family Robinson Kidnapped Last of the Mohicans A Midsummer Night's Dream Anne of Green Gables The Hobbit Sherlock Holmes 12.5-13.5 7th Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Frankenstein Time Machine A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Christmas Carol Huck Finn The Tempest Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers Return of the King White Fang 13.5-14.5 8th Autobiography of Bejamin Franklin Frederick Douglas Walden Across Five Aprils My Brother Sam is Dead Anne Frank Diary of a Young Girl The Chosen Oliver Twist Watership Down Gulliver's Travels This is ONLY literature. I would add in a history book each month of some kind as well. Although the line gets blurred in the 8th grade list... Anyway, I'm sure I've left some big names out, and some are not age-appropriate, so help me refine this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Oops, those had a much easier-to-read format when I was posting, not sure what happened! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lots of little ducklings Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Just re-posting my comment from the CIRCE thread, with this edit: my children are wiggly but Narnia held them all, even my 3 year-old, spellbound in a way nothing else has...... Re-Post: Oh, do Narnia now! :-). You could always drop it if it's a flop (it won't be) and the series can certainly be re-read at a later stage if you want dc to more fully appreciate the deeper layers of the text. I've read some of the series at least four times in my life... and loved each rereading. My DS 6, DD 5, and DD 3 adored Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe when we read it just before Christmas, and we just started Magician's Nephew with enthusiastic reception. DS is a deep-thinker by nature, and the theological discussions prompted by Lion, Witch, Wardrobe were brilliant. I would never have believed a six year-old could gain so much from a text, but he did. Hats off once again to CS Lewis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I have been meaning to fiddle around and create a sort of top-ten Read Alouds list for each grade level. These are books that I would actually want to read, rather than hand off to the child for independent reading. (Though, I'd like to create a top ten for that too!) Am I missing any big ones? Are my grade levels way off? 5.5-6.5 K Beatrix Potter Aesop's Fables Grimm's Fairy Tales Andersen's Fairy Tales Winnie The Pooh House on Pooh Corner Charlotte's Web Trumpet of the Swan Dr. Doolittle My Father's Dragon One of my children really disliked "real" fairy tales at this age - too dark and scary. 6.5-7.5 1st Greek Myths Railway Children Treasure Seekers Mr. Popper's Penguins Little House in the Big Woods Little House on the Prairie Swallows and Amazons We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea Cheaper by the Dozen Wheel on the School 7.5-8.5 2nd Pippi Longstocking Half Magic By the Great Horn Spoon Phantom Tollbooth The Princess and the Goblin The Princess and Curdie The Light Princess Mud 1 Mud 2 Mud 3 The MUD trilogy is by MCT and are not classic books, but I have them and they look like a good stepping stone to more advanced reading. I'd push Phantom Tollbooth back a year or two - just because once they have a little more math and grammar under their belts, they will find it much funnier! 8.5-9.5 3rd Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Peter Pan Wind in the Willows The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian Voyage of the Dawn Treader Sliver Chair Horse and His Boy Magician's Nephew The Last Battle Just my 2 cents - but I think Alice and Wind in the Willows are better a little later. WinW in 4th grade maybe - it's lovely, but a lot of description and very musical language. Alice I think has so many funny/clever things in it that just go over the heads of younger kids - I like that for 5th 9.5-10.5 4th James Harriot At the Back of the North Wind Where the Red Fern Grows Tom Sawyer The Jungle Book Heidi Black Beauty The Secret Garden The Yearling Wizard of Oz Aren't At the Back of the North Wind and Where the Red Fern Grows really sad? I can never do really sad books as read alouds - my kids don't like them and I cry . . . . . 10.5-11.5 5th Treasure Island Call of the Wild Invisible Man Retold Ulyssess Retold Beowulf Retold Illiad/Odyssey Journey to the Center of the Earth 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Arabian Nights Viking Tales Our favorite Verne was Around the World in 80 Days, then 20,000 leagues (with some of the fish descriptions edited out by the reader) and then Journey to the Center of the Earth. 11.5-12.5 6th The Prince and the Pauper The Pirate Book (Pyle) Robinson Crusoe Swiss Family Robinson Kidnapped Last of the Mohicans A Midsummer Night's Dream Anne of Green Gables The Hobbit Sherlock Holmes I personally would poke my own eyes out if I had to read aloud RC and SFR in the same year . . . . 12.5-13.5 7th Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Frankenstein Time Machine A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court Christmas Carol Huck Finn The Tempest Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers Return of the King White Fang Now, a Christmas Carol is one you could do earlier - we read it every christmas and both my kids love it, even my 2nd grader. 13.5-14.5 8th Autobiography of Bejamin Franklin Frederick Douglas Walden Across Five Aprils My Brother Sam is Dead Anne Frank Diary of a Young Girl The Chosen Oliver Twist Watership Down Gulliver's Travels This is ONLY literature. I would add in a history book each month of some kind as well. Although the line gets blurred in the 8th grade list... Anyway, I'm sure I've left some big names out, and some are not age-appropriate, so help me refine this! Just some levelling adjustment suggestions, but I think it looks like a fun list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinRTX Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I agree with the previous posters. I read chapter books to my youngest earlier than my older ones. She absolutely loved literature. Pleas do the Narnia ones earlier. My daughter loved being read them when she was 5-6. (And has since gone on to re-read them many times). I read Phantom Tollbooth aloud to her when she was 2nd grade. I was laughing out loud and she was confused. She just did not have the background to understand it. Now at 13 it is one of her favorite books. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 These are my lists for just literature, but as has been pointed out these are always subject to opinion. :)Year One:Poetry:•Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne•Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost (illustrated by Susan Jeffers)•When We Were Very Young by A. A. MilneAuthor Study:•The Perfect Wizard: Hans Christian Andersen by Jane and Dennis Yolen•Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (Selections)•Pioneer Girl: The Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder by William Anderson•Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder•The True Story of Peter Rabbit: How a Letter From Beatrix Potter Became a Children's Classic by Jane Johnson•Tales of Peter Rabbit and Friends by Beatrix PotterLiterature:•Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne•The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams•Charlotte's Web or Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. WhiteAdditional Reading:•Charlotte's Web or Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White (whichever book you did not read above)•All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor•Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater•Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace•House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne•Billy and Blaze by C. W. Anderson•Blaze and the Forest Fire by C. W. Anderson•Blaze and Thunderbolt by C. W. Anderson•Blaze Shows the Way by C. W. Anderson•Blaze and the Mountain Lion by C. W. AndersonYear TwoPoetry:•Favorite Poems of Childhood edited by Phillip Smith•Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems by Joyce Sidman•Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce SidmanFairy Tales:•The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (Selected Stories)•The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (Selected Stories)Tales:•Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James BaldwinAuthor Study:•Gertrude Chandler Warner and The Boxcar Children by Mary Ellen Ellsworth•The Boxcar Children #1 by Gertrude Chandler WarnerMythology:•Book of Norse Myths by Ingri and Parin D'AulaireLiterature:•The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis•The Jungle Book by Kipling•The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit•The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick•Ordinary Princess by Mary Margaret KayeAdditional Reading:•Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne•A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne•Little House on the Prairie by Laura I. Wilder•Prince Caspian by C.S.Lewis•Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis•The Fairy Book by Dinah Maria Mulock•Granny's Wonderful Chair by Frances Browne•A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond•Jataka Tales retold by Ellen C. Babbit•The Water Dragon: A Chinese Legend by Li Jian•Jin Jin the Dragon by Grace Chang•Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret SidneyYear Three:Poetry:•A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson(I use this book here because I like to introduce taking this book a little deeper than just reading it for pleasure.)Selected Poems by H. W. Longfellow:•"The Village Blacksmith"•"The Children's Hour"•"The Song of Hiawatha"•"The Arrow and the Song"•"The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls"Selected Poetry by Stephen Benet:•"John James Audubon"Tales:•American Tall Tales by Adrien Stoutenburg•Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur RansomeMythology:•Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Parin D'AulaireAuthor Study:•Bard of Avon by Diane Stanley Bard of Avon•William Shakespeare's The Tempest by Bruce CovilleLiterature:•Heidi by Joanna Spyri Google Books•The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes•The Moffats by Eleanor Estes•Homer Price by Robert McCloskey•Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder•Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher Google BooksAdditional Reading:•On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura I. Wilder•Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis•Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis•Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia Maclachlan•Skylark by Patricia Maclachlan•Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes•Pinky Pye by Eleanor Estes•The Doll People by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin•The Meanest Doll in the World by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin•The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie S. Carlson•The King of Ireland's Son by Padraic Colum•Baby Island by Carol Ryrie Brink•The Green Fairy Book by Andrew LangYear Four:•Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin•Poetry for Young People: William Wordsworth edited by Liu and Muir•Poetry For Young People: William Blake edited by John Maynard•The Haiku of Chiyo-ni and The Haiku Poems of Matsuo Basho (Read several from each.)Author Study:•A Voice of Her Own: The Story of Phillis Wheatley, Slave Poet by Kathryn Lasky•Poems of Phillis Wheatley.Mythology:•The Heroes by Charles Kingsley•Nordic Gods and Heroes by Padraic Colum (The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths)Tales and Parables:•Two Selections: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving•Parables from Nature by Mrs. Alfred Gatty•Tales from Africa by Kathleen Arnott (Oxford Myths and Legends)Shakespeare:•Twelfth Night by Bruce Coville•A Midsummer Night's Dream by Bruce CovilleLiterature:•The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame•Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll•Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien•Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo•Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace LinAdditional Reading:•The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Jester•The Good Master by Kate Seredy•Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle•The Wheel on the School by Meindert Dejong•The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck•Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll•The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright•The Little Lame Prince by Dinah Maria Mulock (Craik)•Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates•The Treasure Seekers by Edith Nesbit•Jason and the Golden Fleece by Padraic Colum•The Wouldbegoods by Edith Nesbit•Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink•Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild•Bambi by Felix Salten•Book of Pirates by Howard Pyle•The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle•The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall•The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall•The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall•The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman•Tree of Freedom by Rebecca Caudill•Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright•The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis•The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis•The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis•The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis•By the Shores of Silver Lake by L.I. Wilder•Norse Stories: Retold From the Eddas by Hamilton Wright Mabie•The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth•Sadako and the 1000 Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr•The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz•Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin•The Spartan by Caroline Dale Snedeker•Pebble in a Pool: The Widening Circle of Dorothy Canfield Fisher's Life by Elizabeth Yates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Here are Years 5 and 6: (I do have lists up through high school at my blog.) Year 5: Poetry: •Poetry for Young People: Alfred, Lord Tennyson edited by John Maynard •Poetry for Young People: American Poetry edited by John Hollander •Poetry for Young People: Walt Whitman edited by Jonathan Levin Tales and Parables: •The Arabian Nights Entertainment by Andrew Lang •The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle or Robin Hood by Roger L. Green •The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin Mythology: •The Trojan War by Oliva Coolidge or Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff Shakespeare: •Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and The Winter's Tale by Bruce Coville (Choose two.) Author Study: •Invincible Louisa by Cornelia Meigs •Little Women by Louisa May Alcott •Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations by Diane Stanley •A Christmas Carol or A Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens Literature: •The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge •Black Beauty by Anna Sewell •At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald •The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald •The Complete Fairy Tales by George MacDonald •Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren •Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry •Faerie Gold: Treasures From the Land of Enchantment by Hunsicker and Lindskoog •A Little Princess, Little Lord Fauntleroy or The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (Choose at least one.) Additional Reading: The Truth About Unicorns by James Cross Giblin The Princess and the Curdie by George MacDonald The Heroes of Asgard by A&E Keary The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konisburg The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E. L. Konisburg Rebecca of Sunnyfield Farm by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter Just David by Eleanor H. Porter Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott Little Men by Louisa May Alcott The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley Penrod by Booth Tarkington King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune Sing Down the Moon by Scott O'Dell Little Town on the Prairie by L.I. Wilder The Long Winter by L.I. Wilder These Happy Golden Years by L.I. Wilder The First Four Years by L.I. Wilder The Rat Catcher's Son and Other Stories by Carolyn London Born in the Year of Courage by Emily Crofford Su-Mei's Golden Year by Margueritte Harmon Bro "Tree and Leaf" by J.R.R. Tolkien The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge The Sea of Trolls (Sea of Trolls Trilogy) by Nancy Farmer All Sail Set: A Romance of the Flying Cloud by Armstrong Perry Wagons Westward: The Old Trail to Santa Fe by Armstrong Perry A Gathering of Days by Joan W. Blos Year Six: Poetry: •Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost edited by Gary D. Schmidt •Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti ( the edition illustrated by Arthur Rackham would be nice) •Poetry for Young People: Rudyard Kipling edited by Gillooly and Sharpe Tales: •The Sampo by James Baldwin •The Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin Mythology: •Myths of the World by Padraic Colum •The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff Shakespeare: •Tales From Shakespeare by C. & M. Lamb Google Books or Complete Tales From Shakespeare •Poetry for Young People: Shakespeare edited by Kasten Author Study: •Mark Twain and the River by Sterling North •The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Literature: •The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe •Treasure Island by Robert L. Stevenson •A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle •Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling •The Neverending Story by Michael Ende •Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome Additional Reading: •The House of Arden by Edith Nesbit •The Adventures of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens •Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge •The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum (both Iliad and Odyssey retelling) •The Iliad for Boys and Girls by Alfred Church •The Prince and the Pauper: A Tale for Young People of All Ages by Mark Twain •Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott •Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott •Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott •Little Men by Louisa May Alcott •Su-Mei's Golden Year by Margueritte Harmon Bro •A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle •Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle •Shipwrecked!: The True Adventures of a Japanese Boy by Rhoda Blumberg •The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson •Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Rushdie •The Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy •The Open Gate by Kate Seredy •The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann D. Wyss •Letters From Rifka by Karen Hesse •The White Stag by Kate Seredy •The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly •Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret •Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Thank you for the leveling suggestions! And thank you Kfamily for your lists! I love looking at these!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Following Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 A few I would add to your list to be either read-aloud or read independently: Kindergarten Gems - K or 1st Hundred Dresses - 1st or 2nd Island of the Blue Dolphins - 4th or 5th Little Britches series - 5th or 6th Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare - 5th or 6th Book of Virtues - all ages Children's Book of Virtues - K, 1st or 2nd Farmer Boy - 3rd or 4th FWIW, we read the Narnia series last year during Grades 4, 2 and Pre-K. All ages loved it! For K, 1st and 2nd I read many quality picture books from lists such as Memoria Press, Exodus Books, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 A few I would add to your list to be either read-aloud or read independently: Thank you! And I also have found a few more on other lists that I had missed: (sorry for the formatting, I'm c and p'ing from excel) Pinnochio Water Babies Just So Stories Little Women Tarzan Little Lord Faunterloy Christmas Carol Captains Courageous Hiawatha Parrod Comedy of Errors Much Ado about Nothing Around the World in 80 Days And seperately, a few French classics which we'll read in French: Dumas- Muskateers, Count of Monte Cristo Les Mis Fabre: Souvenirs Etymologique Hunchback of Notre Dame Quatre-vingt treize Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 27, 2014 Author Share Posted March 27, 2014 Now for the tricky part: I want my list to be different from other lists in the following way: - I want a TOP TEN list of priority books, with maybe 5 additional second priority books per level. Most lists I see are overwhelming (1000 Good books...) because it is nearly impossible to imagine reading 1000 books to my kids. - I want my list to have 2-3 parts. A TOP TEN read alouds per year, a TOP TEN independent reads per year, and then possibly an "If there's time..." list of any length containing the B list books. Good books that don't absolutely need to be read. I loved Harriet the Spy, but I don't need it to understand Western Civ, KWIM? - My independent reads would probably be more likely to correspond to a history cycle. I want the read-alouds to be selected purely for literary value. So now, let the paring down begin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 A few links I found while reading on the CIRCE website. Children's Classics - a booklist Literature-Based History - a booklist I also like the Logos Elementary Literature List. It's broken down into Core Books, Auxiliary Books, and Challenge Books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 For us, one book would lead to another, or an interest would lead to a book, and some things that I thought would be loved were hated and dropped... as real life, rather than theory ended up prevailing. Also, for all the bruhaha over Common Core, I downloaded the CC reading ideas and found some interesting ideas on there that I might not have heard of otherwise. For the very young, often one thing over and over, was better than more things read once... I'll bold the ones we read and liked at that age, bold and underline is extra emphasis, italics means more than once....and I'll comment on some others... erased means we did not read that one, or started it and did not like it and so dropped it... i'll also include some that were done as audiobooks where we both listen (I need that for my own health reasons sometimes) I have been meaning to fiddle around and create a sort of top-ten Read Alouds list for each grade level. These are books that I would actually want to read, rather than hand off to the child for independent reading. (Though, I'd like to create a top ten for that too!) Am I missing any big ones? Are my grade levels way off? 5.5-6.5 K Beatrix Potter Aesop's Fables (told when fit a situation, later age usually) Grimm's Fairy Tales 1st grade at his Waldorf school was heavy on these, many are too dark, and also questionable on today's sense of various things, such as male/female roles... consider substituting some tales from many cultures and some more modern ones. Andersen's Fairy Tales Winnie The Pooh all of series House on Pooh Corner Charlotte's Web- later age for us Trumpet of the Swan Dr. Doolittle -- not read, saw a movie version to get idea of story consider also children's older and newer books like Alexander and the no good etc. day, If you give a mouse a cookie, The little engine that could, etc. Mary Poppins, Stuart Little 6.5-7.5 1st Greek Myths - later age. We started going to and reading Shakespeare. Mr. Popper's Penguins Little House in the Big Woods (whole LIW series and also the Rose books, by that time at later age) 7.5-8.5 2nd Phantom Tollbooth - 8.5-9.5 3rd Alice's Adventures in Wonderland The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian Voyage of the Dawn Treader Sliver Chair Horse and His Boy Magician's Nephew The Last Battle -started these grade 1 and continued through 2nd and 3rd 9.5-10.5 4th none you mention, though I think all are good books. At this stage ds was reading Percy Jackson etc. and sometimes I read to him from those as read alouds, he read children's versions of Greek myths, the Iliad, and the Odyssey. Oliver Twist, Christmas Carol and other Dickens started around now. Viking Tales. The Book of One and rest of Prydain Chronicles some aloud, some he read himself. 10.5-11.5 5th ... The Prince and the Pauper, otherwise reading to him from what he was reading to himself. Started but did not finish Great Expectations. 11.5-12.5 6th Tried Great Expectations age, but still not finished... And Ladies of the Club, currently... ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 For us, one book would lead to another, or an interest would lead to a book, and some things that I thought would be loved were hated and dropped... as real life, rather than theory ended up prevailing. Also, for all the bruhaha over Common Core, I downloaded the CC reading ideas and found some interesting ideas on there that I might not have heard of otherwise. For the very young, often one thing over and over, was better than more things read once... I'll bold the ones we read and liked at that age, bold and underline is extra emphasis, italics means more than once....and I'll comment on some others... erased means we did not read that one, or started it and did not like it and so dropped it... i'll also include some that were done as audiobooks where we both listen (I need that for my own health reasons sometimes) Yes, I am definitely familiar with the phenomenon of following a theme or an author when we start to enjoy it- for example, we've read all of the doolittle series, all of the EB White (I left Stuart Little off the list because honestly, I just don't GET that book!!! LOL), all of the WInnie the Poohs... etc. I am definitely this way myself, often times reading through most things an author has written once I find an author I enjoy! This is why I want the list to stay limited to 10- so that there is still a lot of time in the schedule for exploration. I love the picture books you suggested for the younger years. I think my emphasis would be picture books in pre-k-1st, but I probably won't list those as the esesntials, although I do believe that EVERY child should read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie!!! Oh never mind, I'm adding it to my list. :-) The only reason Greek Myths are so young on my list is because I bought D'Aulaire's Greek Myths to go with SOTW, not knowing how complex and sometimes bizarre they were. About 2 lines into reading it aloud, I realized I would not be able to read the book aloud because listening to me stumble over every. single. name. was really awful. So I downloaded the audio version which is fantastic. As we listened to that, I felt sure my son would be bored out of his mind, but he re-listens to the audio book at least once a month!!! lol. So I would say this audio book could simply be fit in to whatever year the family is studying ancients, without a solid grade reference. Similarly, my son still listens to a lot of fairy tales and will continue to, so they are not limited to first. But that is where the emphasis for them will be. I will choose sanitized/not sanitized according to the child's personality. I tend to agree with the AO position on sanitized fairy tales though. Starting somewhere around 4-5th, I think I will have the same experience as you where many read-alouds might only involve me reading the first chapter or two to get a child started, or reading a certain section as you described. But I'll still separate out the Top Ten as being those books which require the most mom time for discussion reasons. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me work on my list!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Now for the tricky part: I want my list to be different from other lists in the following way: - I want a TOP TEN list of priority books, with maybe 5 additional second priority books per level. Most lists I see are overwhelming (1000 Good books...) because it is nearly impossible to imagine reading 1000 books to my kids. - I want my list to have 2-3 parts. A TOP TEN read alouds per year, a TOP TEN independent reads per year, and then possibly an "If there's time..." list of any length containing the B list books. Good books that don't absolutely need to be read. I loved Harriet the Spy, but I don't need it to understand Western Civ, KWIM? - My independent reads would probably be more likely to correspond to a history cycle. I want the read-alouds to be selected purely for literary value. So now, let the paring down begin!I understand. The must-read checklists compared to LONG lists that can never be finished. Have you seen the Michael Dirda list?http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/507794-the-knowledge-most-worth-having-by-michael-dirda/ and the Classics of Children's Literature listhttp://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/507831-classics-of-childrens-literature-editions-1-2-3-4-5-6–what-are-the-differences/ You could start by plugging these titles into the schedule first, and then you might feel a little less stressed about what else to add. This is all that is on my K-12 must-read list. The rest will be student choice according the TWTM weekly library selection list, or books chosen to line up with whatever history is being studied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 We read Beatrix Potter much younger. Maybe 1 or 2. Pooh I'm sure was 3. (At least we started at three. It took a bit of time to make it through all the books.) We also had Pooh in an audio version for the vehicle. Such a delight! There were years of rereading the books, and then she would read them on her own. Great thread! I'm out of time, but hope to come back for ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirstenhill Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 This is fun... :-). I might question the age a little bit on Cheaper by the Dozen. I read it aloud to my DD last year in 3rd, and even at that age there were several references I felt I had to either edit or explain. Sections about "necking" (I can't remember now if that was the exact word used, but that was the subject matter), a peeping Tom, etc. I think even this year as a 4th grader she would be just slightly more savvy to "get" what was going on. I think a bunch of things toward the middle-end of it would go right over a 1st grader's head. That might not be a bad thing if they are a tag-along listening in with an older sibling, but if you are looking to place it on a reading list, I would definitely go 4th or older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 I understand. The must-read checklists compared to LONG lists that can never be finished. Have you seen the Michael Dirda list?http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/507794-the-knowledge-most-worth-having-by-michael-dirda/ and the Classics of Children's Literature listhttp://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/507831-classics-of-childrens-literature-editions-1-2-3-4-5-6–what-are-the-differences/ You could start by plugging these titles into the schedule first, and then you might feel a little less stressed about what else to add. This is all that is on my K-12 must-read list. The rest will be student choice according the TWTM weekly library selection list, or books chosen to line up with whatever history is being studied. I have not seen these lists- thanks for the link! We read Beatrix Potter much younger. Maybe 1 or 2. Pooh I'm sure was 3. (At least we started at three. It took a bit of time to make it through all the books.) We also had Pooh in an audio version for the vehicle. Such a delight! There were years of rereading the books, and then she would read them on her own. Great thread! I'm out of time, but hope to come back for ideas! I read Pooh to my son when he was 6... I felt like it was a bit hard to understand for younger years. But considering the rate it will be re-read, it probably doesn't matter! This is fun... :-). I might question the age a little bit on Cheaper by the Dozen. I read it aloud to my DD last year in 3rd, and even at that age there were several references I felt I had to either edit or explain. Sections about "necking" (I can't remember now if that was the exact word used, but that was the subject matter), a peeping Tom, etc. I think even this year as a 4th grader she would be just slightly more savvy to "get" what was going on. I think a bunch of things toward the middle-end of it would go right over a 1st grader's head. That might not be a bad thing if they are a tag-along listening in with an older sibling, but if you are looking to place it on a reading list, I would definitely go 4th or older. Thank you! Having suffered from a lack of good classics, I haven't read all of these myself! I will fix it and/or remove or move to a lower priority level! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 I understand. The must-read checklists compared to LONG lists that can never be finished. Have you seen the Michael Dirda list?http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/507794-the-knowledge-most-worth-having-by-michael-dirda/ and the Classics of Children's Literature listhttp://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/507831-classics-of-childrens-literature-editions-1-2-3-4-5-6–what-are-the-differences/ You could start by plugging these titles into the schedule first, and then you might feel a little less stressed about what else to add. This is all that is on my K-12 must-read list. The rest will be student choice according the TWTM weekly library selection list, or books chosen to line up with whatever history is being studied. p.s. I knew you'd come up with some good stuff. These sorts of lists are right up your alley! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I read Pooh to my son when he was 6... I felt like it was a bit hard to understand for younger years. But considering the rate it will be re-read, it probably doesn't matter! These books were such a big part of the early years for us that I wanted to let people know it's OK to try them with little ones. :) I'm sure the understanding will vary from child to child, but you never know if you don't try! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 These books were such a big part of the early years for us that I wanted to let people know it's OK to try them with little ones. :) I'm sure the understanding will vary from child to child, but you never know if you don't try! ;) Yes! Aboslutely. And my at-the-time-4yo definitely listened in as well. But I'm not officially "counting it" if you know what I mean. She will get her own special Pooh time, and I expect big brother will listen in, as well as little sister. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 This is fun... :-). I might question the age a little bit on Cheaper by the Dozen. I read it aloud to my DD last year in 3rd, and even at that age there were several references I felt I had to either edit or explain. Sections about "necking" (I can't remember now if that was the exact word used, but that was the subject matter), a peeping Tom, etc. I think even this year as a 4th grader she would be just slightly more savvy to "get" what was going on. I think a bunch of things toward the middle-end of it would go right over a 1st grader's head. That might not be a bad thing if they are a tag-along listening in with an older sibling, but if you are looking to place it on a reading list, I would definitely go 4th or older. Good point. My 6th grader did Cheaper as an IR this year, and she really liked it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 We read Beatrix Potter much younger. Maybe 1 or 2. Pooh I'm sure was 3. (At least we started at three. It took a bit of time to make it through all the books.) We also had Pooh in an audio version for the vehicle. Such a delight! There were years of rereading the books, and then she would read them on her own. Great thread! I'm out of time, but hope to come back for ideas! I love it when they come back to things you read aloud when they were little. I read Beatrix Potter to the girls when they were little, and now my 2nd grader is reading them on her own and loving them! And she remembers snuggling together to read them the "first" time . . . The audio Pooh with Judy Dench? Priceless!!! That has been listened to over and over and over again here. Also Raggedy Ann stories, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Peter Pan, Half Magic and others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 The audio Pooh with Judy Dench? Priceless!!! That has been listened to over and over and over again here. Also Raggedy Ann stories, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, Peter Pan, Half Magic and others. We listened to Peter Dennis. From Amazon... Blackstone Audio presents (from the unabridged collection ''A.A. Milne's Pooh Classics,'') the ten stories of Winnie-the-Pooh performed by Peter Dennis. This is the only reading of these enthralling stories authorized by A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin, who wrote, ''Peter Dennis has made himself Pooh's Ambassador Extraordinary and no bear has ever had a more devoted friend. So if you want to meet the real Pooh, the bear I knew, the bear my father wrote about, listen to Peter.'' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 28, 2014 Author Share Posted March 28, 2014 Making some headway... High School: If you could organize the literature selections around 4 main themes (or 8 if we do semesters)- what would they be, and what books would go in? Themes could be things like: American classics, English classics, etc. Or themes could be about a connecting thread through multiple books, like "dystopian lit". Ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I wouldn't read Call of the Wild to kids that young. There are some very graphic descriptions of abuse of the main character. He is choked and beaten, he is attacked by wolves, etc. I recently read this book again (we read it in high school) and I was really shocked by how violent and sad it was. I'm actually not going to require that my kid read it at all because it would devastate my dd. I also agree that Cheaper by the Dozen is better for older kids. And I wouldn't stack all the Narnia books in one year. If your kids don't like them (my kids didn't), then you're stuck. This is definitely a series I'd read the first one aloud and then let the kids read the rest independently if they wish. I'd find a place to add in A Wrinkle in Time somewhere between 11 and 13. I'd add Misty of Chincoteague between 8 and 10. I would add To Kill a Mockingbird in 8th grade. Good list, overall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I agree with Tara - Call of the Wild and White Fang are both pretty brutal, and not things I'll require my animal-loving girls to read. And, head smack! Of course To Kill a Mockingbird belongs in there! And I don't see Tom Sawyer? I would do that a year or two before Huck Finn. It is a great story, and it's harder to understand Huck Finn if you don't already have the backstory that TS provides. Maybe it's on there and I just didn't see it. And another one that had a huge impact on my 2nd grader this year was The Cricket in Times Square. I read it aloud to her, and she read all the sequels to herself. She loved those books. She is now inhaling the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books. Other books that had a huge impact on my older dd were Tuck Everlasting - i think she read it in 4th grade? and Caddie Woodlawn, too, in 4th or 5th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 I'd add in the Lang Fairy books for geographic diversity. You can see the probable origins of some of the stories here: http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/indexbib.htm If you're just looking for top 10 you would need to count the Lang books as "one book" and just select the non-European stories from them. There are not that many in the set so reading them all could count for one book. Just how I'd do it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Yes, I am definitely familiar with the phenomenon of following a theme or an author when we start to enjoy it- for example, we've read all of the doolittle series, all of the EB White (I left Stuart Little off the list because honestly, I just don't GET that book!!! LOL), all of the WInnie the Poohs... etc. I am definitely this way myself, often times reading through most things an author has written once I find an author I enjoy! This is why I want the list to stay limited to 10- so that there is still a lot of time in the schedule for exploration. I love the picture books you suggested for the younger years. I think my emphasis would be picture books in pre-k-1st, but I probably won't list those as the esesntials, although I do believe that EVERY child should read If You Give A Mouse A Cookie!!! Oh never mind, I'm adding it to my list. :-) The only reason Greek Myths are so young on my list is because I bought D'Aulaire's Greek Myths to go with SOTW, not knowing how complex and sometimes bizarre they were. About 2 lines into reading it aloud, I realized I would not be able to read the book aloud because listening to me stumble over every. single. name. was really awful. So I downloaded the audio version which is fantastic. As we listened to that, I felt sure my son would be bored out of his mind, but he re-listens to the audio book at least once a month!!! lol. So I would say this audio book could simply be fit in to whatever year the family is studying ancients, without a solid grade reference. Similarly, my son still listens to a lot of fairy tales and will continue to, so they are not limited to first. But that is where the emphasis for them will be. I will choose sanitized/not sanitized according to the child's personality. I tend to agree with the AO position on sanitized fairy tales though. Starting somewhere around 4-5th, I think I will have the same experience as you where many read-alouds might only involve me reading the first chapter or two to get a child started, or reading a certain section as you described. But I'll still separate out the Top Ten as being those books which require the most mom time for discussion reasons. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me work on my list!!! In current life, we are finding reference back to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie meaningful more often than Aesop or Greek myths... it is a modern fable with a parable, very applicable to what happens when a homeschool project leads from what seemed like a tiny easy start into total chaos. Same with Alexander... I mean, "some days are like that, even in Australia" or Switzerland. A couple other loved picture books I missed were ( though I may have titles a bit mussed up): City Dog, Country Frog and The Mountain who Loved a Bird ... We missed The Little Engine when at the "proper age" and I later decided I needed to refer to "I think I can" when the going got rough and so decided to read it to him when he was 10 or 11 as better late than never. I guess anything that I feel was so important that it needed to be done even if late fits my top 10 list. For us too, Call of the Wild etc. are still too brutal, but we did the whole Wrinkle in Time etc. series starting from around age 7 and not yet done with it. 7 did not seem at all too young for the first book, just as I think Narnia can be started quite young...but I am not sure any of them is a must not miss top 10 book... The Laura books series was immensely helpful for putting other history onto pegs around it, and later also considering things like what was happening in the Laura situations as compared to Native American forced relocation and massacres etc., or considering that Rose later became a reporter and considering what events she did or might have covered as a journalist. It sort of naturally introduced a whole era in a child friendly pretty sanitized way, but became something to build on as more and more was learned... I would say for us, the whole Laura and Rose series, however many books that is, were in a top 10 do not miss for the early years, as also, for us I would put The Trumpet of the Swan, but not either Charlotte's Web nor Stuart Little. I think A Christmas Carol is a top 10 book because so many people know it and one finds references to it. I'd also put the great Shakespeare plays, Hamlet, Macbeth, Henry V, etc. into the top 10 category. I think one needs to have some idea of who Alice in Wonderland is, (and nowadays also need to know who Darth Vader is), not so much Mr. Popper's Penguins or Phantom Tollbooth... very enjoyable, but not as key books. The current book we are listening to, And Ladies of the Club, somewhat like the whole Laura series covers a number of years--we just got to the election in which Hayes ends up President of the USA, in an election that somewhat resembled that of 2000. I expect the events of the book will continue on into the 20th century. I do not think it is on any list of top books to read during school, but I think it is on our own personal list. We also tried some seminal works like Uncle Tom's cabin (not finished), and Looking Backward (very much enjoyed) that were hugely influential and much read in their own times, though not so much these days. In the early years reading 10 books a year was feasible since they tended to be shorter or otherwise more manageable, by around 4th grade the level for read alouds was such that 10, at least for me, was no longer feasible. And Ladies of the Club, is over 50 hours for example-- We have also been reading the adult version of Howard Zinn's history and earlier listened to and discussed the adult version of Mann's 1491. 10 such books would be a lot of reading time... maybe doable for some of you, but not by me. By upper elementary/middle school I think I am at where maybe 3 books aloud is all that is feasible, and then a few more not aloud, but still to get significant discussion time about them... but I think it still is less than 10 total. I also have accepted that some of the "classics" are starting to feel boring at this point when compared to the fast action of books like the Ranger's Apprentice series. So I may look at passages from them for the beauty of the writing, but after a couple of tries on something like Treasure Island or Great Expectations, where it is just feeling slow and dull at this point, I am okay with letting it go--especially since he has already had some other Dickens, though not other Stevenson. And a lot of books that I loved as a child like The Swiss Family Robinson, have not been to my son's taste at all. For high school, well, I stopped my list at age 12 where I have actual experience, but I would hope to get to some international literature, like War and Peace, maybe The Brothers Karamazov, 100 Years of Solitude, something by James Joyce--at least Dubliners and maybe Ulysses, probably something by Goethe (actually one our grade 1 fairy tales was already by Goethe), probably something from Africa and Asia, etc. Has anyone mentioned Moby Dick btw?, it is again one that I think most people are expected to at least know who Moby Dick is and the basics of the story... Or anything by Hemingway? For Whom the Bell Tolls? Something by Faulkner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 The current book we are listening to, And Ladies of the Club, somewhat like the whole Laura series covers a number of years--we just got to the election in which Hayes ends up President of the USA, in an election that somewhat resembled that of 2000. I expect the events of the book will continue on into the 20th century. I do not think it is on any list of top books to read during school, but I think it is on our own personal list. And Ladies of the Club is one of my favorite books. I adored it when I read it years ago! :001_wub: I have thought of it often during the intervening years. I am going to add it to our list. You also mentioned War and Peace. . . It's another favorite that comes to mind frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Oh gosh, now I have more great stuff to add in!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 And I wouldn't stack all the Narnia books in one year. If your kids don't like them (my kids didn't), then you're stuck. This is definitely a series I'd read the first one aloud and then let the kids read the rest independently if they wish. On short lists, I prefer to only read one book from a series. My goal during "school" is to prepare a student for a lifestyle of reading. Hopefully the student will finish the series on their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Cheaper by the Dozen - definitely would move that up to at least 4th grade. I just recently read it to ds (12, 10, and 7) and while they enjoyed it, I think they found it a little long. I think you might have trouble keeping the attention of 1st graders. Also, it's nice to read it when they have a little more historical perspective as it covers an interesting period between the 1890's and the 1920's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Not sure about adding in To kill a mocking bird. My dh is currently reading it out loud and it does have some reasonably graphic descriptions of rape that may or may not be appropriate for your kid. My Ds really hated Frankenstein at age 12. Every single person in the book dies. And it is really a book about a mass murderer ( although misunderstood) who hunts down and kills all of the family of Frankenstein. I'd put both of these in highschool if I had to do it again. Just our experience Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I like the idea of lists like the one. But I find the older my boys get the more picky they get. For example they didnt like Narnia. But are currently enjoying LOTR. ... I'm just really posting here so I can easily find this thread when I am home and able to use my computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 Ok, below is my updated list, taking most of your suggestions to heart! I still haven't put together the picture books for pre-k/K, so ignore that. I have in some years added a sort of unifying "theme" in italics, as I tried to organize my thoughts. The unifying thread might make discussions and comparisons easier. I've also created a high school list, but it needs LOTS of work- you'll see there's more than 10 for each year, even though by then, I'd probably need to reduce to 5-6 works. Also, while I'm still calling it the read-aloud list, I would think by 5th grade that the books might or might not be read aloud according to family preferences, but that the top ten would still be the "priority books". Also, I think the grade levels should be less rigid and it should be more just a list with a suggested or possible progression, rather than a set-in-stone age range. In all years, the Bible and Shakespeare would be the preferred version for the age- children's Bible, or Shakespeare adaptations by Lamb for example. I left the Bible out last time because I assumed it was implicit for literacy, but decided to go ahead and put it in explicitly. Without further ado... (sorry for the formatting...) 4.5-5.5 Pre-K Word play, rhyme Bible Mother Goose Picture Books Dr. Seuss 5.5-6.5 K Tales, Fairy Tales, Fables Bible Beatrix Potter Aesop's Fables Grimm's Fairy Tales (gentle) Andersen's Fairy Tales Winnie The Pooh House on Pooh Corner Charlotte's Web Trumpet of the Swan Dr. Doolittle Just So Stories 6.5-7.5 1st Realistic Stories of Children Bible Railway Children Treasure Seekers Mr. Popper's Penguins Farmer Boy Little House on the Prairie Wheel on the School The Children of Noisy Village Five Little Peppers and How They Grew Little House in the Big Woods 7.5-8.5 2nd Narnia Bible Overview of Greek/Norse myths? The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Prince Caspian Voyage of the Dawn Treader Sliver Chair Horse and His Boy Magician's Nephew The Last Battle The Princess and the Goblin The Light Princess (I still leave Narnia here in its entirety as my own personal preference! I plan on doing the whole year as a Narnia year. But it's true for a list like this, I should probably only put the first book) 8.5-9.5 3rd Light Fantasy, Intro to Lit Analysis Bible James Harriot Pippi Longstocking Half Magic By the Great Horn Spoon Phantom Tollbooth The Secret Garden Mud 1 Mud 2 Mud 3 The Princess and Curdie Christmas Carol (The MCT Mud books should come off the list, they are just here because our family will be using them.) 9.5-10.5 4th Fantasy, Animals Bible Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Peter Pan Wind in the Willows At the Back of the North Wind Where the Red Fern Grows The Jungle Book Heidi Black Beauty The Yearling Wizard of Oz ---------------------------------------------------------- Starting here the books are less read-aloud and more just "The Essential Ten"- to be read aloud or not according to family 10.5-11.5 5th Myths revisited, The Hobbit Bible Pinnochio Around the World in 80 Days Swiss Family Robinson A Midsummer Night's Dream Norse Myths Arabian Nights Otto fo the Silver Hand Original Grimm's Greek Myths The Hobbit 11.5-12.5 6th Lord of the Rings Bible Le Morte d'Arthur Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers Return of the King Other Tolkein Tom Sawyer Huck Finn Little Women The Prince and the Pauper Anne of Green Gables 12.5-13.5 7th Technology/Dystopia, Social commentary Bible Treasure Island Call of the Wild Invisible Man Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Time Machine The Tempest Lord of the Flies Gulliver's Travels Animal Farm Watership Down 13.5-14.5 8th Courage Bible Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Frederick Douglas Walden Anne Frank Diary of a Young Girl Oliver Twist Comedy Of Errors To Kill a Mockingbird The Crucible Grapes of Wrath Robinson Crusoe Last of the Mohicans ---------------------------- And now for a very rough draft of high school. Some of the years with a clear unifying thread I like, others I was just randomly throwing books into slots. I have also added theological books to this list, which again is family preference. 14.5-15.5 9th Greeks, Romans, ? Bible CS Lewis Mere Christianity Lewis Silent Planet trilogy A Tale of Two Cities David Copperfield Merchant of Venice Of Mice and Men How to Read a Book Adler Chesterton Father Brown Illiad Oddyssey Beowulf Canterbury Tales 15.5-16.5 10th Dystopia Bible Macbeth CS Lewis Abolition of Man Chesterton Everlasting Man What's Wrong with the World In Defence of Sanity Orwell 1984 Brave New World Farenheit 451 Running Man Steven King The Lottery short story 16.5-17.5 11th On becoming human Bible How to Think about the Great Ideas Adler Pride and Prejudice Romeo and Juliet The Ball and the Cross Jane Eyre The Stranger - Camus Chesterton ManAlive Chesterton The Man who was Thursday metamorphosis Death of a Salesman Great Gatsby 17.5-18.5 12th Original Works Bible Hamlet St Augustine Confessions Chesterton: Heretics Chesterton: Orthodoxy Dante's Inferno Euclid book 1 Plato Four Voyages to the New World On the Origin of the Species Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Not sure about adding in To kill a mocking bird. My dh is currently reading it out loud and it does have some reasonably graphic descriptions of rape that may or may not be appropriate for your kid. I see what you're saying, but keep in mind that no one is actually raped. The entire premise is that the "rape" as it is described was a physically impossible act for the accused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 I see what you're saying, but keep in mind that no one is actually raped. The entire premise is that the "rape" as it is described was a physically impossible act for the accused. I put it in 8th grade on my new list. I think that's plenty old enough to handle the topics. Also, we'll theoretically be doing modern history that year. I think I read it in 7-8th myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsmith Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I burst out laughing when I read this! My son was so frustrated with me butchering all the names in that book that he finally took it from me and read it on his own. I did get the audiobook when Audible finally offered it, and he still enjoys it. Now I pre-read and plug in anything I can't pronounce into the HowJSay app. Audible has a great version of Treasure Island read by Alfred Molina. We are re-listening to it at the moment. Love it!! The only reason Greek Myths are so young on my list is because I bought D'Aulaire's Greek Myths to go with SOTW, not knowing how complex and sometimes bizarre they were. About 2 lines into reading it aloud, I realized I would not be able to read the book aloud because listening to me stumble over every. single. name. was really awful. So I downloaded the audio version which is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 There is also a question of what needs to be familiar, and what actually needs to be read. For example, we have been watching Niall Ferguson's The War of the World (documentary about 20th century wars)--the title a reference to the novel about Martian invasion, and also in the movie was a reference to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Both books are worth knowing as part of what most educated people would understand as references. But are the books needed? Would a movie version suffice? Would just explaining basically what the book is about suffice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 30, 2014 Author Share Posted March 30, 2014 There is also a question of what needs to be familiar, and what actually needs to be read. For example, we have been watching Niall Ferguson's The War of the World (documentary about 20th century wars)--the title a reference to the novel about Martian invasion, and also in the movie was a reference to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Both books are worth knowing as part of what most educated people would understand as references. But are the books needed? Would a movie version suffice? Would just explaining basically what the book is about suffice? Yes! I was just pondering this earlier. I've never read Moby Dick, but I understand references to it. Same with Robinson Crusoe, etc. For certain books, especially longer-winded ones, maybe an excerpt with notable quotations would suffice, along with a plot summary or movie. For example, there are versions of Swiss Family Robinson that have a lot of the excessive length cut out but retain the plot and original writing. Worth thinking about!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Here, btw, Shakespeare was introduced much earlier, ds saw a first Shakespeare comedywhen he was 5, and had Macbeth aloud when ds was 7, shortening it somewhat on the fly, for example--partly because we had access to summer plays in a park, and partly because he spent a couple of years at a Waldorf where the 8th grade does a Shakespeare play every year, both of which are amateurish, but fun to go to. The early familiarity with it has been extremely useful, fun in and for itself, and there are numerous references to Shakespeare in other things read. The deeper levels could be revisited again and again, but the basic plays, many of them, are very accessible quite young. By 12 now he has seen or heard around 10 of the plays (as plays, not as the story of ____) ...including many of the "great" often quoted ones: Hamlet, Othello, Julius Cesar, Henry V, Merchant of Venice, King Lear, Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet... Mr. Popper's Penguins is fun--but, not IME at all needed to understand Western Lit--and I'd put a pleasant introduction to Shakespeare in its place. Similarly Dickens to me is more useful for understanding "Western Civ," and again, the stories, some of them, can be fairly accessible relatively early. While Great Expectations has been a bust, ds very much enjoyed The Old Curiosity Shop, Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers (his first Dickens and first approached as a BBC production on DVD, then as an audiobook), and A Christmas Carol at around grade 3 - 4. Bleak House, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, and Little Nell 5th -6th grade-ish. Usually I use audiobooks for these because it is too much for me to read them. We also listened to Pinnocchio way earlier, and then revisited it in a simplified version in Italian this year. Pippi Longstocking etc. ... lots of fun, especially maybe for girls ... I read that as a child, but not with my son and it does not seem to be anything that he is missing. A few of your selections I have never heard of... maybe we have huge holes there that I do not even know we have ... I think Don Quixote should be part of the lexicon of known works, in some form or another. I think, by end of High School, one should perhaps know some form of who Dr. Faustus is--the Marlowe play is accessible to 8th graders (my school had it then), or the Goethe version perhaps. One should know who Dr. Frankenstein is, and, Dr. Zhivago, and at this point, probably also Dr. Strangelove....but not necessarily to have read or seen full length versions of these. One should also know who Dracula is, and Godzilla, and King Kong... but so far I have managed just to give a basic explanation when references crop up, without more time devoted to these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Monica, Your post and my last one crossed... I would say a shorter version of Swiss Family Robinson would be better than the full length one. We tried full length and ds abhorred it! So sad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Pippi Longstocking etc. ... lots of fun, especially maybe for girls ... I read that as a child, but not with my son and it does not seem to be anything that he is missing. I really disliked the Pippi Longstocking books when I was a kid. I found the nonsensical things she did disturbing. But I read the books to my kids, and they loved them. As an adult I appreciate Pippi much more than I did as a child. I would say a shorter version of Swiss Family Robinson would be better than the full length one. We tried full length and ds abhorred it! So sad... Most of those types of classics we have read have bored us stiff. The descriptions and details are just boring. I'm sure they served their purpose in a time when people didn't have access to information about unfamiliar places, but in today's world they are just wordy and dull. I am fine with abridged versions. We have enjoyed most of those. I am not a "read highbrow literature for its own sake" kind of person. If we can get the main ideas from abridged versions, that's fine. Life is too short to suffer through unenjoyable reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Also, for high school, if you are in Switzerland, maybe something by Herman Hesse? like Siddhartha and uh, forget title now...theme-duality and the artist in society. Not literature, but if you take the theme dystopias and utopias, then The Forest People and The Mountain People (I may also recall these titles wrong as it has been a long time, I say ruefully...) by Colin Turnbull, (non fiction) are very worthwhile. Equality by Bellamy and Through the Eyes of a Stranger, useful as some utopias as against the many dystopias available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 ... Most of those types of classics we have read have bored us stiff. The descriptions and details are just boring. I'm sure they served their purpose in a time when people didn't have access to information about unfamiliar places, but in today's world they are just wordy and dull. I am fine with abridged versions. We have enjoyed most of those. I am not a "read highbrow literature for its own sake" kind of person. If we can get the main ideas from abridged versions, that's fine. Life is too short to suffer through unenjoyable reading. I agree with that. There was a time when Swiss Family Robinson might have been the exciting newest and most thrilling adventure like the Harry Potter of its day ... but even though it was one of my favorite books as a child, if ds was not going to enjoy it there was no point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 OP here again! I just wanted to send out a :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: to everyone who has contributed to this thread. It has really helped me get some ideas in order in terms of what needs to be read, what needs to be familiar (but not necessarily read), what sorts of books/quantities are realistic for various ages and stages, etc. Thanks so much! There is one more source I want to look at as I refine my lists- I've downloaded all the Journey Through Bookland onto my kindle and want to check to tables of contents for more ideas. I know for example that there is a cut-down Swiss Family Robinson in there! Also, I can't believe I forgot Siddhartha on my list! Crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Now for the tricky part: I want my list to be different from other lists in the following way: - I want a TOP TEN list of priority books, with maybe 5 additional second priority books per level. Most lists I see are overwhelming (1000 Good books...) because it is nearly impossible to imagine reading 1000 books to my kids. - I want my list to have 2-3 parts. A TOP TEN read alouds per year, a TOP TEN independent reads per year, and then possibly an "If there's time..." list of any length containing the B list books. Good books that don't absolutely need to be read. I loved Harriet the Spy, but I don't need it to understand Western Civ, KWIM? - My independent reads would probably be more likely to correspond to a history cycle. I want the read-alouds to be selected purely for literary value. So now, let the paring down begin! I understand. I want to put together my own list like this in the near future. I think one issue that you might run into on a board like this is that your focus might be different than someone else's. You want your lists to reflect an understanding of Western Civilization, and someone else might put their lists together with other factors as top priority. Literary quality, virtue, the delight of the child, a cultural pov, and many other factors, not excluding the idea that it was what I enjoyed when I was a kid. I think all of those factors come into play when we put together a book list, but the lists will morph as the top priority changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 The audio Pooh with Judy Dench? Priceless!!!. . . We listened to Peter Dennis. From Amazon... Blackstone Audio presents (from the unabridged collection ''A.A. Milne's Pooh Classics,'') the ten stories of Winnie-the-Pooh performed by Peter Dennis. This is the only reading of these enthralling stories authorized by A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin, who wrote, ''Peter Dennis has made himself Pooh's Ambassador Extraordinary and no bear has ever had a more devoted friend. So if you want to meet the real Pooh, the bear I knew, the bear my father wrote about, listen to Peter.'' I forgot to add the smiley to my post! :001_tt2: I was just teasing! :lol: The quote was just the reason I chose the version I did. I'm sure the other one is great too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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