so many literature lists!

[MeganW]

There are SO MANY lists of good literature for kids.  I think if I combined them all, I could buy 10,000 books for my kids' free reading this summer and still miss some!  I need to just pick one list on get on with it.  

 

What do you think is the BEST list out there, both for quality and enjoyment?  

- 1000 Good Books
- Ambleside

- Common Sense Media

- Honey for a Child's Heart

- Mensa

- Newbury

- Sonlight
- something else?

 

If it makes a difference, my kids are average to a bit above average readers, ages 10.5 to young 12.  Recent books include
- My Side of the Mountain,
- Harry Potter books 1-3 over and over and over (bc I don't think they are mature enough to go on in the series),
- Last of the Really Great Wangdoodles,
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
- The Indian in the Cupboard, and
- The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. BEF.

 

[Lori D.]

There are SO MANY lists of good literature for kids.  I think if I combined them all, I could buy 10,000 books for my kids' free reading this summer and still miss some!  I need to just pick one list on get on with it.  

 

What do you think is the BEST list out there, both for quality and enjoyment?  

- 1000 Good Books

- Ambleside

- Common Sense Media

- Honey for a Child's Heart

- Mensa

- Newbury

- Sonlight

- something else?

 

Of course, YMMV ;) -- what booklists fit best will vary from family to family, so all I can tell is which ones we used and why -- which may not connect at all for you and your family. ;)

 

Of the book lists you mentioned, I tended to use titles most frequently from Sonlight and 1000 Good Books. And then titles recommended by WTM boardies. I liked Sonlight's lists because they were a good mix of classics and more recent works. The 1000 Good Books lists are largely older works (30-50 years old or more), but they were frequently a good fit for us because all of their titles are high quality and high interest recommendations. And I love getting ideas from WTMers because you all provide previously-unknown-to-me gems, and exposure of high quality/high interest recent releases that aren't on any booklists yet.

 

I didn't tend to use Ambleside very much in the elementary/middle school years, as most of "the good stuff" on their lists is on the 1000 Good Books list, and Ambleside's lists are full of very old works -- the most recent titles tend to have been written in the 1950s, which is now almost 70 years ago. Ambleside was more helpful for *me* for ideas of classic lit. for making our own high school English and History credits.

 

I never owned Honey for a Child's Heart, but I know other homeschoolers have really liked that one. All Through the Ages is another "book about books" for matching up historical fiction for your book lists.

 

 

For even MORE booklists esp. geared for the tween/young teen ages, check out this post from the thread "Looking for good booklists". Happy booklisting! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Lori D.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited June 17, 2022 by SilverMoon

[barnwife]

Our kids are younger but I've been using the 1000 Good Books, Memoria Press, and Mater Amablis.

[MerryAtHope]

I did similar to Lori--I pulled from Sonlight lists first because we enjoyed about 95% of their readers and read-alouds (for history, we usually enjoyed the biographies and supplemental history books, but I was about 50/50 on spine/main texts). I always kept notes of great books mentioned by WTMers or on the Sonlight boards. Then I looked at other literature-based resources if I still wanted a few more books to fill in for some area (Sonlight does World history over 2 years, so there was room to add if you are stretching to a 3 or 4 year cycle)--Winter Promise, Illuminations by Bright Ideas Press (they put out Mystery of History), My Father's World, Diana Waring... When I looked at supplemental lists, one thing I looked for was whether a book was recommended on more than one list. 

 

Probably the best way to figure this out is to go with one list (or mainly one list) for a year and see what you think of the recommendations--see if it's a good fit for your family or if there are too many "misses" for your preferences.

[Lori D.]

Probably the best way to figure this out is to go with one list (or mainly one list) for a year and see what you think of the recommendations--see if it's a good fit for your family or if there are too many "misses" for your preferences.

 

Agree. Another way to come at it is to look at a number of lists and pull out titles that show up in multiple lists. Or, focus on booklists that have a high number of books that were family favorites that you've already read -- if the booklist contains books you've enjoyed previously, chances are you'll like a number of the books on the list that you haven't read.

[strawberryjam]

Mensa and Honey for a Child's Heart are my favourite, but I always check Sonlight too.

[aprilleigh]

It probably depends on the kids. We use the Mensa lists, and because DS really loves books I supplement based on his interests and/or books I want to share with him. There are a few series that are included in their entirety, but the Mensa lists also include a number of individual books that  are part of a series.

My advice would be to pick a list, or let your kids pick it, and then supplement as needed/desired. The idea that you have to read them all is silly. By the time you got there they'd be ready for adult literature, and list making in that arena is even worse.

[fourisenough]

Mensa is my favorite.

[Ausmumof3]

My holds list is permanently full at the library right now! Mostly thanks to the read aloud revival podcast 😬