5TH-8TH

RECOMMENDED READING MASTER LIST FOR LITERATURE

I have been asked what my literature “master list” would look like, so here it is! Well, this is the beginning of it anyway...the Literature portion. I may list history, theology, and science selections at a later time.

Is there literature missing that is worth reading? Of course. Are there things included that can be skipped? Sure.

But I firmly believe that if your student follows this reading list, they will know much of what they need to know to succeed and will become a  relatively well-educated individual. They will make connections between many of these great works of literature and they will be able to join the conversation that's been taking place for thousands of years.

            Of course, we all have different reading abilities and attention spans, so I've marked the absolute essentials with an asterisk (*). If your student wants more material, read BOTH options when given a choice, read the others in a series (marked by ff), or add another Shakespeare play to each year. If you want a stronger classical emphasis to your homeschool, I've marked additional resources with a cross (+).

            I've tried to make each year a combination of challenging and more relaxing reads for your student. Of course, the first few years may need to be all read-alouds. And audiobooks count! Feel free to use selections from a year or two lower or higher than your student's level, according to the abilities of your student, especially if you're starting the list in situ.

Lastly, a warning:

I have included a few titles that have fallen into disfavor in recent years. At this time, I believe that their value outweighs the instances of outdated language or stereotypical illustrations. I am working on rereading all of these to verify their importance to this list.

5TH (10-11 years)

 Justin Morgan Had a Horse – Marguerite Henry

*The Door in the Wall – Marguerite de Angeli

*Peter Pan – J M Barrie

 Crispin and the Cross of Lead – Avi

*Caddie Woodlawn ff – Carol Ryrie Brink

 Red Hugh, Prince of Donegal – Robert T Reilly

 God King – Joanne Williamson

 Red Falcons of Tremoine – Hendry Peart

 The Cat of Bubastes – G A Henty

 Tree of Freedom – Rebecca Caudill

*The Witch of Blackbird Pond  AND The Bronze Bow – Elizabeth George Speare

*The Singing Tree – Kate Seredy

 The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen – Lloyd Alexander

*The Phoenix and the Carpet – Edith Nesbit

 The Samurai's Tale – Erik Christian Haugaard

*Number the Stars – Lois Lowry

*Carry On, Mr Bowditch – Jean Lee Latham

 Black Beauty – Anna Sewell

*The Twenty-One Balloons – William Pene du Bois

 The Slave Dancer – Paula Fox

*The Heroes – Charles Kingsley

*Twelfth Night – William Shakespeare

+The Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Chivalry

+Tales of Ancient Egypt – Roger Lancelyn Green OR Stories of Ancient Egypt – Marguerite Divin

+The Happy Prince and Other Fairy Tales OR Complete Fairy Tales – Oscar Wilde

6TH (11-12 years)

*Alice in Wonderland AND Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Caroll

 The Water Babies – Charles Kingsley

*Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson

*Adam of the Road – Elizabeth Janet Gray

*Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe

 Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus – James Otis Kaler

*The Chestry Oak – Kate Seredy

*The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain

 The Winged Watchman – Hilda von Stockum

 The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow – Allen French

 Hittite Warrior – Joanne Williamson

*The Great and Terrible Quest – Margaret Lovett

 Swallows and Amazons ff – Arthur Ransome

*Snow Treasure – Marie McSwigan

*Around the World in 80 Days – Jules Verne

*The Hobbit – J R R Tolkien

 The Roman Britain Trilogy – Rosemary Sutcliff

 Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze – Elizabeth Foreman Lewis

 Otto of the Silver Hand – Howard Pyle

*Johnny Tremain – Esther Forbes

*Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates – Mary Mapes Dodge

*The Taming of the Shrew – William Shakespeare

+The Illustrated Bulfinch's Mythology: Legends of Charlemagne

+Myths of the Norseman – Roger Lancelyn Green OR The Children of Odin – Padraic Colum

+Favorite Folktales From Around the World – Jane Yolen

7TH (12-13 years)

Men of Iron – Howard Pyle

*Kidnapped – Robert Louis Stevenson

 The Black Arrow – Robert Louis Stevenson

*The Prince and the Pauper – Mark Twain

 Captains Courageous – Rudyard Kipling

 The Trumpeter of Krakow – Eric Kelly

 Big John's Secret – Eleanore M Jewett

 Beorn the Proud – Madeleine Polland

*The Swiss Family Robinson – Johann David Wyss

 The Young Carthaginian – G A Henty

*Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Mildred D Taylor

* At the Back of the North Wind – George MacDonald

*Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

 The Trumpeter of Krakow – Eric Kelly

 The Hound of the Baskervilles – Arthur Conan Doyle

*Rip van Winkle AND The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – Washington Irving

 The Never-Ending Story – Michael Ende

*Little Women OR Little Men ff – Louisa May Alcott

 The Book of the Dun Cow ff – Walter Wangerin

*Anne of Green Gables ff – L M Montgomery

 The Perilous Gard OR The Sherwood Ring – Elizabeth Marie Pope

*Julius Caesar – William Shakespeare

+The Children's Homer – Padraic Colum

+Greek Myths – Olivia Coolidge

+Beauty – Robin McKinley

+A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court – Mark Twain

8TH (13-14 years)

*Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson

 The Last of the Mohicans ff – James Fenimore Cooper

 The Yearling – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

*The Three Musketeers ff – Alexandre Dumas

*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain

 Two Years Before the Mast – Richard H Dana Jr

 Little Britches ff – Ralph Moody

*To Be a Slave – Julius Lester

 The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

*White Fang OR The Call of the Wild – Jack London

 The Reb and the Redcoats -  Constance Savery

 Kim – Rudyard Kipling

*The Once and Future King – T H White

*A Journey to the Center of the Earth OR 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne

*Lost Horizon – James Hilton

 All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque

*Pilgrim's Progress – John Bunyan

*Ivanhoe OR Rob Roy – Sir Walter Scott

*Beowulf – Burton Raffel, translator

 Tom Brown's Schooldays – Thomas Hughes

*Romeo and Juliet – William Shakespeare

+The Trojan War – Olivia Coolidge

+The Golden Fleece – Padraic Colum

+Song of the Nibelungs – Burton Raffel, translator

So, there you have it! Become a subscriber and we'll send you this entire list for free!

Stay tuned for the addition of history, theology, and science selections in the near future!