Janelle Esker Each year as I prepare to homeschool my children my favorite thing to do is make out the reading lists. It is such a joy to go through the lists from years past and remember all the great books we have read. I am very excited to present our Summer Reading Lists For Kindergarten to 12th Grade!
In preparation for this post, my high schoolers and college students were pulling their favorite books off our shelves to make sure they were included in the following lists! Such good times!
The following book lists for each level do not represent all the books my kids have read but rather these are the “required reading” for each grade level. You may note that occasionally there will be a few books below grade level stuck into a year. I do that so my children will have a bit of a break and enjoy a good easy read.
The reading lists have books in three categories under each year. They include Fiction, Biography, and some Non-Fiction Christian Living Books.
I would classify the majority of these books as “Living Books” and “Classics”.
Summer Reading Lists For Kindergarten To 12th Grade
Kindergarten and 1st Grade Reading List
Easy Readers:
Frog and Toad Series – Arnold Lobel
Mouse Tales – Arnold Lobel
Owl at Home – Arnold Lobel
Put Me in the Zoo – Robert Lopshire
Little Bear Series – Elsa Holmelund Minarik
Green Eggs and Ham – Dr. Suess
My First Book Series – Carine MacKenzie
One Fish, Two Fish – Dr. Suess
My Cat and the Hat – Dr. Suess
Biscuit’s Day at the Farm – Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat Schories
Go, Dog. Go! – P.D. Eastman
A Fly Went By – Mike McClintock and Fritz Siebel
A Fish Out of Water – Helen Palmer and P.D. Eastman
ABEKA beginner Readers
Christian Liberty Press Readers – Florence M. Lindstrom
Reader:
Stone Soup – Marcia Brown
The Little House – Virginia Lee Burton
Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel – Virginia Lee Burton
Jonah: The Runaway Preacher – Carine Mackenzie
Corduroy – Don Freeman
Ox Cart Man – Donald Hall
Bread and Jam for Francis Series – Russell and Lillian Hoban
Floss – Kim Lewis
Titch – Pat Hutchins
Frederick – Leo Lionni
Daniel: The Praying Prince – Carine Mackenzie
Blueberries for Sal – Robert McCloskey
Make Way for Ducklings – Robert McCloskey
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Series – Laura Joffe Numeroff and Felicia Bond
Amelia Bedelia – Herman Parish
The Little Engine that Could – Watty Piper
Curious George – H.A. Rey
Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown
Runaway Bunny – Margaret Wise Brown
Keep the Lights Burning Abby – Peter and Connie Roop
Henry and Mudge Series – Cynthia Rylant
Mr. Putter and Tabby Series – Cynthia Rylant
Caps for Sale – Esphyr Slobodkina
Doctor DeSoto – William Steig
The Biggest Bear -Lynd Ward
A Chair for My Mother – Vera B. Williams
A New Coat for Anna – Harriet Ziefert
Harry the Dirty Dog – Gene Zion
Christian Liberty Nature Reader – Florence Bass
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
2nd Grade Reading List
The Billy and Blaze Series – C.W. Anderson
Jillian Jiggs – Phoebe Gillman
Nate the Great Series – Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
The Family under the Bridge – Natalie Savage Carlson
The Door in the Wall – Marguerite De Angeli
The Hundred Dresses – Eleanor Estes
Winnie-the-Pooh Series – A.A. Milne
The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook – Joyce Lankester Brisley
A House is A House for Me – Mary Ann Hoberman
Madeline – Ludwig Bemelmans
The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter – Beatrix Potter
Encyclopedia Brown Series – Donald J. Sobol
A Child’s Garden of Verses – Robert Louis Stevenson
The Boxcar Children Series – Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Velveteen Rabbit – Margery Williams
New Toes for Tia – Lia Dinkins
Owen – Kevin Henkes
Chester’s Way – Kevin Henkes
Jessica – Kevin Henkes
Wemberly Worried – Kevin Henkes
Christian Liberty Nature Reader
3rd Grade Reading List
The Wright Brothers and their Sister – Lois Mills
Brave Irene – William Steig
Mr. Poppers Penguins – Robert Lawson
Betty Doll – Patricia Polacco
Luba and the Wren – Patricia Polacco
The House on Walenska Street – Charlotte Herman
Almost Home – Wendy G. Lawton
Teddy’s Button – Amy Le Feuvre
History for Children – John Wayland
The Princess and the Kiss – Jennie Bishop
The Tinkers Daughter – Wendy G. Lawton
The Racketty Packetty House – Francis Hodgson Burnette
Unfading Beauty – Tracy M. Leininger
Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie
The Land Beyond the Setting Sun – Tracy M. Leininger
Henry Huggins – Beverly Cleary
Nothing Can Separate Us – Tracy M. Leininger
The Chronicles of Narnia Series – C.S. Lewis
A Light Kindled – Tracy M. Leininger
Homer Price – Robert McCloskey
In Grandmas Attic – Arleta Richardson
Lentil – Robert McCloskey
The Little’s Series – John Peterson
Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White
Stuart Little – E.B. White
Little House in the Big Woods Series – Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Railway Children – E. Nesbit
4th Grade Reading List
Caddie Woodlawn – Carol Ryrie Brink
Catching Their Talk in a Box – Betty M. Hockett
Babushka Baba Yaga – Patricia Polacco
Shadrach – Meindert DeJong
The Incredible Journey – Sheila Burnford
Basher Five-Two – Scott O’Grady
A Little Princess – Francis Hodgson Burnett
Jed Smith Trailblazer of the West – Frank Latham
The Secret Garden – Francis Hodgson Burnett
Courage to Run – Wendy G. Lawton
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
The Hallelujah Lass – Wendy G. Lawton
Understood Betsy – Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Old Yeller – Fred Gipson
Shadow in His Hands – Wendy G. Lawton
Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
Misty of Chincoteague – Marguerite Henry
James Herriot’s Treasury for Children – James Herriot
Rascal – Sterling North
The Cricket in Times Square – George Selden
Five Little Peppers and How they Grew – Margaret Sidney
Twig: A Collie – Craig Massey
Number the Stars – Lois Lowry
Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing – Judy Blume
Betsy -Tacy – Maud Hart Lovelace
Betsy, Tacy and Tib – Maud Hart Lovelace
The Original Hardy Boys Series – Franklin W. Dixson
5th Grade Reading List
Huguenot Gardens – Douglas Jones
The Book of Virtues – William Bennett
Follow My Leader – James B. Garfield
Alone yet Not Alone – Tracy M. Leininger
Carry On Mr. Bowditch – Jean Lee Latham
The Adventures of Pinocchio – Carlo Collodi
Bud and Me – Alta Abernathy
Heidi – Johanna Spyri
Perloo the Bold – Avi
With Daring Faith – Amy Carmichael
Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkein
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: In the Midst of Wickedness – Janet and Geoff Benge
Pollyanna – Eleanor H. Porter
Mother – Kathleen Norris
Anne of Green Gables Series – L.M. Montgomery
Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain
A Question of Yams – Gloria Repp
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm – Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Black Stallion – Walter Farley
The Elsie Dinsmore Series – Martha Finley
Run for Your Life – Betty Swinford
The Toothpaste Millionaire – Jean Merrill
6th Grade Reading List
I Kissed Dating Goodbye – Josh Harris
The Ordinary Princess – M.M. Kaye
The Life of George Washington – Mary L. Williamson
Guns of Thunder- Douglas Bond
Guns of the Lion – Douglas Bond
Guns of Providence- Douglas Bond
Ten P’s in a Pod – Arnold Pent
Basket of Flowers – Cristoph Von Schmid
More than a Carpenter – Josh McDowell
Hinds Feet on High Places – Hannah Hurnard
The Sinking of the Titanic – Logan Marshall
The Wise Woman – George MacDonald
The Captive Princess – Wendy G. Lawton
Stepping Heavenward – Elizabeth Prentiss
Hittite Warrior – Joanne Williamson
Iron Scouts of the Confederacy – Lee McGiffin
Joel…A Boy of Galilee – Annie Fellows Johnston
Star of Light – Patricia St. John
Quintas – Weerstand
Refuting Evolution – Jonathan Sarfati
The Story Girl – L. M. Montgomery
The Golden Road – L.M. Montgomery
Miracles on Maple Hill – Virginia Sorenson
7th Grade Reading List
The Life of J.E.B. Stuart – Mary L. Williamson
Little Lord Fauntleroy – Frances Hodgson Burnett
Freedoms Pen – Wendy G. Lawton
Rifles for Waitie – Harold Keith
The Birkenhead Drill – Douglas W. Phillips
The Love Comes Softly Series – Jeanette Oke
Not My Will – Francena H. Arnold
A Boys War – David Michell
Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
George Muller – Janet and Geoff Benge
Zoar Blue – Janet Hickman
Duncan’s War – Douglas Bond
King’s Arrow – Douglas Bond
Rebel’s Keep – Douglas Bond
God’s Smuggler – Brother Andrew
Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers – Douglas Bond
Where the Red Fern Grows – Wilson Rawls
If I Perish – Esther Ahn Kim
Ransom’s Mark – Wendy G. Lawton
In His Steps – Charles Sheldon
8th Grade Reading List
How to Study – Edward J. Shewan
Banner in the Sky – James Ramsey Ullman
Daughters of Destiny – Noelle Wheeler
John Billington – Clyde Robert Bulla
The Door in the Wall – Marguerite De Angeli
Catch ‘Em Alive Jack – John R. Abernathy
Treasures of the Snow – Patricia St. John
Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of the Reformation – Douglas Bond
Dragon Light Series – Donita K. Paul
Gladys Alward – Janet and Geoff Benge
Do Hard Things – Alex and Brett Harris
Beloved Bride – William Potter
The Federalist – Alexander Hamilton
Strawberry Girl – Lois Lenski
Corrie Ten Boom – Janet and Geoff Benge
So Much More – Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin
The Queens Smuggler – William Tyndale – Dave and Neta Jackson
Don’t Waste Your Life – John Piper
The Loner – Ester Wier
The Life of Stonewall Jackson – Mary L. Williamson and Michael McHugh
9th Grade Reading List
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table – Roger Lancelyn Green
Mr. Pipes Comes to America – Douglas Bond
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage – Alfred Lansing
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood – Howard Pyle
What He Must Be – Voddie Baucham
Martin Luther – J.A. Morrison
Cheaper by the Dozen – Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
The Purpose Driven Life – Rick Warren
Kidnapped – Robert Louis Stevenson
Bulfinches Greek and Roman Mythology
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
The Long Walk – Slavomir Rawicz
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Men of Honor – Howard Pyle
The Iliad – Homer
The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthhorne
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Boys) – Jules Verne
Before You Meet Prince Charming (Girls) – Sarah Mally
The Call of the Wild – Jack London
The Prince and the Pauper – Mark Twain
Foxes Book of Martyrs – John Foxe
10th Grade Reading List
The Jungle Book -Rudyard Kipling
My Antonia – Willa Cather
Code Word Catherine – Jodie Collins
Around the World in 80 Days – Jules Verne
Beyond the Rapids – Evelyn Puerto
Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
Hostage Lands – Douglas Bond
William Booth – Janet and Geoff Benge
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – J.R.R. Tolkien
Desiring God – John Piper
George W. Carver – Janet and Geoff Benge
Swiss Family Robinson – Johann David Wyss
William Carey – Janet and Geoff Benge
Journey to the Center of the Earth (Boys) – Jules Verne
Joyfully Home (Girls) – Jasmine Baucham
Silas Marner(Boys) – George Eliot
Pilgrim’s Progress – John Bunyan
The Runaways Revenge-John Newton
Beowulf – Seamus Heaney
The Accidental Voyage – Douglas Bond
The Art of Divine Contentment – Thomas Watson
Knowing God – J.I. Packer
11th Grade Reading List
The Screw Tape Letters – C.S. Lewis
The Spiritual Secrets of Hudson Taylor – Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
Always Ready – Greg Bahnsen and Robert Booth
Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane
Practicing His Presence – Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach
The Chosen – Chaim Potok
Growing Up Christian – Karl Graustein
Lost City of the Incas – Hiram Bingham
The Betrayal – Douglas Bond
Holiness – J.C. Ryle
The Thieves of Tyburn Square – Elizabeth Fry
Choosing Your Career – Martin E. Clark and Clark
The Adventures of Theodore Roosevelt – Anthony Brandt
Confessions – St. Augustine
Rufus M. – Eleanor Estes
The Problem of Pain – C.S. Lewis
Traitor in the Tower –John Bunyan
The Last Jihad – Joel C. Rosenberg
Five Pioneer Missionaries – John Thornbury
12th Grade Reading List
Animal Farm – George Orwell
The Family – J.R. Miller
Portrait of a Lady – Henry James
A Lantern in Her Hand – Bess Aldrich Streeter
Of Plymouth Plantation – William Bradford
Gulliver’s Travels – Johnathan Swift
Eric Liddell – Janet and Geoff Benge
Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Reforming Marriage – Douglas Wilson
Hadassa – Tommy Tenney
The Treasure Principle – Randy Alcorn
Vienna Prelude – Bodie Thoene
George Washington’s Sacred Fire – Peter A. Lillbeck
Julius Caesar- Shakespeare
Robert E. Lee the Christian – William J. Johnstone
The Complete Father Brown – G.K. Chesterton
A Treastise Concerning Religious Affections – Johnathan Edwards
In the Presence of My Enemies – Gracia Brurnham and Dean Merrill
Instruments in the Redeemers Hands – Paul David Tripp
Johnny Tremain – Esther Hoskins Forbes
William Booth – Janet and Geoff Benge
It is my sincerest hope that you and your family will enjoy these treasured books that are chocked full of excellent, thought-provoking words! May each book encourage your child’s faith.
Are you looking for more book suggestions? Follow me on Goodreads!
YOUR TURN…
What books would you add to the Summer Reading Lists For Kindergarten To 12th Grade?
Blessings,
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We SO need this right now! Thank you so much. I have a 6 year old that LOVES to read and a struggling 9 year old 🙂
I am so thankful this will help! I have had reluctant readers as well…sometimes it is a matter of finding books that they find interesting. Another idea is to sit with your 9 year old and read together. You read your book and they read theirs. This has worked well for my 13 year old reluctant reader 🙂
WOW! As a retired teacher and children’s librarian and now a tutor, I am so delighted to find this list and you as you are my neighbor @ Equipping Godly Women Fellowship Friday. I recently featured a list on both of my blogs that blessed me as your’s does. I plan to save this for future as I tutor children struggling and learning to read.
Bless you for writing these books out for many to be able to use.
Caring through Christ, ~ linda
Thank you Linda…you made my day today with your comment! So glad to know the list will be a blessing to those who you tutor!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Linda! I’m so glad you found the list helpful!
I was pleasantly surprised not many of the books we use for our homeschool curriculum listed here (Heart of Dakota).
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I am so glad you were able to find some new books to use in your homeschool!
Thank you for offering this. It’s encouraging.
Your very welcome!
You can definitely see your enthusiasm in the work you write. The world hopes for even more passionate writers like you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart.
Thanks for your kind words!