Literature Suggestions for Children
These book suggestions are read-aloud selections. Certainly, children can read these books independently if they are able. But, what is important is that a child develop a love of literature. Since this is usually accomplished by reading aloud to a child, I included timeless stories that will (hopefully!) capture the imagination of kids. Also, the literature selections are organized to complement the themes of the Basal Method.
These book suggestions are read-aloud selections. Certainly, children can read these books independently if they are able. But, what is important is that a child develop a love of literature. Since this is usually accomplished by reading aloud to a child, I included timeless stories that will (hopefully!) capture the imagination of kids. Also, the literature selections are organized to complement the themes of the Basal Method.
EARLY ON (Age 0-7): Picture Books
LEVEL ONE: Beloved Characters
- Child’s Garden of Verses- Stevenson
- The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh- Milne/Shepard
- The Wind in the Willows- Grahame
- Just So Stories- Kipling
- Frog and Toad are Friends- Lobel
- Little Bear- Minarik
- Treasury of Beatrix Potter- Potter
- The Complete Adventures of Curious George- Rey & Rey
- Mad About Madeline- Bemelmens
- Bonjour, Babar!- de Brunhoff
- Make Way for Ducklings- McCloskey
- This Is series- Sasek
- The Story of Ferdinand- Leaf
- The Velveteen Rabbit- Williams
- Where the Sidewalk Ends- Silverstein
- Pippi Longstocking- Lindgren
- Max and Moritz- Busch
- A Bear Called Paddington- Bond
- A Book of Nonsense- Lear
LEVEL TWO: Myths and Legends
- D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths- D’Aulaire/D’Aulaire
- Adventures of Ulysses
- The Iliad for Boys and Girls- Church
- The Odyssey for Boys and Girls- Church
- A Wonderbook for Girls and Boys- Hawthorne
- Tanglewood Tales- Hawthorne
- The Book of Nature Myths- Holbrook
- Beowulf- Morpungo
- Gilgamesh the Hero- McCaugherean
- D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Gods and Giants- D'Aulaire
- Stories of Beowolf Told to Children- Marshall
- The Librarian Who Measured the Earth- Lasky/Hawkes
- In the Days of Giants-
- Stories of Siegfried Told to the Children- Macgregor
- Golem: An Old Prague Tale- Votruba
- Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver- Jenkins/Riddell
LEVEL THREE: Fairy Tales and Knights
- Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales- Perrault
- Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm- Grimm/Grimm
- Beauty and the Beast- Lamb
- The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
- The Door in the Wall- de Angeli
- The Merry Adventures of Robinhood
- Stories of Roland Told to Children –Marshall
- Page, Esquire, and Knight- Lansing
- The Fairy Book- Mulock
- Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History- McCaughrean/Brassey
- Fairy Tales- Andersen
LEVEL FOUR: Beloved Characters
- Tales from Shakespeare- Lamb
- Stories of Don Quixote Written Anew for Children- Baldwin
- The Little Prince- de Saint-Exupery
- Pinocchio- Collodi
- The Pied Piper of Hamelin- Browning
- The Wonder Clock- Pyle
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland- Carroll
- Peter Pan- Barie
- Mary Poppins- Travers
- Heidi- Spiri
- The Secret Garden- Burnett
- A Little Princess- Burnett
- Charlotte’s Web
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- Baum
- Little House in the Big Woods series- Wilder
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- Dahl
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- Twain
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Twain
- Harry Potter series- Rowling
- Mr. Popper’s Penguins- Atwater/Atwater
- Caddie Woodlawn- Brink
- The Trumpeter of Krakow- Kelly
LEVEL FIVE: Adventures Around the World
- Arabian Nights- Lane
- The Book of Legends- Scutter
- Indian Fables- Raju
- Treasure Island- Stevenson
- Swiss Family Robinson
- Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of Nimh- O’Brien
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond- Speare
- Johnny Tremain- Forbes
- The Lost World-
- The Hobbit-
- The Sampo- Baldwin
- Emil and the Detectives- Kastner
- Gulliver’s Travels
- The Twenty-One Balloons- du Bois
LEVEL SIX: Animal Adventures
- Old Yeller- Gipson
- Black Beauty
- Julie of the Wolves
- Island of the Blue Dolphins
- Sounder-
- Because of Winn Dixie- Di Camillo
- The Call of the Wild- London
- The Jungle Book- Kipling
- Born Free- Adamson
- The Black Stallion- Farley
- King of the Wind- Henry
- My Friend Flicka- O’Hara
LEVEL SEVEN: Tales of Perseverance
- Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Diary of a Young Girl- Frank
- Hiding Place- Ten-Boom
- Anne of Green Gables- Montgomery
- Anna and the Kind of Siam
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Number the Stars- Lowry
- Oliver Twist-Dickens
- Pilgrim’s Progress
- Little Women- Alcott
- The Courage of Sarah Noble- Dalgliesh
- Laughing Boy- LaFarge
- The Strawberry Girl- Lenski
