Let’s Talk About Summer Reading Lists
Most schools public and private assign reading lists for upper elementary OR middle-high school years — but we, as homeschoolers were never known to be the norm. Right? Right! We beat to a different drummer and in this broadcast Felice shares her love of books, when that came about and how you can foster that love with your children during the summer months. Who says school has to end in May or June? Enjoy the lazy days of summer with some great reading choices and see your child’s imagination and love of learning soar!
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Handouts Below
Show Notes –
A. What are your goals in having your children read books during the summer?
B. Do you want your children to learn to love reading?
C. Do you want to get a head start on your school year by reading good books?
You can find many of these books at the public library or purchase them for your
Suggested Summer Reading List
Younger Children—K-3
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- Children’s Bibles / Bible Read Aloud Stories
- Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmens
- Paddington by Michael Bond
- The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson
- Goodnight, Moon! By Margaret Wise Brown
- The Gingerbread Boy—Folk Tale (Grimm’s Fairy Tales)
- Stone Soup—Folk Tale
- A Crayon for Harold by Ruth Krauss
- The Children of the King—Max Lucado
- Blueberries for Sale by Robert McCloskey
- Little Bear by Minarik
- Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parrish
- Curious George by H.A. & Margaret Rey
- Nate the Great by Marjory Sharmat
- Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
- Noah’s Ark by Peter Spier
- A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
- Billy and Blaze (series) by C.W. Anderson
- Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
- Little Bear by Else Homelund Minarik
- Elementary & Classics
- The Storykeepers (series) by Brian Brown and Andrew Melrose
- The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
- Matilda by Roald Dahl
- The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
- Pocahontas by Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire
- Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport by Laura Lee Hope
- Cul-de-Sac Kids (series) by Beverly Lewis
- An American Girl Series (Addy, Kirsten, Kaya, etc.) by Janet Shaw
- Charlotte’s Weby by E.B. White (Stuart Little)
- Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Upper Level Elementary & Middle School
- Cooper Kids Adventure Series by Frank Peretti
- Truth Seekers Mystery Series by Christina (Gerwitz) Moss & Felice Gerwitz
- Hardy Boys by Frank W. Dixon (read older books in the series)
- Nancy Drew by Caroline Keene
- The False Prince (Ascendance Trilogy) by Jennifer A. Nielsen
- The Sugar Creek Gang Mystery Series by Paul Hutchens
- Chronicles of Narnia—Series—The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
- Anne of Green Gables (series) by L.M. Montgomery
- The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
- Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo
- Hoot by Carl Hiasen
- National Velvet by Engid Bagnold
- Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (skip the “chant”
- Hans Brinker Silver Skates by Mary mapes Dodge
- My Side of the Mountain by Jean George
- Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
- Justin Morgan had a Horse by Marguerite Henry
- In the Heart of the Rockies by G.A. Henty
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski
- Come on Seabiscit by Ralph Moody
- Rascal by Sterling North
- Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
- Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
- Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
- The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
- Mary Poppins by Pamela L. Travers
- Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
- The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
- Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr, and Ernestine Gilbreth Carney
- My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
- White Fang by Jack London
- The Yearling by Majorie Rawlings
- Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevnson
- The Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain
- Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
High School
- The Complete Father Brown Series by G.K Chesterton
- Ann of Green Gables
- The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Death of the Nile by Agatha Christie
- The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
- The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
- The Adventures of Sherlock Homes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
- The Princess Bride by William Goldman
- Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Screwtape Letters (Mere Christianity) by C.S. Lewis
- This Present Darkness (Three books in the series) by Frank Perreti
- The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson
- Emma / Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austin
- Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte
- The Man Who Knew Too Much by G.K. Chesterton
- Deer Slayer by James Finmore Cooper
- Divine Comedy by Dante
- Great Expectation by Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities)
- The County of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway
- Les Miserable by Victor Hugo
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Last Days of Socrates by Plato
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Ben Hur by Lew Wallace
- Time Machine by H.G. Wells
- City of God by St. Augustine
- Everlasting Man by GK Chesterton
- Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
- Handout of all the books with an easy check off list to keep track of your books – Reading List – Felice Gerwitz
- Reading List Record Keeping. Reading-List-Record-Keeping
Hi Felice, I just wanted to thank you for all the reading lists. They are wonderful. Thank you to Meredith also!!! I have just recently begun listening to your podcasts while I work in the garden. You certainly help the time to go more quickly while pulling weeds ;))) Thanks for all you are doing to encourage homeschoolers.
God Bless!!!
Hi Cyndi – thanks for your kind words! Weeds – yuk! But, what a wonderful feeling once you are finished with the work. Thanks so much for stopping by and letting us know.