NEH Announces Children’s Booklist for Summertime Reading
E. Ethelbert Miller reads poetry to students at the C.W. Harris Elementary School.
Chris Flynn
E. Ethelbert Miller reads poetry to students at the C.W. Harris Elementary School.
Chris Flynn
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced a new NEH summer reading booklist for children in kindergarten through the 8th grade.
Organized by grade level, the NEH Summer Booklist offers suggestions of 238 books recommended for young readers. The titles range from such classics as Madeline and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel to Fahrenheit 451 and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but also include newer works such as Coraline, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and The Book Thief.
NEH has published a summer reading list for children since 1988. The criterion for inclusion is that a book have “lasting value.” This year the list has been updated with 90 new books recommended by the American Library Association (ALA) and vetted by NEH staff and other readers.
The updated reading list was released just as schools across the nation are getting out for the summer vacation to assist students and parents in making summer reading selections. It was announced today by NEH Chairman Leach at the C.W. Harris Elementary School in Washington DC, where a class of 4thgraders gathered to hear a selection of Langston Hughes poems from The Dream Keeper and Other Poems —recommended for readers in grades 4-6 — read by E. Ethelbert Miller, an award-winning poet and director of the African American Resource Center at Howard University.
The updated reading list forms part of NEH’s Bridging Cultures initiative, which engages the power of the humanities to promote understanding and mutual respect for people with diverse histories, cultures, and perspectives within the United States and abroad. “The joy of reading is one of the greatest gifts we can pass on to our children,” said Chairman Leach. “We hope this list will help kids discover the enormous pleasures and rewards of sitting down with a great book.”
The updated NEH Summertime Booklist appears below:
KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 3
Recommended for K-3, either for reading by children or for reading to them.
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Aardema, Verna and Leo & Diane Dillon |
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears: A West African Tale |
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Aesop |
Aesop’s Fables |
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Allard, Harry and James Marshall |
Miss Nelson Is Missing! |
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Atwater, Richard and Florence |
Mr. Popper’s Penguins |
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Barrows, Annie and Sophie Blackall |
Ivy + Bean |
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Becker, Bonny and |
A Visitor for Bear |
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Bemelmans, Ludwig |
Madeline |
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Blume, Judy |
Freckle Juice |
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Brown, Marcia |
Stone Soup |
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Brunhoff, Jean de |
The Story of Babar, The Little Elephant |
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Burton, Virginia Lee |
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel |
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Cameron, Ann and Ann Strugnell |
The Stories Julian Tells |
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Cleary, Beverly |
The Mouse and the Motorcycle |
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Cronin, Doreen and Harry Bliss |
Diary of a Worm |
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DePaola, Tomie |
Strega Nona |
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Dorros, Arthur and Elisa Kleven |
Abuela |
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Duvoisin, Roger |
Petunia |
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Estes, Eleanor and Louis Slobodkin |
The Hundred Dresses |
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Freeman, Don |
Corduroy |
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Gag, Wanda |
Millions of Cats |
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Gannett, Ruth Stiles and |
My Father’s Dragon |
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Garza, Carmen Lomas and |
In My Family / En Mi Familia |
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Grahame, Kenneth and |
The Reluctant Dragon |
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Grimes, Nikki and Javaka Steptoe |
A Pocketful of Poems |
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Guest, Elissa Haden and Christine Davenier |
Iris and Walter |
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Hamilton, Virginia and |
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales |
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Harper, Charise Mericle |
Just Grace |
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Henkes, Kevin |
Chrysanthemum |
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Hoban, Russell and Garth Williams |
Bedtime for Frances |
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Hodges, Margaret and Trina Schart Hyman |
Saint George and the Dragon |
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Hoff, Syd |
Danny and the Dinosaur |
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Hoffman, Mary and Caroline Binch |
Amazing Grace |
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Howe, James and Marie-Louise Gay |
Houndsley and Catina |
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Johnson, Crockett |
Harold and the Purple Crayon |
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Keats, Ezra Jack |
The Snowy Day |
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Kraus, Robert and Jose Aruego |
Leo the Late Bloomer |
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Krauss, Ruth and Crockett Johnson |
The Carrot Seed |
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Kvasnosky, Laura McGee |
Zelda and Ivy: The Runaways |
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Le Guin, Ursula K. and S.D. Schindler |
Catwings |
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Leaf, Munro and Robert Lawson |
The Story of Ferdinand |
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Lear, Edward |
A Book of Nonsense |
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Lin, Grace |
The Year of the Dog |
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Lionni, Leo |
Frederick |
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Lobel, Arnold |
Frog and Toad are Friends |
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Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth |
Paul Revere’s Ride |
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Lopshire, Robert |
Put Me in the Zoo |
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Marshall, James |
George and Martha |
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McDermott, Gerald |
Anansi the Spider |
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Milne, A.A. and Ernest H. Shepard |
Winnie-the-Pooh |
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Minarik, Else Holmelund and |
Little Bear |
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Munsch, Robert and |
The Paper Bag Princess |
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Myers, Christopher |
Wings |
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Noble, Trinka Hakes and |
The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash |
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Numeroff, Laura Joffe and |
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie |
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Parish, Peggy and Fritz Siebel |
Amelia Bedelia |
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Pennypacker, Sara and |
Clementine |
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Piper, Watty and Loren Long |
The Little Engine that Could |
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Portis, Antoinette |
Not a Box |
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Potter, Beatrix |
The Tale of Peter Rabbit |
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Prelutsky, Jack and Marc Brown |
Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young |
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Rey, H.A. |
Curious George |
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Ringgold, Faith |
Tar Beach |
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Rylant, Cynthia and |
Henry and Mudge |
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Say, Allen |
Grandfather’s Journey |
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Scieszka, Jon and Lane Smith |
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs |
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Sendak, Maurice |
Where the Wild Things Are |
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Seuss, Dr. |
Green Eggs and Ham |
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Sharmat, Marjorie Weinman |
Nate the Great |
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Silverman, Erica and Betsy Lewin |
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa |
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Silverstein, Shel |
Where the Sidewalk Ends |
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Slobodkina, Esphyr |
Caps for Sale |
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Smith, Jeff |
Little Mouse Gets Ready |
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Steig, William |
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble |
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Steptoe, John |
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale |
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Stevenson, Robert Louis |
A Child’s Garden of Verses |
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Thurber, James and Louis Slobodkin |
Many Moons |
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Udry, Janice May and Marc Simont |
A Tree is Nice |
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Ungerer, Tomi |
Crictor |
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Van Allsburg, Chris |
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi |
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Viorst, Judith and Ray Cruz |
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day |
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White, E.B. and Garth Williams |
Charlotte’s Web |
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Willems, Mo |
There is a Bird on Your Head! |
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Wood, Audrey and Don Wood |
The Napping House |
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Yashima, Taro |
Crow Boy |
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Yee, Wong Herbert |
Mouse and Mole: A Winter Wonderland |
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Zion, Gene and |
Harry the Dirty Dog |
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Zolotow, Charlotte and |
William’s Doll |
GRADES 4-6
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Alexander, Lloyd |
Prydain Chronicles |
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Andersen, Hans Christian |
Fairy Tales |
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Avi and Brian Floca |
Poppy |
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Babbitt, Natalie |
Tuck Everlasting |
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Baum, L. Frank |
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz |
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Birdsall, Jeanne |
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy |
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Boston, L.M. |
The Children of Green Knowe |
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Brooks, Gwendolyn and Faith Ringgold |
Bronzeville Boys and Girls |
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Burnett, Frances Hodgson |
The Secret Garden |
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Byars, Betsy |
The Summer of the Swans |
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Carroll, Lewis |
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland |
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Clements, Andrew and |
Frindle |
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Collins, Suzanne |
Gregor the Overlander |
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Collodi, Carlo |
The Adventures of Pinocchio |
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Cooper, Susan |
The Dark is Rising |
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Creech, Sharon |
Bloomability |
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Curtis, Christopher Paul |
Bud, Not Buddy |
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D’Aulaire, Ingri and |
D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths |
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Dahl, Roald and Quentin Blake |
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory |
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DiCamillo, Kate |
Because of Winn-Dixie |
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Dowd, Siobhan |
The London Eye Mystery |
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DuPrau, Jeanne |
The City of Ember |
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Eager, Edward |
Half Magic |
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Erdrich, Louise |
The Birchbark House |
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Estes, Eleanor |
The Moffats |
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Farley, Walter |
The Black Stallion |
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Fitzhugh, Louise |
Harriet the Spy |
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Freedman, Russell |
Lincoln, A Photobiography |
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Gaiman, Neil |
Coraline |
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Gantos, Jack |
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key |
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George, Jean Craighead |
My Side of the Mountain |
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Grahame, Kenneth |
The Wind in the Willows |
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Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm |
The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales |
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Henry, Marguerite |
Misty of Chincoteague |
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Hiaasen, Carl |
Hoot |
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Hoberman, Mary Ann and |
Strawberry Hill |
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Howe, Deborah & James |
Bunnicula |
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Hughes, Langston |
The Dream Keeper and Other Poems |
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Ibbotson, Eva and Sue Porter |
Secret of Platform 13 |
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Irving, Washington |
Rip Van Winkle |
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Jansson, Tove |
Moominland Midwinter |
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Juster, Norton and Jules Feiffer |
The Phantom Tollbooth |
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Kipling, Rudyard |
The Jungle Book |
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Konigsburg, E.L. |
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler |
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Lamb, Charles and Mary |
Tales from Shakespeare |
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Lawson, Robert |
Ben and Me |
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Lenski, Lois |
Strawberry Girl |
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Lewis, C.S. |
The Chronicles of Narnia |
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Lin, Grace |
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon |
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Lindgren, Astrid |
Pippi Longstocking |
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Lofting, Hugh |
Doctor Dolittle |
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Lovelace, Maud Hart |
Betsy-Tacy |
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Lowry, Lois |
Number the Stars |
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Macaulay, David |
Castle |
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MacLachlan, Patricia |
Sarah, Plain and Tall |
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Mathis, Sharon Bell and |
The Hundred Penny Box |
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McCloskey, Robert |
Homer Price |
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Merrill, Jean |
The Pushcart War |
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Montgomery, L.M. |
Anne of Green Gables |
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Murphy, Jim |
The Great Fire |
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Nesbit, E. |
The Railway Children |
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North, Sterling |
Rascal |
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Norton, Mary |
The Borrowers |
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O’Brien, Robert C. |
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH |
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Park, Linda Sue |
When My Name was Keoko |
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Paterson, Katherine |
Bridge to Terabithia |
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Pearce, Philippa |
Tom’s Midnight Garden |
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Perrault, Charles |
The Complete Fairy Tales |
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Reiss, Johanna |
The Upstairs Room |
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Rowling, J.K. |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone |
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Ryan, Pam Munoz |
Esperanza Rising |
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Sachar, Louis |
Holes |
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Selznick, Brian |
The Invention of Hugo Cabret |
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Sewell, Anna |
Black Beauty |
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Sharp, Margery |
The Rescuers |
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Sperry, Armstrong |
Call It Courage |
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Spyri, Johanna |
Heidi |
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Stewart, Trenton Lee and |
The Mysterious Benedict Society |
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Sutcliff, Rosemary |
The Wanderings of Odysseus |
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Taylor, Sydney and Helen John |
All-of-a-Kind Family |
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Travers, P.L. |
Mary Poppins |
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Wilder, Laura Ingalls and |
Little House on the Prairie |
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Woodson, Jacqueline |
Locomotion |
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Wyss, Johann |
Swiss Family Robinson |
GRADES 7-8
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Alcott, Louisa May |
Little Women |
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Almond, David |
Skellig |
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Bagnold, Enid |
National Velvet |
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Bradbury, Ray |
Fahrenheit 451 |
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Cleaver, Vera and Bill Cleaver |
Where the Lilies Bloom |
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Cooper, James Fenimore |
The Last of the Mohicans |
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Defoe, Daniel |
Robinson Crusoe |
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Douglass, Frederick |
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass |
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Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan |
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes |
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Dumas, Alexander |
The Count of Monte Cristo |
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Eckert, Allan W. |
Incident at Hawk’s Hill |
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Engdahl, Sylvia |
Enchantress from the Stars |
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Forester, C.S. |
The Horatio Hornblower Series |
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Frank, Anne |
The Diary of a Young Girl |
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Frost, Robert |
Poems |
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George, Jean Craighead |
Julie of the Wolves |
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Hamilton, Virginia |
M.C. Higgins, the Great |
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Hautzig, Esther |
The Endless Steppe |
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Hilton, James |
Goodbye, Mr. Chips |
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Hinton, S.E. |
The Outsiders |
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Hoose, Phillip |
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice |
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Hugo, Victor |
The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
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Hunt, Irene |
Across Five Aprils |
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Hunter, Mollie |
A Stranger Came Ashore |
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Irving, Washington |
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow |
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Johnson, Angela |
Heaven |
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Keith, Harold |
Rifles for Watie |
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Keller, Helen |
The Story of My Life |
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Korman, Gordon |
No More Dead Dogs |
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LaFleur, Suzanne |
Love, Aubrey |
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Le Guin, Ursula K. |
A Wizard of Earthsea |
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L’Engle, Madeleine |
A Wrinkle in Time |
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Lester, Julius and Tom Feelings |
To Be a Slave |
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London, Jack |
Call of the Wild |
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Malory, Sir Thomas |
Le Morte d’Arthur |
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McCaffrey, Anne |
Dragonsong |
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O’Dell, Scott |
Island of the Blue Dolphins |
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Oppel, Kenneth |
Airborn |
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Paterson, Katherine |
Jacob I Have Loved |
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Paulsen, Gary and Drew Willis |
Hatchet |
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Peck, Richard |
A Long Way from Chicago |
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Peck, Robert Newton |
A Day No Pigs Would Die |
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Pratchett, Terry |
The Wee Free Men |
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Pyle, Howard |
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood |
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Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan |
The Yearling |
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Rawls, Wilson |
Where the Red Fern Grows |
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Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de |
The Little Prince |
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Schaefer, Jack |
Shane |
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Schmidt, Gary D. |
The Wednesday Wars |
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Scott, Sir Walter |
Ivanhoe |
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Shelley, Mary |
Frankenstein |
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Smith, Betty |
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn |
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Speare, Elizabeth George |
The Witch of Blackbird Pond |
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Steinbeck, John |
The Red Pony |
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Stevenson, Robert Louis |
Treasure Island |
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Taylor, Mildred D. |
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry |
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Tolan, Stephanie S. |
Surviving the Applewhites |
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Tolkien, J.R.R. |
The Hobbit |
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Twain, Mark |
TheAdventures of Tom Sawyer |
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Uchida, Yoshiko |
Journey to Topaz |
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Verne, Jules |
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea |
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Webster, Jean |
Daddy-Long-Legs |
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Wells, H.G. |
The War of the Worlds |
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Wilder, Thornton |
The Bridge of San Luis Rey |
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Yep, Laurence |
Dragonwings |
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Zindel, Paul |
The Pigman |
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Zusak, Markus |
The Book Thief |