Back To School Book List

Back to School Book Recommendations List

Aug 30, 2006 Leslie Poston

Thanks to the help of teachers and readers all across the country, we've compiled a list of American Fiction books your kids should be reading that goes above and beyond.

Every school district works with its teachers to compose lesson plans and reading lists designed to expose kids to the same basic works of fiction. The schools want to build a base of common knowledge, things "everyone should know" to function in and relate to society.

School book lists are great, but often leave out works of fiction that have merit. Sometimes the work of fiction is considered politically incorrect. Occasionally, a work is passed over for the list because of concerns that not every kid in the class will be able to comprehend it. Books are even overlooked sometimes because a teacher's life is busy, and she may not have had a chance to read it yet.

Whatever the reason, following are books that are often overlooked in the regular school curriculum that we feel should be read by kids everywhere. If you are lucky enough to have them on your syllabus, excellent! If we overlooked your favorites, please Email Us and let us know what they are so we can do a feature on them for you.

This list of recommendations was created with the teen age-group in mind, or any kid reading at or above the teen level. It is in no particular order. Enjoy!

The Moviegoer, Walker Percy

A Pilgrim At Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard

My Brother Sam is Dead, James Collier

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Mildred Taylor

Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Robert Heinlein

The Illustrated Man, Ray Bradbury

A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter Miller

Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine

Jacob Have I Loved, Katherine Paterson

Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court, Mark Twain

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsberg

The Chronicles of Prydain, Lloyd Alexander

Catherine, Called Birdy, Karen Cushman

The Great Gilly Hopkins and Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson

Letters from Rifka and Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse

The Egypt Game and The Gypsy Game, Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Crispin: Cross of Lead, Avi

The Moorchild, Eloise McGraw

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, Nancy Farmer

The Cricket in Times Square, George Selden

Nightbirds on Nantucket, Joan Aiken

Freckles, Gene Porter

The Girl Who Owned A City, O. T. Nelson

Pink and Say, Patricia Polacco

Neuromancer, William Gibson

Bless the Beasts and the Children, Glendon Swarthout

Some books suggested were excluded (The Scarlet Letter, for example) not because we think they aren't worthy of recommendation, but because they already have a firmly entrenched place on the standard recommendation lists.

Tags: back to school reading

One of the many teachers who helped make this list has written a lovely review of books recommended byfifth grade students for fifth grade students. You can read her review here.

Another of the people who helped make this list writes reviews of adult books that can be found here.

Many thanks to the folks at EA, teachers and readers alike, for helping compile this list!

The copyright of the article Back To School Book List in American Fiction is owned by Leslie Poston. Permission to republish Back To School Book List in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.