101 chapter books I believe young students should read. You’ll notice I didn’t divide them by age-level. That’s because I’m a firm a believer that no one is ever too young or too old to benefit from these stories. Guided reading of books that other lists might categorize as middle- or high-school appropriate can be your young child’s best teacher in terms of grammar and vocabulary and plain old mind expansion. I have divided them into ‘genres’ to make them easier to find, but many of the books could easily fall into more than one of these categories.
ANIMAL STORIES
Abel’s Island by William Steig
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
The Black Stallion by Walter Farley
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
The Story of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Stuart Little by E. B. White
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
White Fang by Jack London
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
COMING OF AGE
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
A Blizzard Year by Gretel Ehrlich
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Holes by Louis Sachar
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
FANTASY
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins
The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien
No Such Thing as Dragons by Philip Reeve
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
HISTORICAL
Attack of the Turtle by Drew Carlson
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter
Johnny Tremaine by Esther Forbes
Journey of the Sparrows by Fran Leeper Buss
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
POLITICAL
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emma Orczy
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
SPIRITUAL
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
A CATEGORY UNTO THEMSELVES
Shakespeare’s Complete Works
The Odyssey by Homer
The Aeneid by Virgil
Dante’s Inferno (if not the entire Divine Comedy)
Shel Silverstein’s poetry books
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Wonderful list! I remember reading many of these. I have already read some to my kids. They have read some to themselves and read some in school. We are definitely a reading family! One that has been a family favorite that I did not see on this list is Shiloh.
If I had put All the books I recommend on this list, it would have been more like 505. 🙂 Shiloh is an awesome addition; hopefully future readers will read your comment!
Love this!! I have a 7-year-old niece who loves reading and I want her to get her some new books. Thanks!
(And I love your stance: “Guided reading of books that other lists might categorize as middle- or high-school appropriate can be your young child’s best teacher in terms of grammar and vocabulary and plain old mind expansion.” I couldn’t agree more!)
Thanks, Sarah! I hope your niece enjoys her new books. 🙂
This is a wonderful list and resource! My first grader is silent reading the Classic Starts version of the Secret Garden, while I read aloud from the Chronicles of Narnia. We are nearing the end of the series so I’m thankful to find your list for inspiration. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Oh, what wonderful stories to share! Don’t be afraid to read any of the books listed with a child that age, especially if you are reading aloud. I’m here to help, so knowing I’ve inspired you means so much.
I am in love with this list!!! Thank you
No, thank you! Glad I could help. 🙂
Wow! Thank you for this list, great resource. We loved The Secret Garden 🙂
Thanks, Kim! I’m just really glad if it helps you at all. The Secret Garden is one of our all-time faves.
Me too! My kids might kill me, but I’m determined they’ll get through all of them before they leave my house. haha
I love this list!