Recommended Reading

Explore a sampling from our list of recommended books for grades 1-8

Selecting a book that will be appropriately challenging for your student while also captivating their interest is often easier said than done! Fortunately, there are tried and true classics for every age group that have ignited an appreciation for reading among generations of former students. Below, you'll find some tried and true selections to fill your child's bookshelves. We'd encourage you to explore these titles with them to see what might peak their interest!

"If a book is well written, I always find it too short." -Jane Austen

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Grade One

1. Mittens Series by Lola M. Schaefer

2. Gerald and Piggie Series by Mo Willems

3. The Berenstein Bears Series by Stan Berenstain

4. Pete the Cat Series by James and Kimberly Dean

5. The Fly Guy Series by Ted Arnold

6. First Little Readers Parent Pack Sets Levels D-H from Scholastic

7. Little Critter Series by Mercy Mayer

8. I Can Read! Readers Levels 1-2

9. I Like Books by Anthony Browne

Grade Two

1. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

2. The Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine

3. The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne (the earliest books)

4. Here's Hank Series by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

5. Gooney Bird Green Series by Lois Lowry

6. Junie B. Jones Series by Barbara Park

7. Dory Fantasmagory Series by Abby Hanlon

8. Julian, Secret Agent by Ann Cameron

9. Rainbow Magic Series by Daisy Meadows

Grade Three

1. The Judy Moody Series by Megan McDonald

2. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

3. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary

4. George's Marvelous Mysteries by Roald Dahl

5. The Zach and Zoe Mystery Series by Mike Lupica

6. The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

7. Zoe and Sassafras Series by Asia Citro

8. The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani

9. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Grade Four

1. Frindle by Andrew Clements

2. Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

3. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

4. We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly

5. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

6. Kick by Mitch Johnson

7. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois

8. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

9. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series by Jeff Kinney

Grade Five

1. Holes by Louis Sachar

2. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

3. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

4. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit

5. When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

6. The Wanderer by Sharon Creech

7. The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

8. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snickett

9. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

Grade Six

1. Island of Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

2. Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff

3. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

4. The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

5. Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

6. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

7. One Came Home by Amy Timberlake

8. Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

9. Agatha Christie's Novels

Grade Seven

1. The Giver by Lois Lowry

2. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

3. Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly

4. The Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusack

6. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

7. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt

8. The Tillerman Cycle Series by Nancy Voigt

9. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolan

Grade Eight

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

3. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

4. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

5. Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams

6. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

7. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

8. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

9. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green