150+ Great Books for Middle Schoolers
Literature is foundational to a great education.
Through stories, we can learn about good character and discernment, the history and patterns that underlie our culture, and the wonders of world and our imaginations. I have built our homeschool around great books from preschool through high school. Even to this day with my kids in high school and college, we continue to have family read-aloud time to allow us to learn and grow together.
It can be hard to navigate children's books nowadays. There is so much twaddle to sift through, not to mention the influx of age-inappropriate themes in many books.
So I wanted to share with you my list of the top chapter books we used in our homeschool for my kids when they were in middle school. Some of these will work fine for late-elementary and early high school years, too. Many of these are available as free audiobooks on Librivox.
Family Life Books
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott
Little Britches (8 book series) by Ralph Moody
Anne of Green Gables (8 book series) by Lucy Maude Montgomery
Little House on the Prairie (9 book series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The Good Master by Kate Seredy
The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Laddie by Gene Stratton Porter
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Bring
Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Misty of Chincoteague (series) by Marguerite Henry
Lad: A Dog by Albert Payson Terhune
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
History-Based Books
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Herodotus and the Road to History by Jeanne Bendick
The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence
The Secrets of Vesuvius by Caroline Lawrence
The Pirates of Pompeii by Caroline Lawrence
Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
The Life of Saint Patrick by Quentin Reynolds
Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard
The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow by Allen French
The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
Along Came Galileo by Jeanne Bendick
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle
Stories of King Arthur's Knights, Told to the Children by Mary Macgregor
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Carry on, Mr Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
George Washington, Spymaster by Thomas B. Allen
Hazardous Tales (10+ graphic novel series) by Nathan Hale
Ranger in Time (12 book series) by Kate Messner
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac
Dr. Beaumont and the Man With the Hole in His Stomach by Sam and Beryl Epstein
Tree in the Trail by Holling C Holling
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
Mr. Tucket by Gary Paulsen
Moccasin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman
Sarah, Plain and Tall (5 book series) by Patricia Maclachlan
Indian Boyhood by Charles Eastman
Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury
The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry
Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World by Jennifer Armstrong
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
Antarctic Journal by Jennifer Owings Dewey
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Gold Cadillac by Mildred Taylor
Pagoo by Holling C Holling
Call It Courage by Armstrong Perry
Windows to Other Cultures
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights by Geraldine McCaughrean
The Arabian Nights by Wafa Tarnowska
Stories from the Arabian Nights by Laurence Housman
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp by Laurence Housman
God King by Joanne Williamson
The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum
The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum
The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff
Odysseus by Geraldine McCaughrean
The Magic Boat and Other Chinese Folk Stories by Jagendorf and Weng
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin
When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin
The Honey Jar by Rigoberta Menchu
The Children of Odin by Padraic Colum
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
The Snow Maiden and Other Russian Tales by Bonnie Marshall
Stories from the Faerie Queen by Jean Lang
Indian Tales by Shenaaz Nanji
Flying with the Eagle, Racing with the Bear by Joseph Bruchac
Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio by Marguerite Henry
Fantasy and Adventure Books
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
Dealing with Dragons (and rest of Enchanted Forest Chronicles series) by Patricia Wrede
Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop
Happily Ever After by Anna Quindlen
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp by Kathi Appelt
Norby the Mixed-Up Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Trumpet of the Swan by EB White
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Wind Boy by Ethel Cook Eliot
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Tales of Magic (book series) by Edgar Eager
Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit
The Book of Dragons by Edith Nesbit
Ranger's Apprentice (12 book series) by John Flanagan
Brotherband Chronicles (9 book series) by John Flanagan
I hope this helps you navigate the middle school years with plenty of great books and meaningful discussions!
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