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If you are looking for lists of Accelerated Reader titles by grade, click here.
​For general reading recommendations, see below.
Picture
Books are recommended based on a combination of any of the following factors: timelessness, high-level interest, educational value, literary award status, creativity, and/or story quality. Reading levels are approximate. Selections for each category are listed in alphabetical order by title. Lists are compiled with a diverse array of readers in mind but are not intended to be comprehensive; not all titles will appeal to or be appropriate for every young person. Our ultimate philosophy of recommendation mirrors that of Maya Angelou: "Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him."
Picture Story Books (children preK and K)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day--Judith Viorst
​Arthur series--Marc Brown
The Complete Tales--Beatrix Potter

Blueberries for Sal--Robert McCloskey
The Book of Mistakes--Corinna Luyken
The Boy and the Airplane--Mark Pett

The Boy Who Cried Wolf--classic folklore
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?--Bill Martin
The Carrot Seed--Ruth Krauss
Circle, Square, Moose--Kelly L. Bingham
Clifford the Big Red Dog series--Norman Bridwell
​Corduroy--Don Freeman
Curious George series--HA and Margret Rey

The Day the Crayons Quit--Drew Daywalt
Don't Push the Button!--Bill Cotton
The Dot--Peter Reynolds
Du Iz Tak?--Carson Ellis
The Farmer's Away! Baa! Neigh!--Anne Kennedy

​Float--Daniel Miyares
Giraffes Can't Dance--Giles Andreae

Goodnight Moon--Margaret Wise Brown
Harold and the Purple Crayon--Crockett Johnson
Harry the Dirty Dog--Gene Zion
Henny Penny--classic folklore
How Loud Is a Lion--Clare Beaton
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie--Laura Numeroff

It Looked Like Spilt Milk--Charles G. Shaw
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat--Simms Taback
The Little Engine That Could--Watty Piper
The Little House--Virginia Lee Burton

The Little Red Hen--classic folklore
Little Wolf's First Howling--Laura McGee Kvasnosky
Looking for a Moose--Phyllis Root

Lost. Found.--Marsha Diane Arnold
Madeline--Ludwig Bemelmans
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel--Virginia Lee Burton
​Miss Nelson Is Back--Harry Allard
Miss Nelson Is Missing--Harry Allard
Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!--Candace Fleming

My Friend Rabbit--Eric Rohmann
Near, Far--Silvia Borando
The Night before Christmas--Clement Clarke Moore
No, David!--David Shannon
Now You See Me, Now You Don't--Silvia Borando
​Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run--Mike Twohy

The Other Side of the Story series--Trisha Speed Shaskan and Nancy Loewen
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?--Bill Martin
The Polar Express--Chris Van Allsburg

Press Here--Herve Tullet
Say Zoop!--Herve Tullet
Shh! We Have a Plan--Chris Haughton
​Steamboat School--Deborah Hopkinson

Stone Soup--classic folklore
Strega Nona--Tomie dePaola
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble--William Steig
The Storyteller--Evan Turk
That Neighbor Kid--Daniel Miyares
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly--classic folklore
There's a Bear on My Chair--Ross Collins
They All Saw a Cat--Brendan Wenzel
This Bridge Will Not Be Gray--Dave Eggers

This Is Not My Hat--Jon Klassen
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs--Jon Scieszka
The Very Hungry Caterpillar--Eric Carle
We're Going on a Bear Hunt--Michael Rosen
What Do You Do with an Idea?--Kobi Yamada
What Do You Do with a Problem?--Kobi Yamada
What to Do if an Elephant Stands on Your Foot--Michelle Robinson
Where the Wild Things Are--Maurice Sendak

​You Are (Not) Small--Anna Kang
Z Is for Moose--Kelly L. Bingham

Early Nonfiction Books (grades 1-4)
Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer--Diane Stanley
Aesop's Fables--classic folklore
Balderdash! John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children's Books--Michelle Markel
Dangerous Jane--Suzanne Slade
Dazzle Ships: World War I and the Art of Confusion--Chris Barton
The Good Fight: The Feuds of the Founding Fathers (and How They Shaped the Nation)--Anne Quirk
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls--Elena Favilli
Heroes for My Daughter--Brad Meltzer
Heroes for My Son--Brad Meltzer
The House That Jane Built: A Story about Jane Addams--Tanya Lee Stone
Locomotive--Brian Floca
Long-armed Lucy and the First Women's Olympics: Jean LS Patrick
The Man Who Loved Libraries: The Story of Andrew Carnegie--Andrew Larsen
The Man Who Walked between the Towers--Mordicai Gerstein
Miss Mary Reporting: The True Story of Sportswriter Mary Garber--Sue Macy
Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California's Farallon Islands--Katherine Roy
Noah Webster's Fighting Words--Tracy Nelson Maurer
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children--Jack Prelutsky
Separate Is Never Equal--Duncan Tonatiuh
Seven and a Half Tons of Steel--Janet Nolan
She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World--Chelsea Clinton
Step Right Up: How Doc and Jim Key Taught the World about Kindness--Donna Janell Bowman
The Story of Ruby Bridges--Robert Coles
Who Was biographries--multiple authors

Mid-range Nonfiction Books (grades 4-7)
Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities and Thought Experiments--Jerome Pohlen
The American Revolution for Kids: A History with 21 Activities--Janis Herbert
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind--William Kamkwamba
Brown Girl Dreaming--Jacqueline Woodson
Castle--David Macauley
The Civil War for Kids: A History with 21 Activities--Janis Herbert
Courage Has No Color, the True Story of the Triple Nickles: America's First Black Paratroopers--Tanya Lee Stone
The Dangerous Book for Boys--Conn Iggulden
Falling Up--Shel Silverstein
Geology Is a Piece of Cake--Katie Coppens
The Great Depression for Kids: Hardship and Hope in 1930s America, with 21 Activities--Cheryl Mullenbach
​Guts: The True Stories behind Hatchet and the Brian Books--Gary Paulsen
Henry's Freedom Box--Ellen Levine
How-to Guides for Fiendish Rulers series--multiple authors
The Industrial Revolution for Kids: The People and Technology That Changed the World, with 21 Activities--Cheryl Mullenbach
I'm Just No Good at Rhyming--Chris Harris
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker--Patricia Hruby Powell
Marie Curie for Kids: Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, with 21 Activities and Experiments--Amy M. O'Quinn
Michelangelo for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities--Simonetta Carr
Perspectives on History series--multiple authors
The Plot to Kill Hitler--Patricia McCormick
Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor's Story--Caren Stelson
Survivors: Extraordinary Tales from the Wild and Beyond--David Long
Ten Days a Madwoman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of the Original "Girl" Reporter, Nellie Bly--Deborah Noyes
Thomas Edison: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities--Laurie Carlson
What We Get from Celtic Mythology--Katie Marsico
What We Get from Chinese Mythology--Katie Marsico
What We Get from Egyptian Mythology--Lisa Owings
What We Get from Greek Mythology--Katherine Kreig
What We Get from Norse Mythology--Katherine Kreig
What We Get from Roman Mythology--Margaret Mincks
Where the Sidewalk Ends--Shel Silverstein
Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World--Rachel Ignotofsky
World War I for Kids: A History with 21 Activities--R. Kent Rasmussen
World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities--Richard Panchyk
You Choose (Interactive Espionage Adventures) series--multiple authors
You Choose (Interactive History Adventures) series--multiple authors
You Wouldn't Want To series--multiple authors
​
Young Adult Nonfiction Books (grades 7+)
The Boys Who Challenged Hitler--Philip Hoose
The Diary of a Young Girl--Anne Frank
Dive! World War II Stories of Sailors and Submarines in the Pacific--Deborah Hopkinson
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia--Candace Fleming
The 57 Bus: The True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives--Dashka Slater
I Am Malala--Malala Yousafzai
Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War--Steve Sheinkin
Mythology--Edith Hamilton
No Better Friend: One Man, One Dog, and Their Incredible True Story of Friendship and Survival in World War II--Robert Weintraub
Radioactive! How Irene Curie and Lise Meitner Revolutionized Science and Changed the World--Winifred Conkling

The Red Bandanna--Tom Rinaldi
Secrets of a Civil War Submarine--Sally M. Walker
Sinking the Sultana--Sally M. Walker
A Storm Too Soon: A Remarkable True Survival Story in 80 Foot Seas--Michael J. Tougias
We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler--Russell Friedman
Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland--Sally M. Walker
Beginning Readers (children grades K-2)
Amelia Bedelia series--Peggy and Herman Parish
Are You My Mother?--PD Eastman
​Berenstain Bears series--Jan, Stan, and Mike Berenstain
Cat in the Hat--Dr. Seuss
Danny and the Dinosaur--Syd Hoff
Dr. Seuss's ABC--Dr. Seuss
Elephant and Piggie series--Mo Willems
Nancy Clancy series--Jane O'Connor

Fox in Socks--Dr. Seuss
Frog and Toad series--Arnold Lobel
Green Eggs and Ham--Dr. Seuss
​Henry and Mudge series--Cynthia Rylant
Hop on Pop--Dr. Seuss
Little Bear series--Else Holmelund Minarik
Mr. Putter and Tabby series--Cynthia Rylant
​Mouse Soup--Arnold Lobel
Mouse Tales--Arnold Lobel
Nate the Great series--Marjorie Sharmat

Oh Say Can You Say?--Dr. Seuss
Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!--Dr. Seuss
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish--Dr. Seuss
Owl at Home--Arnold Lobel
Pete the Cat series--James and Kim Dean
Pinkalicious series--Victoria Kann

Sammy the Seal--Syd Hoff
Splat the Cat series--Rob Scotton
Ten Apples up on Top--Dr. Seuss
There's a Wocket in My Pocket--Dr. Seuss

Early Chapter Books (grades 2-3)
A-Z Mysteries series--Ron Roy
Bad Kitty series--Nick Bruel
Big Nate series--Lincoln Peirce

The Borrowers--Mary Norton
The Boxcar Children series--Gertrude Werner
Calendar Mysteries series--Ron Roy
​Cam Jansen series--David A. Adler
Charlotte's Web--EB White
Encyclopedia Brown series--Donald Sobol
Fancy Nancy series--Jane O'Connor

Geronimo Stilton series--Geronimo and Thea Stilton
Hank the Cowdog series--Jon Ericson
Heidi--Johanna Spyri
Horrible Harry series--Suzy Kline
​Little House on the Prairie series--Laura Ingalls Wilder
Magic Tree House series--Mary Pope Osborn
Mr. Popper's Penguins--Richard Atwater
The Mouse and the Motorcycle--Beverly Cleary
Pippi Longstocking--Astrid Lindgren
Ralph S. Mouse--Beverly Cleary
Ramona series--Beverly Cleary
Stuart Little--EB White

Mid-range Chapter Books (grades 3-7)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn--Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer--Mark Twain
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland--Lewis Carroll

American Girl series--multiple authors
Anne of Green Gables
series--LM Montgomery

Because of Winn-Dixie--Kate DiCamillo
The BFG--Roald Dahl

Black Beauty--Anna Sewell
The Black Stallion--Walter Farley
Bridge to Terabithia--Katherine Paterson
Bud, Not Buddy--Christopher Paul Curtis
Call of the Wild--Jack London
Children of Christmas--Cynthia Rylant

Chronicles of Narnia series--CS Lewis
The Cricket in Times Square--George Selden
Dear America series--multiple authors

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series--Jeff Kinney
Dicey's Song (Tillerman series)--Cynthia Voigt
Echo--Pam Munoz Ryan
Freedom over Me--Ashley Brian
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler--EL Konigsburg
The Girl Who Drank the Moon--Kelly Barnhill

Great Expectations--Charles Dickens
​Grimm's Fairy Tales--Brothers Grimm

Gulliver's Travels--Jonathan Swift
Hardy Boys mysteries--Franklin W. Dixon

Harriet the Spy--Louise Fitzhugh
Hatchet series--Gary Paulsen
Holes--Louis Sachar
How to Train Your Dragon series--Cressida Cowell

I Funny series--James Patterson
​I Survived series--Lauren Tarshis
The Incredible Journey--Sheila Burnford

The Indian in the Cupboard--Lynn Reid Banks
The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog--Adam Gidwitz

Journey to the Center of the Earth--Jules Verne
Land of Stories series--Chris Colfer

A Little Princess--Frances Hodgson Burnett
Little Women--Louisa May Alcott
A Long Way from Chicago--Richard Peck
​Maniac Magee--Jerry Spinelli
Mary Poppins--PL Travers
Matilda--Roald Dahl
Maximilian P. Mouse, Time Traveler series--Philip Horender

Middle School series--James Patterson
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH--Robert C. O'Brien
Nancy Drew mysteries--Carolyn Keene

Number the Stars--Lois Lowry
Old Yeller--Fred Gipson
On My Honor--Marion Dane Bauer
One Crazy Summer--Rita Wiliams-Garcia

Peppermints in the Parlor--Barbara Brooks Wallace
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry--Mildred Taylor
Rush Revere series--Rush Limbaugh

Sarah, Plain and Tall--Patricia MacLachlan
The Secret Garden--Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Series of Unfortunate Events series--Lemony Snicket

Sounder--William H. Armstrong
Swiss Family Robinson--Johann David Wyss
The Tale of Despereaux--Kate DiCamillo
Theodore Boone series--John Grisham

The Time Machine--HG Wells
Treasure Island--Robert Louis Stevenson
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea--Jules Verne
The War That Saved My Life--Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Warriors series--Erin Hunter
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--Christopher Paul Curtis
White Fang--Jack London
Wolf Hollow--Lauren Wolk

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz--Frank L. Baum
A Wrinkle in Time--Madeleine L'Engle
Where the Red Fern Grows--Wilson Rawls

Young Adult Fiction Books (grades 7+)
The Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes--Conan Doyle
Animal Farm--George Orwell
The Book Thief--Markus Zusak

Chinese Handcuffs--Chris Crutcher
The Chocolate War--Robert Cormier
Cinder series--Marissa Meyer

Crispin: The Cross of Lead--Avi
Divergent series--Veronica Roth
Ella Enchanted--Gail Carson Levine

Emma--Jane Austen
Fahrenheit 451--Ray Bradbury
The Fault in Our Stars--John Green
Frankenstein--Mary Shelley
Freak the Mighty--Rodman Philbrick
The Giver--Lois Lowry

Grapes of Wrath--John Steinbeck
Hamlet--William Shakespeare
Harry Potter series--JK Rowling

The Hobbit--JRR Tolkien
The Iliad--Homer

Jane Eyre--Charlotte Bronte
Johnny Tremain--Esther Forbes
Julius Caesar--William Shakespeare
The Jungle--Upton Sinclair
The Kite Runner--Khaled Hosseini

Lord of the Flies--William Golding
The Lord of the Rings trilogy--JRR Tolkien
Macbeth--William Shakespeare
Magnus Chase series--Rick Riordan
Maximum Ride series--James Patterson
​Maze Runner series--James Dashner
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children--Ransom Riggs

Night Witches--Kathryn Lasky
​1984--George Orwell
The Odyssey--Homer
​The Once and Future King--TH White

​Out of the Dust--Karen Hesse
The Outsiders--SE Hinton

Percy Jackson series--Rick Riordan
Pride and Prejudice--Jane Austen
The Red Badge of Courage--Stephen Crane
Romeo and Juliet--William Shakespeare
The Scarlet Letter--Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Selection series--Kiera Cass

Sense and Sensibility--Jane Austen
The Scarlet Pimpernel--Baronness Orczy
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes--Chris Crutcher
Stotan--Chris Crutcher
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--Robert Louis Stevenson
Summer of My German Soldier--Bette Greene

A Tale of Two Cities--Charles Dickens
The Three Musketeers--Alexandre Dumas
To Kill a Mockingbird--Harper Lee
Trials of Apollo series--Rick Riordan
​The Wave--Todd Strasser
​
Witness--Karen Hesse
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      • Tween and Teen Classes & Events
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      • Homework Help
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    • Parents/Teachers >
      • Building Early Literacy Skills
      • Importance of Reading to Children
      • How to Read with Children
    • Reading Lists
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    • Donating Books to Promote Literacy
  • DBPL HOME