Great Books and Stories

Core books and stories:

• Aesop's Fables

  • “The Lion and the Mouse”

  • “The Grasshopper and the Ants”

  • “The Dog and His Shadow”

  • “The Hare and the Tortoise”

  • And others

• Creation Stories across cultures

  • Pan Gu (Chinese creation story)

  • Genesis 1-2

  • A cow licks the world out of a block of ice (Norse creation story)

  • And others

• “Gilgamesh the King,” “The Revenge of Ishtar,” “The Last Quest of Gilgamesh” (Ludmila Zeman)

• “The Children’s Book of Virtues” [Selections] (William Bennett)

• “The Velveteen Rabbit” (Margery Williams)

• “Jack and the Beanstalk”

• “Hansel and Gretel” (Grimm)

• The Tale of Peter Rabbit [vol 1-5] (Beatrix Potter)

• “Cinderella” (Charles Perrault)

• “Sheep Beauty” (Chinese folktale; Li Jian)

• “The Empty Pot” (Chinese folktale)

• The Sticky-Sticky Pine” (Japanese folktale; ed. Florence Sakade)

• “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”

• “Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes”

• “Little Red Riding Hood” (Grimm)

• “Momotaro: Peach Boy” (Japanese folktale)

• “The Ugly Duckling” (Hans Christian Andersen)

• “The Grateful Statues” and “Silly Saburo” (Japanese folktale; ed. Florence Sakade)

• “Zen Shorts” (Jon Muth)

Supplemental books and stories:

• “How Many Spots Does a Leopard Have?” (African folktale)

• “It Could Always Be Worse” (Yiddish folktale)

• “The Legend of Jumping Mouse” (Native American: Northern Plains legend)

• “The Little Red Hen” (Paul Galdone)

• “The Little Engine that Could” (Watty Pipeman)

• “Bear Has a Story to Tell” (Philip Stead)

• “The Rainbow Fish” (Marcus Phister)

• “Ferdinand the Bull” (Munro Leaf)

• “Tom Thumb”

• “Chicken Little” (also known as “Henny-Penny”)

• “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”

• “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”

Core Books and Stories:

• “Charlotte’s Web” (E.B. White)

• “Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon” (Ruth Stiles Gannett)

• Aesop’s Fables

  • “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”

  • “The Dog in the Manger”

  • “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”

  • “The Maid and the Milk Pail”

  • “The Goose and the Golden Eggs”

  • And others

• Greek (and Mediterranean) Myths:

  • “Prometheus” (the bringing of fire)

  • “Pandora’s Box”

  • “Echo and Narcissus”

  • “Oedipus and the Sphinx”

  • “Theseus and the Minotaur”

  • “Daedelus and Icarus”

  • “Arachne the Weaver”

  • “Demeter and Persephone”

  • “Labors of Hercules”

  • “Zeus and the Golden Apple”

  • The Trojan Horse (adapted from Virgil)

  • Odysseus and the Cyclops (from Homer)

  • Dido and the bull’s hide

• “Frog and Toad are Friends” (Arnold Lobel)

• “A Bargain for Francis” (Russell Hoban)

• “The Boy at the Dike” (folktale from Holland)

• “The Tales of Peter Rabbit” [vol 6-10] (Beatrix Potter)

• “Anansi the Spider” stories (West African folktale)

• “How the Kiwi Lost Its Wings” (Maori legend)

• “Three Little Pigs”

• “Wenceslas” (Geraldine McCaughrean)

• “A House is a House for Me” (Mary Ann Hoberman)

• “Rapunzel”

• “Sleeping Beauty”

• “The Bremmen Town Musicians”

• Tales of Br’er Rabbit (recommended tales: “Br’er Rabbit Gets Br’er Fox’s Dinner”; “Br’er Rabbit Tricks Br’er Bear”; “Br’er Rabbit and the Tar Baby”)

• “Just So Stories” ([Selection] Rudyard Kipling)

• “Butterfly dream” (Zhuangzi)

• “Little Red Riding Hood” (Grimm)

• “Lon Po Po” (Chinese folktale)

• “Issun Boshi” or “One-Inch Boy” (Japanese folktale)

• “The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal” (Indian fairytale;, ed. Haviland & Rosenberry)

• “The Jade Rabbit” (Chinese / Buddhist folktale)

• “Stone Age Boy” (Kitamura)

• “The Golden Rule” (Ilene Cooper)

Supplemental Books & Stories

• “The Boxcar Children” (Gertrude Chandler Warner)

• “The Quiltmaker’s Gift” (Jeff Grumbeau)

• “The Cricket in Times Square” (George Selden)

• “The Polar Express” (Chris Van Allsburg)

• “Old Mother West Wind” (or other Green Forest novels by Thornton Burgess

Stories and Myths

• “A Visitor for Bear” ( Philip Stead)

• “The Great Kapok Tree”(Lynne Cherry)

• “Frog and Toad Together” (Arnold Lobel)

• “Frog and Toad All Year” (Arnold Lobel)

• “Cinderella”

• “Yen-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China” (Chinese folktale)

• “The Egyptian Cinderella” (Shirley Climo)

• “The Butterfly Lovers” (Chinese fairytale)

• Magic Treehouse / Merlin Missions Series (Mary Pope Osborne) –(Recommended stories include “Mummies in the Morning” and “Day of the Dragon King”)

• “The Story of Ping” (Marjorie Flack)

• The Handsome Little Signet” (Matthew Mehan)

• “Paddington Bear” (Michael Bond)

• "Madeline" series (Ludwig Bemelmans)

Core Books and Stories

Novels

• The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)

• Tale of Despereaux (Kate DiCamillo)

• Journey to the West (Wu Cheng’en; adapted for children by Debbie Chen [vol. 2 & 3])

• The Golden Key (George MacDonald)

• The Stone Fox (John Reynolds Gardiner)

Aesop’s Fables

• The Fox and the Crow

• The Owl and the Cricket

• The Tortoise and the Hare

• The Fox and the Lion

• And others

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

• “How Arthur Became King”

• “The Sword in the Stone”

• “The Sword Excalibur”

• “Merlin and the Lady of the Lake”

• “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

Ancient Greek and Roman myths

• “Jason and the Golden Fleece”

• “Perseus and Medusa”

• “Cupid and Psyche”

• “The Sword of Damocles”

• “Androcles and the Lion”

• “Horatius at the Bridge”

• “King Midas and the Golden Touch”

Other Stories

• “St. George and the Dragon” (Margaret Hodges)

• “The Blind Men and the Elephant” (Indian folktale)

• “Pookie Puts the World Right” (Ivy Wallace)

• “The Fisherman and His Wife” (Grimm)

• “The Little Match Girl” (Hans Christian Andersen)

• “How the Camel Got His Hump” and other “Just-So” stories (Rudyard Kipling)

• Iktomi stories (legends of the Plains Indian trickster figure, such as “Iktomi Lost His Eyes”, “Iktomi and the Berries”, “Iktomi and the Boulder)

Supplemental Books and Stories:

• Beowulf: A Hero’s Tale (James Rumford)

• The Reluctant Dragon (Kenneth Grahame)

• Tanglewood Tales: A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

• The Roman Mysteries: The Thieves of Ostia (Caroline Lawrence)

• Because of Winn-Dixie (Kate DiCamillo)

• Stuart Little (E.B. White)

Other Stories and Myths

• The Bad Children’s Book of Beasts (Hilaire Belloc)

• Strega Nona Treasury (Tomie DePaola)

• “Beauty and the Beast”

• “Marcus Aurelius: The Boy Who Would Be King” (Ryan Holiday)

• “Epictetus: The Girl Who Would Be Free” (Ryan Holiday)

• Illustrated Chinese Stories (Usborne)

• Magic Treehouse / Merlin Missions Series (Mary Pope Osborne) (Recommended stories include “Dragon of the Red Dawn,” “Vikings at Sunrise,” “Hour of the Olympics,” “Warriors in Winter,” Knight at Dawn,” “Christmas at Camelot,” “Season of the Sandstorms (Baghdad’s House of Wisdom),” “Stallion by Starlight”

Core Books and Stories

Novels:

• Pinocchio (Carlo Collodi)

• The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen)

• Prince Caspian (C.S. Lewis)

• Farmer Giles of Ham (Tolkien)

• The Brothers Lionheart (Astrid Lindgren)

Stories:

• Tales of Peter Rabbit [vol 11 - 15] (Beatrix Potter)

• Selections from Winnie the Pooh (A.A. Milne)

• Bruce and the Spider (James Baldwin or other telling)

• The Little Mermaid (Hans Christian Andersen)

• The Hunting of the Great Bear (Iroquois legend)

• The Magic Brocade (Chinese fairy tale)

• Stories from Shakespeare (Charles & Mary Lamb) OR Beautiful Stories From Shakespeare (Edith Nesbit)

• One Thousand and One Nights [Selections]:

  • Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

  • Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Norse Mythology:

• The Slaying of Fafnir

• The Slaying of Jormundandr

• Ragnarok

• Thor and the Ice Giants 

• Odin the Wanderer 

• Freya’s Necklace

• Rainbow Bridge

• The Otter’s Ring 

Supplemental Books and Stories:

• The Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

• The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling)

• The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle (Hugh Lofting)

• Trumpet of the Swan (E.B. White)

• The Princess and the Goblin (George MacDonald)

• Sign of the Beaver OR The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Elizabeth George Speare)

• Call it Courage (Armstrong Sperry)

Other Stories

• The Husband Who Was to Mind the House (a Norse/English folktale, also known as “Gone is Gone”)

• The Blue Book of Fairy Stories [Selections] (Andrew & Nora Lang)

• Twilight Land [Selections] (Howard Pyle)

• Magic Treehouse / Merlin Missions Series (Mary Pope Osborne) (Recommended stories include “Night of the Ninjas,” “Stage Fright on a Summer Night,” “Moonlight on the Magic Flute,” “Monday With a Magic Genius “

Core Books and Stories:

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis)

Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carol)

The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)

The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

Le Petit Prince / The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

Supplemental Books and Stories:

The Whipping Boy (Sid Fleischman)

The Winged Watchman (Hilda Van Stockum)

The Courage of Sarah Noble (Alice Dagliesh)

The Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

Pollyanna (Eleanor Porter)

The Wizard of Oz (Frank Baum)

Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)

Core Books and Stories:

• The Iliad (Homer; adapted by Sutcliff, Cross, Colum, or other quality adaptation)

• The Odyssey (Homer; adapted by McCaughrean, Sutcliff, Colum, other other)

• The Epic of Gilgamesh (Geraldine McCaughrean)

• Anne of Green Gables (Lucy Maud Montgomery)

• The Anabasis (Xenophon; abridged by Geoffrey Household)

Biography:

• Plutarch’s Lives for Children (W.H. Weston)

Plays:

• Prometheus Bound (Aeschylus) OR

• Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare)

Short stories

• The Gift of the Magi (O Henry)

• The Sniper (Liam O’Flaherty)

Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome:

• “Zeus and the Golden Apple”

• “Jason and the Golden Fleece”

• “Perseus and Medusa”

• “Cupid and Psyche”

• “The Sword of Damocles”

• “Damon and Pythias”

• “Androcles and the Lion”

• “Apollo and Daphne”

• “Orpheus and Eurydice”

• “Narcissus and Echo”

• “Pygmalion and Galatea”

Supplemental Books and Stories

• The Golden Goblet (Eloise Jarvis McGraw)

• Eagle of the Ninth (Rosemary Sutcliff)

• At the Back of the North Wind (George MacDonald)

• The Call of the Wild (Jack London)

• The Aeneid for Boys and Girls (Alfred Church)

Short Stories

• The Money’s Paw (W.W. Jacobs)

• The Telltale Heart (Edgar Allan Poe)

Core Books and Stories:

• The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien)

• Beowulf the Warrior (Serraillier)

• King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (Howard Pyle / R.L Green) OR The Boy’s King Arthur (John Steinbeck)

• The Adventures of Robin Hood (R.L. Green or Core Knowledge edition)

Short Stories

• To Build a Fire (Jack London)

Plays (at least one of the following):

• Julius Caesar (Shakespeare)

• Henry IV - part I (Shakespeare)

• Henry V (Shakespeare)

• As You Like It (Shakespeare)

Supplemental Books and Stories:

• The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Robert Browning)

• Don Quixote of La Mancha (Parry)

• Heidi (Johanna Spyri)

• The Giver (Lois Lowry)

• Tristan and Iseult (adapted by Sutcliff)

Short Stories

• The Lady or the Tiger (Stockton)

Core Books and Stories:

• Joan of Arc (Mark Twain)

• The Fellowship of the Ring (JRR Tolkien)

• Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)

• A Christmas Carol (Dickens)

Short Stories

• The Emperor’s New Clothes (Hans Christian Andersen)

• Rikki Tikki Tavi (Rudyard Kipling)

• Genesis: A story from Wolf Willow (Wallace Stegner)

Plays (at least one of the following):

• Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare)

• The Tempest (Shakespeare)

• Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare)

Supplemental Books and Stories

• The Two Towers (JRR Tolkien)

• The Return of the King (JRR Tolkien)

• Lieutenant Hornblower (C.S. Forester)

• Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift; abridged)

• Watership Down (Richard Adams)

• Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)

• Swiss Family Robinson (Johann David Wyss)

• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)

• A Child's History of England [Selections] (Charles Dickens)

• Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe)

Core Books and Stories:

• Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, OR A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)

• Who Has Seen the Wind (W.O. Mitchell)

• Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

• The Scarlet Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy)

• Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)

• Around the World in 80 Days OR 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne)

Plays:

• Oresteia (Aeschylus)

Supplemental Books and Stories

• The Count of Monte Cristo [abridged] (Alexandre Dumas)

• Lost in the Barrens (Farley Mowat)

• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)

• To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

• The Good Shepherd (C.S. Forester)

• Kim (Rudyard Kipling)

• Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

Short Stories

• The Veldt (Bradbury) 

• The Lottery (Shirley Jackson) 

• Alyosha the Pot (Tolstoy)

• How Much Land Does a Man Need? (Tolstoy)

Core Books and Stories:

Novels:

• Who Has Seen the Wind (W.O. Mitchell) 

• Animal Farm (George Orwell) 

• Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis) 

• One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Solzhenitsyn)

• All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)

• The Odyssey (Homer) 

Philosophy:

• Mediations (Marcus Aurelius)  

Speeches and Essays:

• Learning in Wartime (C.S. Lewis) 

• "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat" and "Their Finest Hour" (Churchill) 

Short Stories: 

• The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (Ursula K. Le Guin) 

Plays (one of the following): 

• Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare)

• Macbeth (Shakespeare) 

Supplemental books and stories

Novels: 

• 1984 (Orwell)

• And No Birds Sang (Mowat)

• Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde)

• Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)

• Wild Swans (Jung Chang)

Philosophy: 

• Poetics (Aristotle) 

• The New Atlantis (Bacon)

Plays: 

• Oedipus the King (Sophocles)