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Student reads book in library

Recommendations

Reading List for Parents and Educators

  • Bauer, Susan Wise. The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home. W.W. Norton, rev. 2004.

  • Brondos, Joel A. No Greater Treasure: Foundational Readings in Luther and Melanchthon on Education. Lulu, 2008.

  • CCLE Press, Adopting Classical Lutheran Education. Plano, TX, 2023.

  • Corbitt, Edward P. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

  • Edmondson, Henry T. John Dewey & the Decline of American Education. Wilmington, DL: Intercollegiate Studies Books, 2006.

  • Egan, Kieran. Getting It Wrong from the Beginning: Our Progressivist Inheritance from Herbert Spencer, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget. New Haven, CN: Yale University Press, 2002.

  • Gregory, John Milton. The Seven Laws of Teaching. Baker Books, 2004.

  • Hicks, David V. Norms and Nobility: A Treatise on Education. University Press, 1999.

  • Joseph, Sister Miriam. The Trivium. Philadelphia: Paul Dry Books, 2002.

  • Kimball, Bruce A. The Liberal Arts Tradition: A Documentary History. Lanhan, MD: University Press of America, 2010.

  • Kopff, E. Christian, The Devil Knows Latin: Why America Needs the Classical Tradition. ISI Books, 2000.

  • Korcok, Thomas. Lutheran Education: From Wittenberg to the Future. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2011.

  • Korcok, Thomas. Serpents in the Classroom: The Poisoning of Modern Education and How the Church Can Cure It. New Reformation Publications, 2022.

  • Littlejohn, Robert, and Evans, Charles. Wisdom and Eloquence: A Christian Paradigm for Classical Learning. Crossway Books, 2006.

  • Luther, Martin. “Exhortation to the Councilmen that they establish and maintain Christian schools.” In Luther’s Works, American Edition, Volume 45. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1962.

  • Luther, Martin. “Sermon on Keeping Children in School.” In Luther’s Works, American Edition, Volume 46. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967.

  • Luther, Martin. “To the Christian Nobility.” In Luther’s Works, American Edition, Volume 44. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966.

  • Meany, John, and Shuster, Kate. Speak Out! Debate and Public Speaking in the Middle Grades. New York: International Debate Education Association, 2005.

  • Sayers, Dorothy. The Lost Tools of Learning. GLH Publishing, 2017.

  • Simmons, Tracy Lee. Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin. ISI Books, 2002.

  • Sire, James. The Universe Next Door. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

  • St. Augustine. The Four Books of St. Augustine on Christian Doctrine. Indo-European Publishing, 2014.

  • Sturm, Johann. Johann Sturm on Education, edited and translated by Lewis Spitz and Barbara Sher Tinsley. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1995.

  • Swope, Cheryl, and Heine, Melinda. Curriculum Resource Guide for Classical Lutheran Education—Third Edition. CCLE Press, 2024.

  • Swope, Cheryl. A Handbook for Classical Lutheran Education: The Best of the Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education’s Journals. Fort Wayne, IN: CCLE Press, 2013.

  • Swope, Cheryl. Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child. Memoria Press, 2013.

  • Veith, Gene Edward, and Kern, Andrew, ed. 1, Classical Education: The Movement Sweeping America. Washington, DC: Capital Research Center, 2001.

  • Veith, Gene Edward. God At Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life. Crossway, 2011.

Quality Literature

  • Fables (Aesop. Avenel, 1992)

  • Little Women (Alcott, Louisa. Puffin, 1988)

  • Billy and Blaze (Anderson, C.W.)

  • The Emperor’s New Clothes (Anderson, Hans Christian. Houghton Mifflin, 1949)

  • The Little Match Girl (Anderson, Hans Christian. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1987)

  • Camille and the Sunflowers (Anholt, Laurence)

  • Degas and the Little Dancer (Anholt, Laurence)

  • Puss in Boots (Arthur, Malcom, Trans. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1990)

  • The Complete Tales (Beatrix Potter. The Penguin Group, 1997)

  • Madeline (Bemelmans, Ludwig. Viking, 1993)

  • Sam the Minuteman (Benchley, Nathaniel. HarperCollins, 1987)

  • Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories (Bennett, William, ed. Simon & Schuster, 1993)

  • Shakespeare’s Stories: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies (Birch, Beverly. Bedrick, 1988)

  • The Black Falcon (Boccaccio, retold by Wise, William Philomel, 1990)

  • A Bear Called Paddington (Bond, Michael. Houghton Mifflin, 1960)

  • Toliver’s Secret (Brady, Esther Wood. Random Books for Young Readers, 1993)

  • The Boy Who Loved to Draw: Benjamin West (Brenner, Barbara)

  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Brett, Jan. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1987)

  • Cinderella (Brown, Marcia. Aladdin Books, 1988)

  • The Runaway Bunny (Brown, Margaret Wise. HarperCollins, 1977)

  • The Secret Garden (Burnett, Frances Hodgson. Harper and Row, 1987)

  • The Children’s Aesop (Calmenson, Stephanie. Boyds Mills Press, 1992)

  • Harald and the Giant Knight and Harald and the Great Stag (Carrick, Donald. Clarion, 1988)

  • Alice in Wonderland (Carroll, Lewis. Schloastic/Apple Classic, 1988)

  • The Hare and the Tortoise (Castle, Caroline. Dial Books for Young Readers, 1985)

  • Stolen Thunder (Climo, Shirley. Clarion Books, 1994)

  • Canterbury Tales (Cohen, Barbara. Lothrop, 1988)

  • From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs (Cohn, Amy L. Scholastic, 1993)

  • Pinocchio (Collodi, C.)

  • The Children’s Homer (Colum, Padraic)

  • America’s Robert E. Lee (Commager, Henry Steele and Ward, Lynd. Houghton Mifflin, 1951)

  • The Last of the Mohicans (Cooper, James Fenimore. Signet, 1962)

  • Cinderella (Craft, K.Y.. SeaStar Books, 2000)

  • The Little Lame Prince (Craik, Dinah Maria Murdock. Troll Communications, 1997)

  • The Red Badge of Courage (Crane, Stephen. Puffin, 1986)

  • Robinson Crusoe (Dafoe, Daniel. Charles Scribner & Sons, 1983)

  • D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths (d’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar. Dell Yearling, 1962)

  • D’Aulaire’s Norse Gods and Giants (d’Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar. Doubleday, 1967)

  • Shakespeare for Young People series (Davidson, Diane, ed. Swan Books)

  • New Puffin Children’s World Atlas: An Introductory Atlas for Young People (Day, Michael & Tivers, Jacqueline. Puffin Books, 1994)

  • The North Wind and the Sun (de La Fontaine, Jean. Watts, 1964)

  • The Clown of God (de Paola, Tomie. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978)

  • David Copperfield (Dickens, Charles. Bantam, 1988)

  • Poetry for Young People (Dickinson, Emily. Sterling, 1994)

  • Peter Pan (Dubowski, Cathy East. Random House, 1991)

  • Squanto: First Friend to the Pilgrims (Dubowski, Cathy East. Dell, 1990)

  • The Princess and the Pea (Duntze, Dorothee. North-South Books, 1984)

  • Rapunzel (Ehrlich, Amy. Dial Books, 1989)

  • Three Famous Short Novels (Faulkner, William. Viking, 1958)

  • Favorite Poems Old and New (Ferris, Helen, ed. Doubleday, 1957)

  • Johnny Tremain (Forbes, Esther. Houghton Mifflin, 1971)

  • Diary of a Young Girl (Frank, Anne. Pocket, 1990)

  • Corduroy (Freeman, Don)

  • Lincoln: A Photobiography (Freedman, Russell. Clarion, 1987)

  • You Come Too: Favorite Poems for Young Readers (Frost, Robert. Dover, 1991)

  • Lord of the Flies (Golding, William. Perigee, 1954)

  • The Bremen-Town Musicians (Gross, Ruth Belov. Scholastic, 1974)

  • The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales (Hamiliton, Virginia. Knopf/Borzoi, 1985)

  • Famous Children: Michelangelo (Hart, Tony)

  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Hastings, Selina. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1981)

  • King Midas and the Golden Touch (Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Knopf, Alfred A., 1994)

  • The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway, Ernest. Macmillian, 1986)

  • Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of Hannibal (Henty, GA)

  • Bread and Jam for Frances (Hoban, Russell)

  • St. George and the Dragon (Hodges, Margaret. Little, Brown, 1984)

  • St. Jerome and the Lion (Hodges, Margaret. Orchard, 1991)

  • Paddle-to-the-Sea (Holling, Holling Clancy. Houghton Mifflin, 1980)

  • Hand in Hand: An American History through Poetry (Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Simon & Schuster, 1994)

  • The Boy Who Held Back the Sea (Hort, Lenny. Dial Books for Young Readers, 1987)

  • Jack and the Beanstalk (Howe, John Little, Brown, 1989)

  • Dogger (Hughes, Shirley. Mulberry, 1993)

  • Perseus (Hutton, Warwick. Macmillian, 1993)

  • Theseus and the Minotaur (Hutton, Warwick. Macmillian/Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1989)

  • Sleeping Beauty (Hyman, Trina Schart. Little, Brown, 1997)

  • Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales (Irving, Washington. Smith Pub., 1980)

  • The First Starry Night (Isom, Joan Shaddox)

  • The Adventures of Pinocchio (Kassirer, Sue. Random House, 1992)

  • John Henry: An American Legend (Keats, Ezra Jack. Pantheon, 1965)

  • The Story of My Life (Keller, Helen. Scholastic, 1967)

  • The Jungle Book (Kipling, Rudyard. Grossett and Dunlap)

  • Hymn Board Books (Kloria Publishing)

  • Hymn Picture Books (Kloria Publishing)

  • George Washington: The Man Who Would Not Be King (Krensky, Stephen. Scholastic, 1992)

  • The Boy Who Loved Music (Lasker, David. Viking, 1979)

  • Hansel & Gretel (Lesser, Rika. G.P. Putnam’s Sons/Sandcastle Books, 1984)

  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Lewis, C.S. Macmillian, 1950)

  • Floss (Lewis, Kim)

  • Johnny Appleseed (Lindbergh, Reeve. Little, Brown, 1990)

  • The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War (Little, Emily. Random House, 1988)

  • The Call of the Wild (London, Jack. Puffin, 1988)

  • Paul Revere’s Ride (Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. E.P. Dutton, 1990)

  • The Song of the King (Lucado, Max. Crossway Books, 1995)

  • At the Back of the North Wind (MacDonald, George. Zondervan, 1981)

  • Sarah, Plain and Tall (MacLachlan, Patricia. HarperCollins Children’s Books, 1985)

  • Blueberries for Sal (McCloskey, Robert)

  • Make Way for Ducklings (McCloskey, Robert. Viking, 1941)

  • Beauty: A Retelling of Beauty and the Beast (McKinley, Robin. Green Tiger, 1989)

  • Martin Luther (McNeer, May and Ward, Lynd. Abingdon, 1953)

  • The Sleeping Beauty (Meyer, Mercer. Macmillian, 1984)

  • Island of the Mighty: Stories of Old Britain (Middleton, Haydn. Oxford, 1987)

  • Now We Are Six (Milne, A.A.. E.P. Dutton)

  • When We Were Very Young (Milne, A.A.. E.P. Dutton)

  • Winnie-the-Pooh (Milne, A.A.. E.P. Dutton)

  • The Ugly Duckling (Moore, Lillian. Scholastic, 1988)

  • The Frog Prince (Ormerod, Jan and Lloyd, David. Scholastic, 1987)

  • Animal Farm (Orwell, George. Signet, 1986)

  • Amelia Bedelia (Parish, Peggie)

  • The Rooster Crows: A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles (Petersham, Maud and Miska. Macmillan/Aladdin Books, 1987)

  • The Random House Books of Poetry for Children (Prelutsky, Jack, ed. Random House, 1983)

  • The Raven and Other Favorite Poems (Poe, Edgar Allan. Dover, 1991)

  • The Story of King Arthur and his Knights (Pyle, Howard. Simon and Schuster, 1984)

  • The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Pyle, Howard. Dover, 1968)

  • Curious George (Rey, H.A.)

  • Classic Myths to Read Aloud (Russell, William F.. Crown publishers, 1989)

  • Classics to Read Aloud to Your Children (Russell, William F., ed. Crown Publishers)

  • Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak, Maurice. Harper Trophy, 1963)

  • Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse (Sewell, Anna. Grossett and Dunlap, 1945)

  • Frankenstein (Shelley, Mary. Bedrick, 1988)

  • Caps for Sale (Slobodkina, Esphyr)

  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Speare, Elizabeth. Dell, 1978)

  • A Child’s Garden of Verses (Stevenson, Robert Louis)

  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Body Snatchers (Stevenson, Robert Louis. Bedrick, 1989)

  • Treasure Island (Stevenson, Robert Louis. Charles Scribner and Sons, 1981)

  • The Griffin and the Minor Canon (Stockton, Frank. HarperCollins, 1986)

  • The Arthurian Trilogy: The Light Beyond the Forest, The Sword and the Circle, The Road to Camlann (Sutcliff, Rosemary. E.P. Dutton, 1980)

  • Black Ships Before Troy (Sutcliff, Rosemary)

  • Dragonslayer: The Story of Beowulf (Sutcliff, Rosemary. Puffin, 1966

  • The Wanderings of Odysseus (Sutcliff, Rosemary)

  • Gulliver’s Travels (Swift, Jonathon. William Morrow, 1983)

  • Magellan: First Around the World (Syme, Ronald. William Morrow, 1953)

  • The Hobbit (Tolkien, J.R.R.. Houghton Mifflin, 1937)

  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Tolkein, J.R.R.. Houghton Mifflin, 1967)

  • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Twain, Mark. Penguin, 1986)

  • In a Circle Long Ago: A Treasury of Native Lore from North America (Van Laan, Nancy. Knopf, Alfred A., 1995)

  • The Children’s Bible (Various. Hamlyn, 1984)

  • Twenty-Thousand Leagues under the Sea (Verne, Jules. Scribner’s)

  • The Three Little Pigs and Other Favorite Nursery Stories (Voake, Charlotte. Candlewick Press, 1992)

  • The Biggest Bear (Ward, Lynd Kendall)

  • Frederick Douglass: Voice of Freedom (Weiner, Eric. Dell, 1992)

  • The Plymouth Adventure (Weisgard, Leonard. Doubleday, 1967)

  • Stories of Charlemagne (Westwood, Jennifer. S.G. Phillips, 1976)

  • Charlotte’s Web (White, E.B.. HarperCollins, 1952)

  • The Arabian Nights: Their Best-Known Tales (Wiggin, Kate Douglas and Smith, Nora A.. Simon & Schuster, 1937)

  • The Selfish Giant (Wilde, Oscar Picture Book Studio, 1984)

  • Little House Series (Wilder, Laura Ingalls)

  • Exodus (Wildsmith, Brian)

  • Joseph (Wildsmith, Brian)

  • The Velveteen Rabbit (Williams, Margery. Doubleday)

  • The Emperor and the Kite (Yolen, Jane. World, 1967)

  • Rumpelstiltskin (Zelinsky, Paul O.. E.P. Dutton, 1986)

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