Teaching the Classics Booklist

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Some of the best things are born of necessity. While no one twisted Adam and Missy Andrews' arms to get them to create Teaching the Classics, a number of local home school parents (knowing the Andrews' academic backgrounds) did ask repeatedly to be shown how to teach their kids to appreciate and analyze literature. The Andrews eventually complied, distilling what parents need to know to lead Socratic-style discussions about great books into a relatively short lecture series and syllabus.

Teaching the Classics isn't a curriculum. There are no assignments, no lesson plans, and no workbooks, and you certainly can't hand anything to your kids and have them work on their own. Instead, it's a lifestyle tool, providing you and your children the necessary tools to understand literature, and by extension any ideas that make their way into your home, whether through the newspaper, movies, or talk radio. In his engaging DVD lectures, Adam Andrews shows the importance of reading quality fiction, and then equips you to do so.

Because it's not a curriculum, there's no required reading list, but there is an appendix in the teacher syllabus offering a book list of recommended titles for young children, elementary and middle school kids, and high school students. Each title is arranged alphabetically by author, with a brief description of the listed book. We carry about 90% of these titles (we're working on bringing all of them in), and they're listed below. Remember, these aren't required reading, but they do make an excellent place to start.

We're very impressed with Teaching the Classics, as well as the other products developed by Adam and Missy Andrews. Good books are important to us, but we see no point in reading them only for entertainment purposes. Literature needs to be engaged, and as Christians we have a responsibility to engage it in a particular way, a way the Andrews are willing and able to share with those of us who didn't major in English. The variety of titles in the list below shows how versatile their approach really is, though we encourage you to start with picture books no matter what age your kids are, as they offer a non-threatening venue for putting somewhat foreign concepts into practice.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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Teaching the Classics Booklist

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	Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Sterling Classics by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen from Sterling Publishing Co. for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $14.95
	All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan from HarperCollins for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman from Random House Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB) $9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman from J.B. Lippincott Co. Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade 1955 Newbery Honor Book in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban from HarperCollins Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $16.99
	Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward from Houghton Mifflin Realistic Animal Stories for Preschool-1st grade 1953 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Black Beauty Sterling Classics by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Scott McKowen Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co. Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Black Beauty Illustrated Junior Library Series 3 by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
	Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Dinah Dryhurst from Breslich & Foss Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
	Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey from Viking Press Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1949 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99
	Book of Three Prydain Chronicles #1 by Lloyd Alexander Revised 1999 printing from Henry Holt and Company Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Caddie Woodlawn A Frontier Story by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Kate Seredy from Macmillan Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade 1936 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink from Simon and Schuster Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade 1936 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $19.99
	Canterbury Tales Selected, translated, adapted and illustrated by Barbara Cohen & Trina Schart Hyman from William Morrow & Company Medieval Literature for 3rd-6th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $17.50 (1 in stock)
	Captains Courageous Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Rudyard Kipling from Reader's Digest Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Charlotte's Web by E. B. White from HarperCollins for 2nd-6th grade 1953 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey 1st edition 1st printing from HarperCollins Family Stories for 4th-9th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Cricket in Times Square by George Selden, illustrated by Garth Williams from Farrar, Straus and Giroux Animal Fantasy for 3rd-6th grade 1961 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Enchanted Castle Books of Wonder by E. Nesbit (illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky) from William Morrow & Company Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg 35th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade 1968 Newbery Medal winner in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Heidi Sterling Classics by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Scott McKowen from Sterling Publishing Co. Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Heidi by Johanna Spyri from Grosset & Dunlap Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss from Random House Animal Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell from Houghton Mifflin Realistic Fictio for 5th-8th grade 1961 Newbery Medal Winner in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $12.00 (2 in stock)
	Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte from International Collectors Library Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg from Random House Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson from Random House Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Jane Eyre & Wuthering Heights - 2 Volume Set by Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg from Random House Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Kon-Tiki Across the Pacific by Raft by Thor Heyerdahl, Translated by F. H. Lyon from Rand McNally Non-fiction/Adventure for 8th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Last of the Mohicans Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by James Fenimore Cooper from Reader's Digest Realistic Action/Adventure Novel for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by Washington Irving from Grosset & Dunlap Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Charles Wilbour from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $42.00
	Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Isabel F Hapgood from Fall River Press Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Lascelles Wraxall and illustrated by Lynd Ward from Heritage Press Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Light in the Forest by Conrad Richter, illustrated by Warren Chappell from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $15.95
	Little Engine That Could - Original Edition by Watty Piper from Platt and Munk Publishers Personification Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $9.99
	Little House - Hardcover Set by Laura Ingalls Wilder from HarperCollins for 3rd-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $139.11
	Little Women Sterling Classics by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Scott McKowen Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co. Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Judith Cheng Special from Simon and Schuster Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Dinah Dryhurst Reprint from Breslich & Foss Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by M.E. Gray Unabridged from Everyman's Library Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $16.95
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Clara M. Burd from John C. Winston Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Little Women Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Hodges Soileau and Louis Jambor from Reader's Digest Realistic Romantic Fiction for 6th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Barbara Cooney from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Tasha Tudor Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Little Women Penguin Clothbound Classics by Louisa May Alcott, edited and introduced by Elaine Showalter, with notes by Siobhan Kilfeather and Vinca Showalter Unabridged from Penguin Classics Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Louisa May Alcott Little Women / Good Wives / Little Men by Louisa May Alcott from Octopus Books Limited Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey from Viking Press Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1942 Caldecott Medal winner in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $19.99
	Mitten A Ukrainian Folktale by Jan Brett Rei/Cas from Putnam Juvenile Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99
	Moffats Moffats #1 by Eleanor Estes from Harcourt, Brace & World Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien, illustrated by Edward S. Gazi from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade 1972 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien, illustrated by Zena Bernstein from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade 1972 Newbery Medal winner in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	My Father's Dragon My Father's Dragon Trilogy #1 by Ruth Stiles Gannett, illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannett and Helena Perez Garcia from Bushel & Peck Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade 1949 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	My Father's Dragon My Father's Dragon Trilogy #1 by Ruth Stiles Gannett from Dover Publications Fantasy for 1st-3rd grade 1949 Newbery Honor Book in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Olivia by Ian Falconer from Atheneum Animal Fantasy for Preschool-1st grade 2001 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $18.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Out of the Silent Planet Space Trilogy Book 1 by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Allegorical Science Fiction for 8th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $24.00
	Petunia by Roger Duvoisin Weekly Reader Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jule Feiffer from Random House Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Princess and the Goblin Everyman Library by George MacDonald from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $18.00
	Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister from North-South Books Animal Fantasy for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $18.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Sam, Bangs & Moonshine by Evaline Ness from Holt, Rinehart and Winston Allegorical and Moral Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1967 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Secret Garden Puffin Classics by Frances Burnett from Puffin Books Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
	Secret Garden Everyman Children's Classics by Frances Burnett, illustrated by Charles Robinson from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC)
	Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin from Houghton Mifflin Biographies of Scientists and Inventors for 1st-3rd grade 1999 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.99
	Sounder by William H. Armstrong from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade 1970 Newbery Medal winner in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf from Viking Press Animal Stories for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Tales from Shakespeare by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Elizabeth Shippen Elliott from Dilithium Press, Ltd. Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Tales from Shakespeare Manhattan Young People's Library by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Louis Rhead from Gilbert H. McKibben Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Thy Friend, Obadiah (hardcover) by Brinton Turkle from Beautiful Feet Books Realistic Animal Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1970 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $14.95
	To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 35 Anv from HarperTrophy Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult 1961 Pulitzer Prize winner in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $26.99
	Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak 25th Anniversary from HarperCollins Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1964 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $18.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Wind in the Willows Illustrated Junior Library Series 4 by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Dick Cuffari from Grosset & Dunlap Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows Illustrated Junior Library Series 3 by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Dick Cuffari from Grosset & Dunlap Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Anna Leplar from Parragon Publishing Animal Fantasy for 4th-8th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Wuthering Heights Everyman's Library by Emily Bronte from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Wuthering Heights Everyman's Library by Emily Bronte from International Collectors Library Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Wuthering Heights with Related Readings by Emily Bronte from McGraw-Hill Realistic Fiction for 9th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Yearling by Marjorie Rawlings from International Collectors Library Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)

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