Below is a list of good book titles for kids, recommendations for when children begin to sit for or have interest in reading short stories. This list is for the pre-school and lower grades such as kindergarten, grade 1, and primary levels. It gives suggestions, ideas, and options for resources you might want to include in YOUR home!
You may also want to check our list for the next level (juniors, tweens) here.
Some book or video titles may be available through our shop, others through a business we’re affiliated with or an organization we just recommend but are not affiliated with. And other titles in our list, if you want to find it, you might need to search at a yard sale, used bookstore, or similar.
(Note: For some of the resources on the list, this post contains affiliate links, through which we earn a small commission for purchases at no greater cost to you. Thanks for supporting our business efforts.)
Beginner Reading Tips
How might you teach reading with books like the ones suggested in the list that follows?
I’ve included a few tips on today’s post, taken from those in our literacy curriculum, Let Me Read: Step 2.
(As always, PSLC reading curriculum is literature-independent, meaning that YOU choose what reading material to use alongside our program. I can give you suggestions such as in the list on this page but these are not “requirements”. I wanted to design a “how-to-read” curriculum that has the freedom to work with whatever titles a family likes to pick for their own bookshelves!)
PSLC Curriculum (Reading)
PSLC’s literacy curriculum has these “steps”:
Let Me Read: Step 1 – children learn the sound alphabet (single sounds of beginning consonants and vowels) alongside about 30 basic sight words in a fun and simple manner!
Let Me Read: Step 2 – children expand their vocabulary with deriving more with word families, short written activities (e.g. matching), thematic word lists, and practicing their reading skills. This is also the level which we recommend for older struggling readers or ESL. It is important to pace learning how to read with the individual student and this particular level has strong foundational concepts which make it quite unique in how lessons are presented. If a child has finished step 1 in junior kindergarten/age 4-5, then this can be a great senior kindergarten/age 5-6 resource. But this level has also been taught as grade 1/age 6 (or later for students who begin later than age 4/5). It is such a fun program that I do like to keep this one at a pace no quicker than a year. (I’d rather not put it with Step 3 in the same year but instead, just take time to enjoy both while reading more stories.)
Let Me Read: Step 3 – children review concepts of how to read and figure out new words and they begin to learn how to spell too. Short reading comprehension activities are also introduced. I personally have used this level for grade 1 or a bit later such as grades 2/3, depending again on how early the child grasped the previous steps. (What might be a reason for this difference in “when” this level fits with a child? A move or other “big event” in a family’s life, a birthday towards the end of a calendar year related to “when” the child “starts school life”, needing eyeglasses or speech help, etc..)
We also offer PSLC phonics curriculum and other reading-related resources in our online shop.
Teaching Tips for Literacy Skills
Guess the Context: Allow child(ren) to look at the first page which will be read soon. Ask 1-2 questions to see if they can figure out the context of the upcoming story or passage. Examples:
- Describe what is happening in the picture.
- Who or what do you think this story will be about? (The answer could be based on the picture or looking at the words they already know on this page.)
Begin to Read – choosing a method such as:
- Child listens and follows along as it is read fluently. Then child repeats the same sentences. (Take your time; this isn’t a race.) or
- Child reads a page (or a line or a paragraph) then leader reads a page, back and forth. (This can be called the “Be a Pal Rule” or “partner reading”.) or
- Child is given the opportunity to read the whole story SILENTLY for a number of minutes, getting the general gist of the story. Then the child goes back to take turns reading it with expression and with help for difficult words, either with a partner (e.g. older sibling or parent) or within a group of children reading the same story together. (Note: Enjoy the flexibility and variety of methods to change to another method for a different story.)
Pause as you read to talk about anything related to the reading material or answer questions. Balance natural conversation with gentle focusing back to the current piece of literature.
A List of Good Titles (PK-3+)
This is not an exhaustive list (and will not be) but we will add to it as we find more and time permits. (They are in no particular order other than I tried grouping some titles of interest for preschool-grade 1 closer to the first part of each section and the grades 2-4/5 closer to the second parts of each section but that didn’t always happen. See also our book list for “Juniors and Tweens”.)
These literature lists (for children, for juniors and tweens, and for teens and adults) collectively represent recommendations of a few families and from up to four generations of people involved in child education and Christian ministry who have really enjoyed reading over the years! Some of these titles are out-of-print but still might be found somewhere, if I don’t already link to them.
I hope you find these lists helpful! ?
Titles marked with a ? are ones which have plot settings in Canada and/or were originally arranged for Canadian students.
Readers or Similar Collections of Stories
Note: For a one-page printable list of vintage, old-fashioned readers used in Canadian schools (e.g. rural schoolhouses my parents and aunt taught in) mid-century, various grade levels, please go to this page on our website.
- Before We Read (with Sally, Dick, and Jane – reading pictures and sequencing orders)
- We Read Pictures (next in series)
- We Read More Pictures (last in series)
- Off to School (revised) – Canadian Reading Development Series Book 1 ?
- Skip Along, Under the Sky, Open the Door, and High on a Hill (Mabel O’Donnell) – The characters in this American series are Alice, Jerry, May, Jip, etc.. This series was sometimes used in Canadian schools mid-century too.
- We Look and See, We Come and Go, We Work and Play (W.J. Gage and Company Ltd or Scott Foresman and Company) – The New Basic Readers (Dick, Jane, Sally) – These three titles were combined into a larger reprinted Dick and Jane reader we’ve sold in our shop.
- (The New) Guess Who – (The New Basic Readers) – Junior Primer
- We Play Outside
- Fun Wherever We Are
- We Play and Pretend
- Fun With Our Family
- Reprinted “Read with Dick and Jane” series (thin paperbacks):
- More Fun With Our Friends (Book 1) – W.J. Gage Limited (e.g. grade 1)
- Come Along with Me (revised) – Canadian Reading Development Series Book 2 ?
- It’s Storytime (revised) – Canadian Reading Development Series Book 3 ? (reader for grade 1, third part)
- Stories about Sandy, The March Family (R. Aileen Belfry, B. Gertrude Bergey, and Erna A. Martin) – The John C. Winston Company Limited (Toronto) ? (e.g. grade 1)
- In, Out, and About the Catfish Pond (Charlotte Graeber) – in a series of grade 2 readers
- Stories Old and New (Canadian Reading Development Series) ? (reader for grade 2)
- W.J. Gage Limited – vintage readers – used in Canadian schoolrooms ?
- The New Tall Tales Parts 1 and 2 (“Reading for Independence”)
- The New What Next? Parts 1 and 2 (“Reading for Independence”)
- Friends Old and New (Book 2, Part 1) – The New Basic Readers (e.g. grade 2)
- More Friends Old and New (Book 2, Part 2) – The New Basic Readers
- The New Friends and Neighbours (Book 2, part 1)
- Roads to Follow (Book 3, part 1) (e.g. grade 3)
- More Roads to Follow (book 3, part 2)
- Mary, John, and Peter (vintage reader, T. Eaton Co. Ltd) ? – This was a grade 1 reader when my mom attended a rural school in Ontario around 1940. It has more new words on a page than what is really ideal for a beginner but, if used by children who already know some basic words, it would be easier to read these stories.
Picture Storybooks
- The Bear Went Over the Mountain (trad.)
- Little Blue Truck (Alice Schertle) – a board book on kindness, friendliness. Also, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (about taking turns).
- See and Say Creation Story (Christina Goodings) – large print, very easy to read, few words; also this book shows “onomatopoeia”.
- Just a Little Bit (Ann Tompert)
- An “Amelia Bedelia” book (Peggy Parish) – This series teaches about homonyms in a fun way.
- The Berenstain Bears Blaze a Trail (Stan and Jan Berenstain)
- The Berenstain Bears: The Bears’ Picnic (Stan and Jan Berenstain)
- The Little Red Hen (trad.)
- Pop! A Book About Bubbles! (Kimberley Brubaker Bradley)
- How Do Apples Grow? (Betsy Maestro)
- Make Way for Ducklings (Robert McCloskey)
- Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do (Eileen Christelow)
- Busy Bunnies (Lisa McCue) – a cute board book with textures, a story with happy helpers for Mother Bunny – one of our daughter’s favourite books
- Good Night, Little Bear (Richard Scarry)
- I Am a Bunny (Richard Scarry)
- Little Bunny’s Sleepless Night (Carol Roth)
- One Snowy Night (Nick Butterworth) – Percy looks after a park and shows kindness to animals in a storm.
- My First Little House Books (Laura Ingalls Wilder) – nice, easy text to introduce these stories of long ago
- The Lion and The Mouse (fable)
- Building a House (Bryan Barton) – a favourite of one of our sons!
- The Storm Book (Charlotte Zolotow) – great to read together on a rainy day!
- The Pokey Little Puppy (Janette S. Lowrey)
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter) – a favourite tale for sure! (Others of her titles include The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes, Tom Kitten, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Mr. Jeremy Fisher, Two Bad Mice). See the video category for the link for these tales told and animated.
- Morris the Moose Goes to School (Bernard Wiseman)
- Blueberries for Sal (Robert McCloskey)
- A Pocket for Corduroy (and Corduroy) (Don Freeman)
- The Three Bears (trad.)
- The Biggest Sandwich Ever (Rita Golden Gelman) – an add-on story from my husband’s childhood
- Billy and Blaze series by C.W. Anderson – I loved reading these when I went to school in Grade 1 (in an enrichment class with the librarian for a small group of students)
- Moonbeam books (Selma and Jack Wassermann) – This series is about a fictitious monkey involved in space research. (The setting is a number of decades ago, not current.) The series resembles early readers and I remembering reading them in grade 1 or 2 at school.
- Moonbeam is Caught
- Moonbeam at the Rocket Port
- Moonbeam and the Rocket Ride
- Moonbeam and Dan Starr
- Moonbeam Finds a Moon Stone
- God Made Me Special (Jessica Kauenhofen)
- How God Gives Us Apples and others in same series such as How God Gives Us Ice-Cream, How God Gives Us Families, How God Gives Us Bread by Mary LeBar. There are also wonderful preschool books with titles such as Sh-h-h, Johnny’s Cookies, Who Loves Patty?, Whatever I Do, I’m Giving, Joe’s Strong Legs, We Are Helpers, Who Loves the Children?
- No One But God and The Secret of Henry and Sam (Neil W. Rabens) – I remember these from camp in my childhood.
- The Animals of Farmer Jones (Richard Scarry)
- City Mouse, Country Mouse (trad.)
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear (Bill Martin Jr.)
- Something From Nothing (Phoebe Gilman)
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (Laura Joffe Numeroff)
- Fred and Ted Go Camping, Fred and Ted’s Road Trip (both by Peter Eastman)
- The Little Engine that Could (Watty Piper)
- The Little Red Lighthouse (Hildegarde H. Swift)
- Benjamin Bear Says “Please” (Claire Freedman)
- The Three Little Kittens (trad.)
- Katy and the Big Snow (Virginia Lee Burton)
- Jamaica’s Find (Juanita Havill)
- The Three Pigs (traditional)
- Don’t Stop…Fill Every Pot: The Story of the Widow’s Oil (Marilyn Lashbrook)
- The Ugly Duckling (adapted from Hans Christian Anderson)
- Harry, the Dirty Dog (Gene Zion)
- Willie’s Garden (Myra McGee) – a personal favourite but an older book.
- The Carrot Seed (Ruth Krauss)
- The Little Fish That Got Away (Bernadine Cook, I read the older edition)
- God’s Miracle – a Seed, a Raindrop, a Frog (and others in this series) (Rebecca Newswanger)
- Curious George – various single titles and collections by the Rey’s such as Curious George Goes Camping and The New Adventures of Curious George
- Boxes, Boxes Everywhere (Crystal Bowman) – a story about a young child moving. It’s comforting.
- A Fly Went By (Mike McClintock) – an add-on story with silly-acting characters
- Little Red Riding Hood (a non-scary version)
- A “first word” type of picture dictionary – there are numerous kinds such as this example (by Richard Scarry).
- Raggedy Ann’s Cooking School (Marjory Schwalje)
- Little Beaver and The Echo (Amy MacDonald)
- Out of the Blue (Alison Jay) – This is a wordless book. The children would verbally tell the story as they “read the pictures”.
- Leon’s Song (Stephanie McLellan)
- The Gingerbread Man (traditional)
- The King, The Mice, and The Cheese (Nancy Gurney) – This was a favourite storybook from my dad’s childhood days. It can be found read in video format online. Once, our kids used it as our “pattern story” to make another one as a group project called “Grandpa, The Ants, and The Crumbs”!
- Dr. Suess’ books such as In a People House (learning about words in association), Green Eggs and Ham (learning to not complain), and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (a nonsensical example that plays with phonograms)
- Inside, Outside, Upside-Down (Stan and Jan Berenstain) – one of Rob’s favourite’s in childhood
- Astronaut (Kate Hayden)
- Goofy the Gardener Makes Up His Mind (Walt Disney Productions) – This storybook teaches about a few careers and contentment with work.
- A simple book about your own province, territory, or state such as Newfoundland By the Ocean Blue (Frieda Thiessen)
- The Princess and the Pea (trad.)
- The Tortoise and the Hare (trad.)
- a “Paddington Bear” story (Michael Bond) – introduces world geography in a fun way. I remember a lady coming into our grade 3 classroom to read us stories about Paddington and then we’d snack on marmalade spread on a soda cracker! Videos of this bear’s stories can be found here.
- Paul Bunyan (trad. tall tales)
- a “Clifford the Big, Red Dog” book(s) (Norman Bridwell) – “tall tales” genre
- Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr and the Yellow Sled (Maj Lindman)
- A “Flicka, Dicka, Ricka“ story (Maj Lindman) such as
- A “Charlie Brown and Snoopy” story (Charles Schultz)
- Little Bear’s Big Adventure (Kathleen Allan-Meyer)
- Mousekin’s Family (Edna Miller) – tells the story of a mouse family with realistic drawings
- The Feast that Almost Flopped (Arch Books, Carol Greene) – a childhood favourite retelling of John 2. (This was my favourite “Arch book” as a child. There are typically around 200-300 titles available but the books periodically go out-of-print and change to a different text/drawings of a Bible story.)
- Ethel Barrett’s Stories to Grow On series: We like these too!
- Sylvester, The Three-Spined Stickleback
- Muffy and the Mystery of the Stolen Eggs
- Blister Lamb
- Gregory the Grub
- Quacky and Wacky
- (and others)
- A Blackberry Named Patty (Irene Halick)
- White Snow, Bright Snow (Alvin Tresselt)
- Sam and the Firefly (P. D. Eastman)
- Westley, the Big Truck (James McEwen) – A truck story about being designed special with a purpose.
- The Nursery Quiet and Noisy Book (Scharlotte Rich) – about sounds in a child’s world
- Children’s Bible Hour “Seasons of Faith” Storybooks (with audio CD) – These illustrated storybooks are based on CBH Ministries’ radio scripts and teaches on a variety of faith-developing topics of interest especially to children. The 12 Titles are:
- Monkey Business (creation/evolution)
- Race with Midnight (horse)
- Seventy Times Seven (forgiveness)
- The Red Boat (redemption, love)
- You Can’t Come In (cleaning)
- Braving the Storm (God’s care)
- The King’s Daughter (responsibilities)
- The Prize Cake (forgiveness)
- Adoption Day Surprise (adoption, God’s family)
- Saying Farewell (death, comfort)
- Lost in the African Bush (light/darkness)
- The Only Gift (Christmas)
Information Books
Learn about creation and how people work and live in it!
- Feeding Time (Lee Davis) – about zoo animals
- Wild Baby Animals (Karen Wallace)
- Journey of the Humpback Whale (Caryn Jenner)
- What Do People Do All Day? (Richard Scarry) – about careers and community – a favourite of kids!
- Farm Tractors (Kristin L. Nelson) – Full-colour photos, easy-to-read text about vehicles and how they are used. There are several other vehicle books in this series by Pull Ahead Books, Lerner Publications Co., by various authors. This one and one called “Earthmovers” were favourites of our oldest son!
- Ducks Don’t Get Wet (Augusta Goldin) – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 1”
- What’s It Like to Be a Fish? (Wendy Pfeffer) – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 1”
- Dolphin Talk (Wendy Pfeffer) – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2”
- An Octopus is Amazing Patricia Lauber – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2”
- Animals in Winter Henrietta Bancroft – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 1”
- Polar Bears (Jacqueline S. Cotton) – This is part of a “Pull Ahead Books” animal series of 40+ titles , published by Lerner Publications Co.. The little books have photos and large print.
- Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes (patterns) (Stephen R. Swinburne) – photos and simple text
- A Star in My Orange: Looking for Nature’s Shapes (patterns) (Dana Meachen Rau) – similar to the above but different photos.
- Is a Blue Whale The Biggest Thing There Is? (Robert E. Wells)
- What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew? (Robert E. Wells)
- How Do You Know What Time It Is? (Robert E. Wells)
- Honeybees (Joyce Milton)
- Fireflies in the Night (Judy Hawes)
- Cactus Hotel (Brenda Z. Guiberson)
- Fannie in the Kitchen (Deborah Hopkinson) – a story of an American lady who created a book of recipes long ago
- Johnny Appleseed: My Story (David L. Harrison) (American apple tree planter) or The Value of Love: The Story of Johnny Appleseed a “ValueTale” by Ann Donegan Johnson
- Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit (Linda Marshall) or Beatrix Potter and Her Paint Box (David McPhail) – Beatrix Potter was a British author of children’s tales
- Terry Fox and Me (Mary Beth Leatherdale) – Terry Fox was a Canadian athlete who overcame physical challenges with his friend Doug ?
- Scholastic Canada Biographies (Elizabeth MacLeod) ? – titles include… Meet Tom Longboat, Meet Viola Desmond, Meet Elsie MacGill, Meet Chris Hadfield.
- Leif Eriksson (Shannon Knudsen) – simple text with pictures
- Christopher Columbus (Stephen Krensky) – simple text with pictures
- Little Lights biographies (Catherine Mackenzie, Christian Focus Publications) – various Christian biographies with simpler text and pictures, sold individually or in sets. Examples of names include: Are All of the Watches Safe? (Corrie ten Boom), Could Somebody Pass the Salt? (Hudson Taylor), What Is It Like? (Mary Slessor), Who is the Bravest? (David Livingston)
- One Tiny Turtle (Nicola Davies)
- Wiggling Worms at Work (Wendy Pfeffer) – A Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2
- Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll (Franklin M. Branley) – A Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2
- Switch On, Switch Off (Melvin Berger) – Why does the light go on when you flip up the light switch? Did you know that electricity must flow back to its starting point in order to work? A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2”.
- From Wax to Crayon (Robin Nelson) – Crayons start as clear wax. How do crayons get their color? How are they shaped? This is one of the little books in a large-print series of how things are made. Others in this series include From Rock to Road (Shannon Zemlicka) and more listed due to interest-level of topic under the list for juniors and tweens.
- A Nest Full of Eggs (Priscilla Jenkins) – It’s springtime! Outside the window, two robins are busy gathering dry weeds and twigs. A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER” level 1
- What’s Alive? (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld) – This book explores the difference between living and non-living things and their needs. A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 1”
- Penguin Chick (Betty Tathman) – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER” level 2
- A Walk in the Prairie (Rebecca L. Johnson) Take a walk in a land of tall grass and broad horizons full of life. Hear the distressed call of a killdeer and the warbling song of a meadowlark. (See also our list for Juniors and Tweens.)
- A Walk in the Tundra (Rebecca L. Johnson) Take a walk in the tundra. Here at the top of the world summer is short. (This is from the series mentioned above.)
- What Color is Camouflage? (Carolyn Otto) – A fawn blends into the grass as the mountain lion stalks nearby. A ptarmigan changes colors with the seasons. A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2”.
- Feel the Wind (Arthur Dorros) – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2”
- Almost Gone (Steve Jenkins) – This book is about animal extinction with examples. A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2”
- Chirping Crickets (Melvin Berger) – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 2”
- Milk, From Cow to Carton (Aliki Brandenberg) – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER”
- Where Are the Night Animals? (Mary Ann Fraser) – A “Let’s Read and Find Out SCIENCE READER level 1”
- God’s Quiet Things (Nancy Sweetland, Rick Stevens) – a beautifully-illustrated and descriptive text for things which have soft sounds.
- Someday Heaven (Larry Libby) – one of the nicest books describing heaven for children that I’ve come across.
- The Wonderful Way Babies are Made (Larry Christenson) – a storybook with a rhyming text for everyone as well as additional paragraphs on the page for older children, thoughtfully written on this important topic.
Early Novels or Chapter Books
- Janette Oke’s thin animal chapter books ? such as
- Who’s New at the Zoo?
- This Little Pig
- The Prodigal Cat
- Heidi – an adapted version for this age or could just use the story text within the below resource
- Heidi Level 1 from “Bring the Classics to Life” series by Edcon Publishing Group. This is a short, adapted version of Spyri’s classic story with level 1 (grade 1-2) comprehension-based questions for each of the chapters.
- Benji the Beaver series (Frances Walter, Violet T. Pearson) – a personal favourite of mine but hard-to-find! (I think these are Canadian titles too??)
- Here’s Benji!
- Benji and the Flood
- Benji and His Friends
- The Mouse and the Motorcycle (Beverly Cleary); other titles of hers include Henry Huggins, Ribsy, and Socks and similar title names. (The Mouse and the Motorcycle was also put into video format.)
- Balto (Elizabeth Cody Kimmel) – a dog races to get important medicine for people in the north
- The Bears on Hemlock Mountain (Alice Dalgliesh)
- Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
- In “Grandma’s Attic” series (Arleta Richardson): (More of her titles listed in the other book lists.)
- The “Adventures of” series (Thornton Burgess) such as below titles. (See also video category.)
- The Adventures of Chatterer the Red Squirrel
- The Adventures of Grandfather Frog
- The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
- The Adventures of Reddy Fox
- The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver
- The Adventures of Unc’ Billy Possum
- The Adventures of Peter Cottontail
- The Adventures of Prickly Porky
- The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse
- The Adventures of Sammy Jay
- The Adventures of Jerry Muskrat
- The Adventures of Bobby Raccoon
- The Adventures of Buster Bear
- Buster Bear’s Twins
- Blacky the Crow
- Billy Mink
- Mrs. Peter Rabbit
- Janette Oke’s animal novels such as ?
- New Kid in Town (skunk story)
- Spunky’s Diary (puppy story)
- Ducktails
- The Impatient Turtle
- Barbara Smucker’s books ?
- Jacob’s Little Giant
- (other titles listed in the book list for juniors and tweens)
- Little House on the Prairie series (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
- George Mueller – A Father to the Fatherless (Rebecca Davis)
- Come Meet… series by Kitty Anna Griffiths ? – retelling stories of Bible characters and events; easy-to-read chapter book format with occasional simple drawings
More Good Things to Read (e.g. poetry, etc.)
- Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne (collections of stories, to be likely more-so read by an older reader due to the fun style of run-on sentences and descriptive phrases)
- Sunny Hour Stories by Gladys Fordham – collection of short stories, read-alouds by parent(s). Happy Hour Tales is another title in this series.
- Manners Please (Country Books, reprint from 1949)
- PSLC’s Character Education and Community Titles:
- Nature Friend’s “Invisibles”, “Follow & Find” (an activity book with simple poems with information)
- Fun Farm Mazes (a maze book with simple text)
- A “lift the flap” book such as Open the Barn Door (Santoro) or The Door to Salvation (Ken Ham)
- A simple recipe book
- A personal family photograph book with names and/or captions
- An encyclopedia set that has good pictures and text
- Posters and home decor with good sayings written clearly, cereal boxes and other food labels, grocery flyers, calendars, lists, greeting cards, road signs, community place signs (e.g. library, post office), etc. – this is known as “environmental print” because it describes printed words around a child’s ordinary environment.
- Poems for Memorization – a book of 221 poems, organized into levels for elementary students
- A is for Adam (Ken and Mally Ham) – the stories of Genesis and the gospel told in rhyme format; with colouring pages as well as full-colour illustrated book.
- Heaven (Stephen Elkins) – a “first steps” book to describe “What’s it like? How do we get there?”. Simple rhymes on each page with pictures which could be read as a book or like a devotional.
- Jesus Loves the Little Children (Debby Anderson) – This is a board book but the rhyming text is appropriate for children who are not preschoolers, to begin to understand and appreciate other cultures and regions in our world.
- Musical texts – e.g. Christmas carols, hymn book, children’s chorus book (e.g. large print). I have various ones from my childhood or from a local music store. A text-only inexpensive carol booklet can be found here. I have seen only sample pages of All the Best Songs for Kids (Lillenas) but it appears that that title resembles what I’m trying to describe in that the music is simply written, the songs might be familiar, and it looks like large print. The hymn book we mostly use in our family are “Sing to the Lord” also from Lillenas. I grew up with “Great Hymns of the Faith” (compiled by John W. Peterson, Singspiration) and really like that one too. To purchase hymn books, it is generally better to either get a “used book” version or to purchase directly from the publisher of the hymn compilation you want. Like Elizabeth Elliot, we too see the value of singing hymns in the home – they teach Christian doctrine in a memorable and enjoyable manner, almost effortlessly, as well as teach children to sing and appreciate music!
- The Student Bible Atlas (Tim Dowley) – We really like this one for elementary or any age!
- My World: An Elementary Atlas (Ethel Johnston) – This is a very large-sized, easy-to-read atlas for young students who otherwise might struggle with some older-level atlases.
- Collins Junior Dictionary – This is a large-print simplified dictionary that bridges the gap between a picture dictionary to a heavy, thick one. Our children have really appreciated this one for use between grades 2-6! It helps them to be more independent in writing stories, etc. and reinforces the skill of spelling words correctly.
Bibles and Bible Storybooks
- The Early Reader’s Bible (Revised) (V. Gilbert Beers) – This is a storybook that uses 450 words to retell basic Bible stories. The vocabulary list of words was developed from public school reading materials.
- NKJV Early Readers Bible (full-text) – This is the kind of full Bible we give our children when they are around the age of 6 and able to read sentences. The font-size and layout is designed for easier reading. (Sometimes the cover changes but the pink one was all I could find for this list.)
- NKJV Children’s Outreach Bible (full-text) – This also has a good font-size and layout for easier reading.
- ESV Holy Bible for Kids (full-text) – Another good choice for a complete Bible for children.
- NIV Dramatized Audio Bible: Multi-voice Edition Unabridged Audiobook (full-text, audio) – This is the complete Bible (both Old and New Testaments) but you can purchase them separately instead. I have the Old Testament portion to listen to since I don’t always want to read print when my eyes recover from RF damage. Having an audio version can also help with family Bible time when Mom’s hands are busy with a baby on the lap. This NIV version was produced in 2005 (which pre-dates the 2011 NIV). My favourite Bible version is the 1984 NIV, followed by the NKJV; I like KJV (which I grew up with and memorized some in), and sometimes check the ESV and/or NASB in my personal Bible studies.
- NKJV Word of Promise: Audio Bible New Testament Audiobook (full N.T. text, audio) – This is a link to the New Testament portion. This is the same version for what I use for audio New Testament personally.
- The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes (Kenneth Taylor) – This Bible storybook is both in book format (updated) and (original) audio format here.
- Hear Me Read Bible Stories (Mary Manz Simon) – These used to be sold as individual thin titles but then more recently in a thicker collection of stories. Simple and large-print text of very few words which are repeated to tell the story.
- ABC Say It With Me Bible Memory Verses (Moody Family Films)
- Hide ’em in Your Heart (Bible Memory Melodies) (Steve Green) – video format for Volume 1 (on Steve Green’s page). CD format either through his website here (for both volumes) or through Christian Book Distributors here.
- Step Into the Bible (Ruth Graham) – a devotional book with photographs and good explanations for young children.
- Along Thimblelane Trails (V. Gilbert Beers) – children and their toys learn about Bible stories and character traits. (Note: Some fantasy genre present) Sequels include Out of the Treasure Chest and Treehouse Tales
- Also, there are Bibles available through the Canadian Bible Society (or similar Bible Societies in other countries).
Videos and Other
- Kids Around the World – short studies about world religions for children from a Christian perspective, originally produced by Caleb Project Resources/Pioneer. (We’ve seen the original thin reproducible booklet that came with VHS videos years ago.) The videos are now on a playlist here.
- Kids Around the World (Roylco) – Bookmark-size cards that show children around the world with basic information about the country (28 countries). Good-size print and easier-to-read information compared to most information books.
- Homesteading for Beginners Volumes 1-4 (Mark and Erin Harrison and family) – Children love to watch other children help with farm chores and learn old-fashioned home skills. This series is both entertaining and educational to all ages.
- Theo (a DVD series from Whitestone Media) – These are family favourites! Titles include “God’s Heart“, “God’s Truth“, “God’s Desire“, “God’s Love” and “God’s Grace“. You can see previews for these at Theo Presents.
- Read and Share Bible (DVD) – animated Bible stories (very simplified script, cute drawings)
- More Than Making Maple Syrup (Moody Family Films) – very cute and informative
- The Adventures of Prayer Bear video(s) (Steve Green Ministries)
- Peep and the Big Wide World ? (as seen on TVOntario) – This link goes to the “Peep” website from which you can find their videos on Youtube. This cute series teaches science concepts.
- Mr. Dress-up’s Tickle Trunk Treasures (red, green, blue dvd set) ? – These are memorable children’s programs from CBC television a generation or so ago which teach through stories, songs, and crafts.
- Other educational children’s episodes ? – This is Daniel Cook (a young boy explores various careers in the community) and Mighty Machines (teaches about personification, various vehicles, being a good helper).
- Go Science (Ben Roy) – These are videos of short demonstrations of physical and chemical science with kids.
- Freeschool Youtube Page – These are some of the best short and information-rich videos for kids on a variety of topics!!!
- Life in Early Canada ? (National Film Board of Canada) – These are drawn stories from a child’s perspective of the pioneer era and there are seven stories in the series. Story characters include Henry, Emilie, Jaime, and others.
- Cute cartoon or animated stories such as Richard Scarry’s Busy Town Mysteries with Huckle and Sally (idea: learn the 5W and H questions with these episodes), Buttons and Rusty, Fables of the Green Forest (Thornton Burgess stories animated), The Tales of Beatrix Potter (animated), Shaun the Sheep, Winnie the Pooh, Yogi Bear. See also cartoons mentioned on the lists for Juniors and Tweens and Teens and Adults.
- Children’s Bible Hour/Keys for Kids Ministries – Here is the link to listen to audio stories and here is the link to see their past video programs for kids. Children sing and tell the stories alongside adult voices. Children can learn how to use their voice to emphasize or use in drama by listening to these.
- See also our resource list here for other Bible story/lesson-related video content online.
Not Recommended
Obviously, we cannot list all good titles in the above list. We welcome your suggestions for other good titles that we might eventually add to the above list.
Here are a few guidelines we can provide for not recommending some titles you might see suggested in lists from other websites.
- A free downloadable/printable on standards for entertainment is mentioned on the blog post “Examples of Minimalistic Homeschooling“. Look for that one in the section on that page of “Reading”.
- In “Our Biblical Philosophy of Education“, you can see our general standards for when we preview materials for our online shop.
- And finally, when we consider specific titles for character-building recommendations of literature (and videos), we do overlook minor negative matters in a piece of literature or video if we feel the overall effect of exposure to it will be beneficial. But, IF a title has what we consider to have significant amounts of upholding of the following incidents or expressions that we do not appreciate as Christians, then we try to not put these titles on our list of recommendations.
- Unacceptable language (crude, swearing, etc.)
- Lying, deceit, dishonesty or unchecked pride of hero/heroine
- False teaching (e.g. evolution, contemplative/mysticism, occult themes (e.g. necromancy))
- Violence, hatred
- Fearful (which means full of fear; this is notably different than expressions of fear or an intense climax in a plotline)
- Wrong Passions/Lust/Greed
- Emphasizing a distortion or confusion of God’s holy character
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)
“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”
1 John 2:16
“Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 5:21-23 (NKJV)
If you ALREADY OWN books (or other media) which are not good, then what? The thing to do is to get rid of them. Israel was to do this with influential bad items (Deuteronomy 7:26) and the early church did this with their bad books (Acts 19:19-20). Despite efforts nowadays to “reduce waste, recycle or reuse”, these are items which should be destroyed to the extent that their horrible message not be propagated into the next household but rather purged from having that potential. Resist the urge to offer it for free to a friend or neighbor or sell at a used sale. No, this is a situation that truly fits under a “time to throw away” (Ecclesiastes 3:6). If we put something like this in a blue box, we shred it. Otherwise, we break it (e.g. with a hammer) and put it in with garbage or burn it in a woodstove if it’s paper. Let’s live for Christ – it points to His worth when we purge out the trash!
“Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses [purges] himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
2 Timothy 2:14-22 (NKJV)