Top 10 Books Every Homeschooler Needs For the Elementary, Middle, and High School Years
If you’re homeschooling or contemplating it, it’s time to give a little thought to building a quality home library. Because—let’s face it—no matter how good your local library is, you don’t want to get on a waiting list and run down the street for every single research project.
Starting your own home library doesn’t take a ton of space or money either. It just takes some targeted choices. You want books that go the distance, stand the test of time, and cover a variety of subjects. While personal tastes in fiction will vary considerably, the need for some good non-fiction texts, reference materials, and classic anthologies is universal. Not to mention, skillfully chosen books can pull kids in, spark imaginations, and keep them happily screen-free for hours!
Now, asking homeschoolers to choose their favorite books is like asking them to choose their favorite child. Yeah, right. But with much pulling of hair and gnashing of teeth, we have extracted a Top-10 list for the three grade divisions: elementary, middle, and high school.
These books were chosen for characteristics like:
Wide-ranging topics,
Depth of topic focus,
Sheer usefulness,
High visual appeal,
High-interest appeal,
Quality can’t-study-without reference material, and
Classic long-lasting appeal.
The goal—select only books that are worth their (literal) weight because you and your kids will go to them time and time again. So, without further adieu, bring on the books!
The Top 10 Books for Homeschooling the Elementary Years
The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia Of World History by Jane Bingham, et al. This beautifully illustrated chronology of history offers a wealth of links to additional resources that correspond with each section, making it the perfect spine for history studies with or without a curriculum.
Our World in Pictures: An Encyclopedia of Everything by DK. This will be the book you catch your kids just browsing through all on their own! It will also be your go-to the next time they come to you with one of those perplexing “Why . . .” questions.
The 50 States: Fun Facts: Celebrate the people, places and food of the U.S.A! by Gabrielle Balkan. Any of Gabrielle Balkan’s reference resources are the perfect addition to a home library for kids. This one is perfect to complement any American studies lesson or just to plan your next road trip.
The Kingfisher Children's Illustrated Dictionary and Thesaurus. This volume is the perfect introduction to using these ubiquitous reference books. Teach them to alphabetize, find synonyms, and more.
The Children’s Book of Virtues by William J. Bennet. This anthology of poems, short stories, passages from longer works, and fables grouped into various categories by virtue can not only offer moral inspiration but is a perfect go-to for family read-aloud time or as an introduction to classic literature. This rendition of his larger original work is perfect to fit on little laps with pint-sized selections to match.
The Norton Anthology of Children's Literature: The Traditions in English by Jack Zipes, et al. Speaking of anthologies, this collection of classic children’s literature goes above and beyond with works by over 170 authors and illustrators spanning more than 350 years. It also includes 40 longer complete works and more than 400 illustrations.
Beautiful Stories by Shakespeare for Children by Edith Nesbit. Edith Nesbit has written several wonderful children’s classics in her own right, but one of her most enduring works has been her abridged works of Shakespeare. This collection is a wonderful way to ease your child gently into the world of the great playwright in a digestible and delightful format.
The Usborne Children’s Encyclopedia. Curious minds hungry for facts will love pouring over this treasury of knowledge of every subject imaginable. You’ll know they’ve been in this book when every sentence begins with, “Did you know . . .”
The Arts: A Visual Encyclopedia by DK. From cave paintings to the Mona Lisa, this visual feast walks your child through history's most famous and beloved works of art.
50 Trailblazers of the 50 States by Howard Megdal. It’s very difficult to choose which biographies to own. This collection does it for you—a fabulous introduction to the biography genre for kids.
The Top 10 Books for Homeschooling the Middle School Years
The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History by Jennifer Armstrong. This well-written narrative history text walks children through America’s history from the Native Americans to the 2000 election. Many stories highlight refreshingly lesser-known events or people from our past, and the teacher’s notes show where in the book to turn for related stories.
The Usborne Science Encyclopedia. This book is a level-up from the Usborne Children’s Encyclopedia, and it focuses on the topic of science. The narrowed focus allows this reference book to go into more detail on wide-ranging science topics. It will quickly become the book your child grabs for any science assignment.
Webster's Thesaurus for Students. Since they’re in middle school, they should probably have an upgraded dictionary (next on the list) and thesaurus to match! Separate volumes for each become the norm in this age group since they will naturally be needing to wrestle with many, many more words. This is a vocabulary-boosting choice for young ones.
Webster's Elementary Dictionary. And, as promised, here is our choice for a middle school dictionary. I know. It says “Elementary”. But this is a wonderful middle step between a kid’s illustrated dictionary and the serious one they should be using in high school.
The Book of Virtues for Young People by William J. Bennet. This full work, unlike the children’s version suggested for elementary years, provides many, many more selections, longer selections, and goes into greater detail on the categorized virtues. There are way less illustrations, but the focus here is on the literature and the moral teachings they contain.
A Child's Introduction to Art: The World's Greatest Paintings and Sculptures by Heather Alexander. This collection of the world’s greatest art is far more than just pictures and descriptions. It also gives children an overview of the various styles of art and offers ideas for hands-on art projects throughout.
Ancient Greece for Kids Through the Lives of its Philosophers, Lawmakers, and Heroes by Catherine Fet. Ancient Greece has influenced our present culture like none other. This book inspires kids to learn more about the people who laid the foundation for Western Civilization through stories rather than dry, factual textbook-style reading.
A Young Person’s Guide to Philosophy by DK. Children of this age are just beginning to hone their skills in the art of logic and reasoning. So why not begin at the beginning and give them an introduction to where this field of study came from and how it developed?
Our Planet: Infographics for Discovering Planet Earth by Cristina Banfi. When it comes to your home library, don’t just think about a variety of subjects. Think about a variety of information formats. This book is jam-packed with facts and information about our lovely home planet presented in a novel and visual infographic format.
When on Earth?: History as You've Never Seen It Before! By DK. Study world history from a captivating visual perspective that puts geography front and center.
The Top 10 Books for Homeschooling the High School Years
Many of our choices for the high school years speak for themselves. Further details are given where they may be helpful, but all are strong additions to the home bookshelves!
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare . Any anthology will do!
Bullfinch’s Mythology. This compendium has stood the test of time as the authority on all things Greek mythology—a cornerstone of a liberal arts education.
The Federalist Papers. Understanding America means at least a cursory glance at these writings that ushered in the birth of a nation.
A History of the Ancient World by S. Wise Bauer. A perfect spine from which to branch off and explore ancient history. And/or you might explore a different time period and choose . . .
A History of the Medieval World by S. Wise Bauer
National Geographic Student World Atlas. A comprehensive world atlas is a must-have for high school.
The Well-Educated Mind by S. Wise Bauer. This is essentially a book of books. Consider it the must-have for the homeschooling parent as it will be the source from which you draw inspiration for all your other book purchases, library wait-lists, and “Books to Read Before I Die” lists.
Merriam-Webster's School Dictionary. Time to level-up their dictionary again!
Elements by Euclid. Yes, there’s a math text on here—the world’s first no less! We recommend springing for a modern version of this seminal work with teachers' notes.
Parallel Lives by Plutarch. Again, biographies are very difficult to choose. Lives gives insight into some of the most well-known and interesting people from world history from the perspective of someone living ancient history themself.