We all know our kids should be reading, but finding good, clean, quality literature throughout the elementary years is another thing. Look no further! This list of 100 must-read classic books for kids covers grades 1 – 5. Yes! All the elementary years! All the best, timeless classic books for kids, living books, and engaging stories you want your kids to read! Plus, they’re all collected into one free printable! Woop!
What are Classic Books for Kids?
It can be a challenge to define succinctly exactly what makes for classic literature. However, it is generally agreed that a classic is an excellent book that stands the test of time and is meaningfully relevant across cultures and generations. Classic books for kids have a universal appeal and make a lasting contribution to the field of children’s literature.
What are Living Books?
Living books, a term made popular in the homeschool community by Charlotte Mason, is a slightly different definition than a classic. Living books are superb children’s literature that teach morality and goodness by bringing a subject to life. So, a living book can be more than just ordinary fiction, but any story that educates by expanding dry facts into narrative, whether historical or scientific. Rebecca from a Well Planned Gal defines living books this way, “Simply put, living books bring history to life by telling the stories behind the history. Biographies, historical fiction, and classics, whether in picture book style, unabridged format, or anything in between, are all examples of living books.”
What are Great Books?
The term Great Books often refers to the generally accepted canon of classics and important literature that make up the fundamentals of Western culture and philosophy. The list of great books is a bit more contested at the elementary school level. True great books lists include works like Aristotle, Socrates, the Iliad, and the Old and New Testaments.
Besides the Bible, most of the great books are better suited for high school or college consumption, not elementary. These are the books that have shaped our nation, our thinking, and our way of life as a people. Reading wonderful literature like the classic books for kids and living books with children when they are young helps them in their comprehension so they’re ready for the great books a few years down the road.
The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.
Rene Descartes
How to Choose Wholesome Living Books & Classic Books for Kids
You might think of it this way: giving your child a diet of classic books for kids and living books is like providing the meat and vegetables of a healthy, balanced meal (assuming you’re not a vegetarian, ha!). That doesn’t mean kids can’t read the fluffier, sillier, fly-by-night stories that are here today and gone tomorrow. However, we can look at those books as the desserts that are fun to read occasionally, just not terribly helpful in shaping a child’s imagination, character, and comprehension.
For my own family, I want to carefully expose them to a diet of clean, quality children’s literature by making sure they are ingesting these classics and living books regularly. When I put a book in a child’s hand, I want that story to impact their thinking! Truly wonderful literature leaves us a changed person. It opens our eyes to worlds and experiences beyond our own.
RELATED: Stop! Do You Know Your Kid’s Reading Level?
The grade level reading lists below spring from years’ worth of considering the best children’s literature for every grade level. If they are on this list, you can be sure they are fabulous, wholesome, quality books! Over 100 books! Nevertheless, I do include a few modern series and just-for-fun books on the list, too, that may not strictly qualify as a classic or a living book, but sure do make my kids smile.
Reading is an act of civilization; it’s one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.
Ben Okri
View each reading list by grade level:
Each grade level list was originally written as a stand-alone blog post. So, you can click each post link below for the grades you need or simply download the free printable that has them all in one place!
No time to view the lists now? Hover over each grade level graphic to pin for later! Now you’ll have the lists whenever you’re ready!
Grade 1 Classic Books for Kids & Living Books
- Fountas & Pinnell Levels E-J, DRA level 6-18, Lexile 125-400
- Longer sentences
- 3-8 lines of text on a page
- Familiar content and contexts
- Smaller illustrations
- New vocabulary
READ: An Interview with a Dyslexia Specialist
Grade 2 Classic Books for Kids & Living Books
- Fountas & Pinnell levels K-M, DRA 20-28, Lexile 400-600
- Simple chapter books
- 60-100 pages
- Less picture support
- Multiple characters
Grade 3 Classic Books for Kids & Living Books
- Fountas & Pinnell N-P, DRA 30-38, Lexile 600-700
- Longer chapters
- Figurative language
- Diverse cultures
- New ideas & concepts
- Draw conclusions
Grade 4 Classic Books for Kids & Living Books
- Fountas & Pinnell Q-S, DRA level 38-40, Lexile 700-800
- Abstract themes
- Technical language
- Complex characters
- Intricate plots
Grade 5 Classic Books for Kids & Living Books
- Fountas & Pinnell T-V, DRA 40-50, Lexile 800-900
- Pre-adolescent problems
- Conflict between good and evil
- Mature issues such as war, racism, adversity
- Complex narrative
- Symbolism
- Challenging language (old terms, dialects, foreign words)
“I feel the need of reading. It is a loss to a man not to have grown up among books.”
Abraham Lincoln
The Complete Elementary Reading List – Free Download!
Grab your free printable of all the books listed – over 100 books spanning grades 1-5! This is the complete list of living books and classic books for kids in elementary school! I promise it will come in handy next time you run to the library or are planning out your future reads! So, get some awesome literature into your child’s hands today.
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Lots of great books on this list. I wish my kids were still little!
It goes by too quickly, but time spent reading together makes for cherished memories, right?
Wow thanks for this! I’m lways looking for books for my kids!
Some of these would make fun read alouds, too, for non-readers. They’ll be reading before you know it!
No readers yet, but will be looking at this later on! Good list, thanks for sharing.
Books are awesome! I love reading to my granddaughter! Thank you for sharing this excellent list.
There’s something so special about reading books with Grandma! Reading with my kids are some of my favorite moments, too.
Awesome suggestions! Gonna get a couple of these for my nephew for Christmas.
Great idea! Books make the best gifts!
This is a great list! I’m pinning it to have it on hand for the different grades. Thanks!
Excellent! Hope it comes in handy!
These are great picks! We currently are reading anything Frog and Toad , we’ve even gone to a play, and Amelia Bedelia.
Awww! My daughter is also really into Frog & Toad. Such a sweet series of books! I’d love to see the theater version!
Great list of books. Every child should have access to them.
I agree completely!
I lovely list – we always give books for Christmas and this has helped find some great new book gifts.
What a fabulous idea! Books make the best kinds of gifts!
This is such a great reading list! It certainly brought back some great memories too!
Yes! Isn’t it fun to remember books you read and loved as a kid?
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