Learning Language Arts Through Literature

Language based literature and history curriculum used to intimidate me because of the sheer cost of acquiring the required books. I have since learned that it is not only possible, but smart (and for me necessary) to utilize my local libraries to supplement our schooling budget. This annotated book list covers all of the books currently used in the LLATL program. All books are listed in the order in which they are used and are available at Rainbow Resource (my favorite homeschool shopping source.) (RR) except the three noted. Information about Learning Language Arts Through Literature can be found at Common Sense Press. Book lists were taken from that website, and compiled together here for moms like me who have children in multiple grades. I have added which libraries they are available at locally. I checked Fort Smith Public Library (FSPL) first because of their larger selection. I then checked the Crawford County system because I have a card there also, but I did not check CC if it was available at FSPL, so there may be more overlap that is not noted. This will hopefully save time for those of you who use your library to supplement your schooling. You can have your local library request a library loan from either of these libraries. Since there were so few that were not available at either one of these locations I did not bother to look more extensively for libraries that carried the books for library loans because I plan to look at the used book store or buy them from Rainbow Resource.


1st grade The Blue Book
Who Took the Farmer's Hat?. Nodset, Joan L. HarperCollins. FSPL
Goodnight Moon. Brown, Margaret Wise. HarperCollins. FSPL
The Story of Ferdinand. Leaf, Munro. Puffin-Penguin Group. FSPL
Caps for Sale. Slobodkina, Esphyr. HarperCollins. FSPL
The Snowy Day. Keats, Ezra Jack. 1962. Puffin-Penguin. FSPL
Bedtime for Frances. Hoban, Russell. Harper Festival. FSPL
The Little House. Burton, Virginia Lee. The Little House. FSPL
Old Hat New Hat. Berenstain, Stan and Jan. Random House. RR
Make Way for Ducklings. McCloskey, Robert. Puffin-Penguin. FSPL
The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Potter, Beatrix. Penguin Group. FSPL
Blueberries for Sal. McCloskey, Robert. Puffin Books-Penguin. FSPL
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Burton, Virginia Lee. Houghton Mifflin. FSPL
Babar's Little Circus Star. DeBrunhoff, Laurent. Random House. (out of print but easy to find on e-bay for around $5.00 including s&h)
The Runaway Bunny. Brown, Margaret Wise. HarperCollins. FSPL
(Babar’s Little Circus Star not offered by Rainbow Resource)


2nd grade The Red Book
A Tree Is Nice. Janice May Udry. HarperCollins. FSPL
Little Bear. Else Holmelund Minarik. HarperCollins. FSPL
The Fire Cat. Esther Averill. HarperCollins. FSPL
Bravest Dog Ever. Natalie Standiford. Random House. RR
Ox-Cart Man. Donald Hall. Puffin Books - Penguin. FSPL
Corduroy. Don Freeman. Puffin-Penguin Group. FSPL
The Little Island. Golden MacDonald. Random House. FSPL
Billy and Blaze. C.W. Anderson. Simon and Schuster. FSPL
Harry the Dirty Dog. Gene Zion. HarperCollins. FSPL
Abraham Lincoln. d'Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar Parin. Beautiful Feet Books. FSPL
Yonder. Tony Johnson. Dial Books. (out of print) FSPL
(Abraham Lincoln and Yonder not offered by Rainbow Resource)


3rd grade The Yellow Book
The White Stallion. Elizabeth Shub. Yearling-Random House. Crawford County Library System
Madeline. Ludwig Bemelman. Puffin Books - Penguin. FSPL
Meet George Washington. Joan Heilbroner. Random House. Crawford County Library System
The Courage of Sarah Noble. Alice Dalgliesh. Simon and Schuster. FSPL


4th grade The Orange Book
The Boxcar Children. Gertrude Chandler Warner. Albert Whitman and Company. FSPL
Wilbur and Orville Wright. Augusta Stevenson. Aladdin Paperbacks. RR
Benjamin Franklin. Augusta Stevenson. Aladdin Paperbacks. RR
The Sign of the Beaver. Elizabeth George Speare. Yearling-Random House. FSPL


5th grade The Purple Book
Farmer Boy. Laura Ingalls Wilder. HarperCollins. FSPL
The Trumpet of the Swan. E.B. White. HarperCollins. FSPL
Meet Addy. Connie Porter. Pleasant Company. FSPL
Caddie Woodlawn. Carol Ryrie Brink. Aladdin Paperbacks. FSPL


6th grade The Tan Book
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch. Jean Lee Latham. Houghton Mifflin. FSPL
The Bronze Bow. Elizabeth George Speare. Houghton Mifflin. FSPL
Big Red. Jim Kjelgaard. Yearling-Random House. FSPL
The Horse and His Boy. C.S. Lewis. HarperCollins Publishing. FSPL


7th grade The Green Book
Star of Light. Patricia St. John. Moody Press. RR
Adam and His Kin. Ruth Beechick. Mott Media. RR
Much Ado About Nothing. William Shakespeare. Penguin. FSPL


8th grade The Gray Book
Across Five Aprils. Irene Hunt. Penguin. FSPL
A Lantern in Her Hand. Bess Streeter Aldrich. Puffin-Penguin Group. FSPL
Eric Liddell. Catherine Swift. Bethany House Publishers. RR
God's Smuggler. Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill. Baker Book House. Crawford County Library System


The Gold Book - American Literature:
Great American Short Stories - Edited Wallace and Mary Stegner, Random House (RR)
The Mentor Book of Major American Poets - Edited Oscar Williams and Edwin Honig, Penguin (RR)
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway, Simon and Schuster (RR)
The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane, Random House FSPL
The Pearl - John Steinbeck, Penguin FSPL


The Gold Book - British Literature:
Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus - Mary Shelley. Bantam-Random House (or any edition of the 1818 publication). ISBN: 9780553212471. FSPL has an edition of the 1818 publication, but not the one listed here. (RR)
Emma - Jane Austen. Bantam-Random House. ISBN: 9780553212730. FSPL-not the same edition (RR)
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens. Penguin Group. ISBN: 9780141439600. FSPL – not the same edition (RR)
The Time Machine - H.G. Wells. (Any unabridged publication). FSPL
Animal Farm - George Orwell. (Any unabridged publication). FSPL
The Mentor Book of Major British Poets - edited by Oscar Williams. Penguin Group. ISBN: 0451626370. (RR)