As promised, here are the books we read in the 2003-4 School Year. Again, our kiddos were 4.5 and 6.5 at the time. This was a year when both my children were learning to read. We were also using the Distar Program (Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons), and used a few box sets (Bob Books, etc.) as well as Mommy reading to them constantly. Today, my son has told me that reading is his favorite subject in “school” and that is no surprise! He devours books (even encyclopedia-type books) and his sister is not far behind him. She gets a little flustered by medical terms, scientific terms, and really unusual “25-centers”… but for the most part, she is a reading pro.
Many of these books can be read at a much older age level as well, so don’t let the grade level fool you. That’s just when WE read them. You can read them any time you like. The books that we enjoyed the MOST are bolded. Many of those were so good that we went out and bought our own copy to add to our library at home. The kids love revisiting those and if we don’t have them, they don’t hesitate to re-check them at the library. I left out a few books we re-read from last year’s book list (which you can read by clicking this link: First Year Homeschool Book List – PK/K). Enjoy!
… Oh, and by the way… the books/DVDs in green are labeled so due to a clash in “world-views”. Holding true to a “6-Day Creationist” belief, we have a real problem when 1/4 of a history book is all about evolution and pure theoretical speculation given as fact (as if it were HISTORY, and not scientific theory). I can forgive a LOT of “millions and billions of years” fluff in books, but NOT when it comes to history books or science books that are supposed to be talking about a particular subject, but rather spend time cramming evolution instead. The rest of the books that are NOT bolded are probably great, too. Our favorites are subjective and you should read these for yourself to find out what your family’s favorites are!
If you enjoy using our book lists and ideas here at Sprittibee’s Homeschool Blog, please consider dropping some spare change in the tip jar – no donation too small! We could use a few dollars to buy more books with!
You can also check out my little Amazon book store up at the top of this blog by clicking the bookstore link, or clicking the text in this sentence! Many of our favorites are there and sorted by category. If you purchase them through our referral, my kids might eventually get a free book for their library. It’s a win-win situation! You get great books, we get a few pennies for telling you about them.
Second Year Homeschool Book List – Grades K-1
My Trip to the Zoo – Mercer Mayer
Beach Day – Mercer Mayer
Show and Tell – Mercer Mayer
The Noisy Airplane Ride – Mike Downs
Puss in Boots – Paul Galdone
Our Park – Mercer Mayer
The Mixed up Morning – Mercer Mayer
The Caboose Who Got Loose – Bill Peet
The Moon was at Fiesta – Matthew Gollub
Worse than Rotten Ralph – Jack Gantos
WATCH: “Learn to Read with Phonics” (Video) VHS
No Roses for Harry – Gene Zion
Molly and Emmett’s Camping Adventure – Marlin Hafner
Whale Journey – Vivian French
Mary Had a Little Lamb – Sarah Hale
Chattling – Shirley Hughes
Field Day – Mercer Mayer
A Yummy Lunch – Mercer Mayer
Art Dog – Thatcher Hurd
Ox-Cart Man – Donald HallThe Bug Cemetery – Frances Hill
Even If I Spill My Milk – Anna G. Hines
Giving – Shirley Hughes
Metropolitan Cow – Tim Egan
The Mommy Exchange – Hest
Thomas and the Hide-and-Seek Animals – Random House
The Cow Buzzed – Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
Inspirations for Daily Living – Wallis C Metts
Usborne Encyclopedia of World History
WATCH: Kingdom Chums Top 10 (Video by Squire Rushnell) VHS
WATCH: Veggie Tales Videos/123 Penguins Videos (VHS)
Bertie was a Watchdog – Rick Walton
Practice Makes Perfect for Rotten Ralph – Jack Gantos
Dora’s Book of Words/Libro de palabras de Dora – Nick Jr.
Mommy, Why Don’t We Celebrate Halloween? – Linda Hacon Winwood
WATCH: Imax Destiny in Space DVD
Egad Alligator – Harriet Ziefert
The Big Bug Dug – Mary Serfozo
On the Move (Minipedia)Our Tree House – Mercer Mayer
Class Trip – Mercer Mayer
Big Truths for Little Kids (Devotional Book) – By Susan and Richie Hunt
Flying Bats! (Hello Reader Grade 1, Level 1)
Bats (A New True Book) – Susan Heinrichs Gray
The Bat – Nina Leen
Magic School Bus Fact Finder: Bats
New Kid in Town – Mercer Mayer
Goodnight Little Critter – Mercer Mayer
Rude Giants – Audrey Wood
Happy Holidaysaurus! – Bernard Most
Do You Know How Much I Love You? – Donna Tedesco
Curious George and the Dinosaur – Margaret & H.A. Rey
The Squeaky, Creaky Bed – Pat Thomson
WATCH: Nest Home Videos (New Testiment Series) VHS
Sweet Tooth – Laura Nyman Montenegro
The Brave Little Tailor – Peggy Thompson
Wild Horses – Glen Rounds
Three Blind Mice – Paul Galdone
The Truth About Cats – Alan Snow
Lost – Celeste Lewis
Cayote & the Laughing Butterflies – Harriet Peck Taylor
WATCH: Bat Adventures – Audubon Society Video (VHS)
Little Fish, Lost – Nancy Van Laan
Strudwick, A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing – Robert Kraus
Garfield Discovers America – Jim Davis/Jim Kraft
The Legend of the Empty Bowl – Frances Jones
A World of Holidays: Thanksgiving – Marilyn Miller
Batbaby Finds a Home – Robert Quackenbush
Stellaluna – Janell Cannon
When it is Night/When it is Day – Jenny Tyers
Thomas and the School Trip – Random House
My Tooth is About to Fall Out – Grace Maccarone
The Steadfast Tin Soldier – Hans C. Andersen
Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel – Virginia L. BurtonDo Donkeys Dance? – Melanie Walsh
Night Creatures – Scholastic First Discovery
Baa Baa Black Sheep – Iza Trapani
Wait Till the Moon is Full – Margaret Wise BrownWATCH: Hello Kitty’s Paradise: Vol 1 (DVD)
If the Dinosaurs Came Back – Bernard Most
Ollie the Stomper – Olivier Dunrea
The Story of Chicken Licken – Jan Ormerod
The Christmas Story – Isabelle Brent
The Tinderbox – Hans Christian Andersen
The Old Woman and the Red Pumpkin – Betsy Bang
Bambi – Disney
The Cat in the Hat – Dr. Seuss
Shortcut – Donald Crews
Helping – Jane Buerger
Christmas Feasts & Festivals (A Holiday Book) – Patterson/Garrard
One, Two, Flea! – Allan Ahlberg
Handa’s Surprise – Eileen Browne
Have you Seen the Crocodile? – Colin West
Dandelion – Don Freeman
The Christmas Knight – Jan Louise Curry
My Happy Week – Yvonne Patterson
Dinosaurs Day Out – Nick Sharrat
The Golden Sandal (A Middle Eastern Cinderella Story) – Rebecca Hickox
Sleeping Bunny – Emily Snowell Keller
The Whispering Rabbit – Margaret Wise Brown
The Berenstain Bears & Too Much TV – Stan and Jan Berenstain
Benji and the Tornado – Gina Ingoglia
Sea Sums – Joy N. Hulme
WATCH: “Titanic – The Nightmare and the Dream” (Public Media VHS)
The Story of Daniel – Dandi
Clifford’s Family – Norman Bridwell
WATCH: “The Lorax – by Dr. Seuss” DVDWATCH: “Little House on the Prairie – Premier Movie” DVD
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – Bill Martin Jr.Canals are Water Roads – Lee Sullivan Hill
WATCH: “Lost Ships of the Mediterranean” National Geographic VHS
Magic School Bus Sees Stars
Penguin Dreams – Otto Seibold
Swiss Family Robinson – Johann David Wyss (retold by David Goin)Sharing Makes Me Happy (Happy Day Book) – Dot Cachiaras
The Foot Book – Dr. Seuss
The Titanic – Lost and Found – Judy Donnelly
Rock-a-Bye Farm – Diane Johnston Hamm
Go, Dog Go! – P.D. Eastman
The Very Best Book of All (Happy Day) – Fran Flournoy
Benjy’s Boat Trip – Margaret Bloy Graham
Ships and Sea Ports (A New True Book) – Katherine Carter
Ships and Seafarers – Erik Abranson
Dinosaur Island – Max Haynes
Reflections – Ann Jonas
The Little Engine that Could – Watty Piper
Road Signs: A Hare-Y Race With a Tortoise – Margery Cuyler
The Original Curious George – H.A. Rey
Dawn – Uri Schulevitz
Bernard – The Angry Rooster – Mary Wormell
The Night Fire – Lori Lukasewich
A Brown Cow – Bijou Le Tord
The Colt and the King – Marni McGee
What Daddies Do Best/What Mommies Do Best – Laura Numeroff
Minas and the Fish – Olga Pastuchiv
Moses and the Burning Bush (Prince of Egypt) – Mary Manz Simon
WATCH: PBS Lighthouse Series DVDSThe Snowy Day – Ezra J. Keats
Something to Crow About – Megan Halsey Lane
Old Pig – Margaret Wild
Beacons of Light: Lighthouses – Gail Gibbons
Red Fox – Hannah Giffard
I Can Help (A First Happy Day Book) – Marie Frost
I Gave Thomas Edison My Sandwich – Floyd C. Moore
Where the Wild things Are – Maurice Sendak
The Three Billy Goats Gruff – Paul Galdone
History Channel Video – Thomas Edison and the Electric Light
Strawberry Shortcake’s Berry Merry Christmas – Monique Z. Stephens
Top Cat – Lois Ehlert
What Game Shall We Play? – Pat Hutchins
Light and Color (Project Science) – Alan Ward
Rainbows to Lasers (Hands on Science) – Kathryn Whyman
Clocks, Clocks and More Clocks – Pat Hutchins
Look at the Moon – May Garelick
Shadows and Reflections – Tana Hoban
Little Mouse’s Big Valentine – Thacher Hurd
Dick and Jane “Guess Who” – William S. Gray
Dick and Jane “Jump and Run” – William S. Gray
Benjy and the Barking Bird – Margaret Bloy Graham
The Tale of Peter Rabbit – Beatrix Potter (re-read/from last year)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Brothers Grimm (Translated by Randall Jarrell)
Clifford’s First Snow Day (Scholastic)
Wings Across the Moon – Linda Hargrove
Monster Math (Hello Reader – Level 1) – Grace Maccarone
Telling the Time with Teddy (Brimax Interactive) – Gill Davies
Video: Wild Ones – Mysterious Cougars (& Other Animals that Share it’s Habitat)
Keep the Lights Burning Abbie – Peter & Connie RoopStone Soup – Ann McGovern
Noah’s Ark – Retold by Lawrence T. Lorimer
Hurry up Noah – Patricia Shely Mahany
One Minute Bible Stories – Old Testament – Shari Lewis
Animal Babies – Harry McNaught
Daniel and His Friends – Retold by Leonard Matthews (Now You Can Read Series)
Elijah (Now You Can Read Series) – Retold by Arlene Rourke
Fox Eyes – Margaret Wise Brown
The Very Lonely Firefly – Eric Carle
The Deep-Sea Floor – Sneed B. Collard III
In the Deep – Mary Carson
A Day in the Life of a Colonial Printer – Kathy Wilmore
Sea Chest – Toni BuzzeoClifford and the Runnaway Rabbit (Scholastic)
Calico’s Curious Kittens – Phyllis Limbacher Tildes
The Gingerbread Man – Karen Schmidt (Scholastic)
Wintertime – Ann Schweninger (Scholastic)
Dooly and the Snortsnoot – Jack KentNoah and the Ark – retold by Elaine Ife
Magic Schoolbus Gets a Bright Idea (a Book About Light) – Scholastic
A Child’s Book of Hope – Jean Monrad Thomas
Video: Bible Story Lesson – David & Goliath – Hanna Barbara
Roar Like a Lion – Tiphanie Beeke
Dragon for Breakfast – Eunice & Nigel McMullen
Video: Esther, The Girl who Became Queen (Veggie Tales)
King’s Stilts – Dr. Seuss
The Kiss that Missed – David Melling
Machines at Work – Byron Barton
The Tale of Peter Rabbit – Magic Media
Videos: History of Britain Series (History Channel) … (some parts suitable for kids)
Cinderella – Leap Frog (Once Upon a Time Tales)
A Lot of Others – Barbara Helen Berger
Time for Bed – Mem Fox
A Bad, Bad Day (My First Hello Reader – PS-1) – Kirsten Hall
The Biggest Snowball Fight (Rhyme Time Readers) – Angela Shelf
Slowly, Slowly, Slowly said the Sloth – Eric Carle
Where Jesus Lived (Little Golden Book) – Jane W. Watson
If you Lived in the Days of the Knights – Ann McGovern
Tinka – Rainy Dohaney
Young Arthur – Robert D. San Souci
Video: Queen Elizabeth I (A & E) … (some parts suitable for kids)
Desert Dog – Tony Johnston
Cat Tricks – Keith Baker
David and Goliath (Golden Bible Stories) – retold by Pamela Broughton
David and Goliath – retold by Mary Auld
Get Well, Good Knight – Shelley Moore Thomas
Saint George and the Dragon – retold by Margaret Hodges
Castles (A First Discovery Book) – ScholasticRumpelstiltskin – retold by Rochelle Larkin
Why Not? – Mary Wormell
The Princess and the Pea – adapted by Alain Vaёs
Video: King George and the Ducky (Veggie Tales)
Video: Castles of Europe – British Isles (TLC)
Jack and the Beanstalk – Alan Garner
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves – retold by Rochelle Larkin
Lion’s Precious Gift – Barbara Bennett
Springtime – Ann Schweninger (Scholastic)
Video: Castle (PBS)
Video: My Friend Flicka (1943 horse movie)
The Best Tea Party Ever – Sonali Fry
Bubble Trouble – Mary Packard (My First Hello Reader – PS-G1)
The Princess and the Pizza – Mary Jane & Herm Auch
Castles, Caves and Honeycombs – Linda Ashman
A Beautiful Feast for a Big King Cat – John Archambault & Bill Martin
Rapunzel – retold by Amy Ehrlich
Little Lions – Jim Arnosky
London DK Travel Guide (Chick-Fil-A book)
The Kitchen Knight – Margaret Hodges
Cowardly Clyde – Bill Peet
Good Queen Bess – Diane Stunley & Peter Vennerna
Video: The Middle Ages (Just the Facts Learning Series)
The Princess and the Pea – Hans Christian Anderson
Into the Castle – June Crebbin
Hear, Hear, Mr. Shakespeare – Bruce Koscielniak
The Pearl – Helme Heine
The Knight who was Afraid to Fight – Barbara Shook HazenThe King’s Equal – Katherine Paterson
My First Phonics Board Book – DK
I am a King – Mary Packard
Video: The Last Unicorn
I Wished for a Unicorn – Robert Heidbreder
I Am Really a Princess – Carol Diggory Shields
The Naughty Prince – Benoit Debecker
The Knight who was Afraid of the Dark – Barbara Shook Hazen
The King Who Sneezed – Angela McAllister
The Knight and the Dragon – Tomie dePaola
Hallie’s Horrible Handwriting – Valerie Tripp (Hopscotch Hill School – Level 2)Video: Great Trains of America: Western Railroading (PBS)
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