Are you looking for resources to help you create a homeschool booklist while planning your year? Do you want to make sure your child is reading the best books? You’ve come to the right place!
In this blog post, we will discuss some of the best resources for finding books for your children of all ages to read. No need to wander through the aisles of a library any longer.
Whether you are just getting started or you are looking for new ideas, read on for information and inspiration!
*Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.
Booklists on Read aloud revival with Sarah Mackenzie
If you’ve been a homeschooler for long, it’s likely you have heard of Sarah Mackenzie. She is one of the most encouraging and joyful homeschoolers I know about.
Sarah has several amazing resources. She runs a fabulous podcast and website both called Read Aloud Revival where she talks all about books, reading and especially about reading aloud to your kids.
She interviews authors and really knows her stuff. I’m not a huge reader but I still love her podcast. She has all sorts of book recommendations throughout most podcast episodes.
One of my favorite things on Sarah’s website is the booklists!
There is large amount of free booklists for near every category you can think of – picture books of the month, books for boys, books for grieving, books for moms, and many many more. They are updated fairly often.
Sarah has also written a couple books.
One of the books is called The Read Aloud Family. In this book, Sarah discusses reading and reading aloud and how it helps you connect with your kids.
The second part gives practical suggestions on ways to incorporate this into your life.
The third part of the book is dedicated just to booklists and her favorite books to read-aloud! The recommendations are divided into lists for ages 0-3, 4-7, 8-12, and 13+. Many of the titles include a brief description as well.
If you want to use Sarah’s recommendations for your homeschool booklists, check those out along with all of Sarah Mackenzie’s other resources on her site here. You can also link to her book, The Read Aloud Family here.
Homeschool booklists from Honey for a Child’s Heart
Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt is a great book for any book lover with kids. The book was recently updated in 2021 and includes two main parts.
The first part of the book is called “Using Books to Help Children Grow.” In this section, the author discusses reading with your kids and how books can help broaden their imagination, help them use good language, and can help children see truth and beauty in the world.
Part 2 is full of booklists!
The lists are divided by age first and within each age range are multiple category divisions. Each book recommendation includes a brief description of the book.
These categories include “Picture Book Classics: Ages 4-8″, First Books for Beginning Readers”, and “Stories for Animal Lovers: Ages 9-12”.
There are also booklists for young adult novels, poetry, and special occasions. Each book recommendation includes a brief description of the book. Though I haven’t counted, there are easily over 1,000 titles listed.
To use Honey for a Child’s Heart for your own homeschool booklist, you can buy or take a deeper look at it here. If you love this book for your young ones, you may also want to check out Honey for a Teen’s Heart for your teens, and Honey for a Woman’s Heart for you, both by the same author.
Give Your Child the World booklists
If you are wanting to raise global awareness in your kids, reading books from and about different cultures can help your children dive into the world. The book Give Your Child the World by Jamie C. Martin is an amazing resource to help you do just that.
This book is presented in two parts. The first part discusses the beauty of the world and having an appreciation for cultures other than your own. It also gives many “Practical Ways to Invite the World into Your Home,” as Chapter 2 is titled.
Just like in the previous books, part two of this book is dedicated to booklists. This book is unique, though.
The chapters are not geared for specific ages in this book, but rather for specific global regions, like Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
Within each chapter, the booklists are then divided by age levels: 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, and 10-12. Each book recommendation has a brief description and includes the country or culture that is observed.
If you’re interested in using Give Your Child the World for your homeschool booklist, you can learn more about it by following this link.
Curriculum Resources and their homeschool booklists
Pretty much every homeschool curriculum and website has homeschool reading lists. And this is a great way to get age appropriate recommendations of books for my kids.
Many of our science and history books have booklists for kids that go along with what we are learning. So not only do I know that they will be decent books, but they will also reinforce what we learn in school.
For instance, we have used the Story of the World history series in the past. In the accompanying activity books, there are book recommendations that go along with the covered topics in each chapter. Many of our science resources have this as well.
Not only do the books we use in our homeschool usually have recommendations, but other curriculum websites do as well.
I often reference many websites in my search for good homeschool booklists, even those we don’t use.
I love to look at literature-based resources, where much of the curriculum revolves around reading books.
For each level of the curriculum, there are lists of books they include for that level. I love these lists because they are age appropriate to the level and coincide with a general topic of science or time period of history. The books are also often popular and well known to be quality reads.
Some sites I often reference are Sonlight, Bookshark, and Build Your Library.
Simply Charlotte Mason Bookfinder
This booklist for homeschoolers is a bit different than others I’ve included on this list. It is not all curated only by one person or group.
The Simply Charlotte Mason Bookfinder was started by the company, but parents and users are also able to add to it!
What began as a list of 1,000 or so books has now grown to much more from input of users. Parents are also able to write reviews for each book on the list.
Since it is online, one great feature of the Bookfinder is that it is searchable.
You are able to search this free homeschool booklist by topic, author, grade level, school subject, time period, and more. This is better than just a regular Google search or search in your local online library system. This list is not exhaustive but has been thoughtfully curated with quality living books.
If you are interested in the Simply Charlotte Mason Bookfinder, you can follow this link.
IEW Timeline of Classics for a homeschool reading list
Perhaps your family perfers to stick to the classics as much as possible in your homeschool. In this case, IEW’s Timeline of Classics may be just what you are looking for.
In this book, Gail Ledbetter from the Institute for Excellence in Writing created a great resource of classic books for families.
This homeschool reading list is organized first by time period and for each book includes a brief description, title, author, and general grade level appropriateness.
The list is presented in a chart format and divided into the following broad historical time periods: Ancients, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation, and the Modern World.
With this resource, it really would be possible to design your own history and even literature study all the way through your homeschool years using only classic literature.
To help with this, the resource includes ideas for incorporating other language arts topics like vocabulary study and what it calls “Reader Response Journaling.” Examples of these are included in the book.
If you are interested in the Timeline of Classics from the Institute for Excellence in Writing, follow this link.
Homeschool booklists on Goodreads.com
Perhaps the most widely used and known resource on this list, the website Goodreads is an incredible resource for any reader. Goodreads is also available as an app and allows you to track not only what you have read, but also what you are currently reading and want to read.
Each book listing includes a description of the book along with ratings and reviews from other readers. It is well used, so these features are often quite helpful.
After setting up your account and inputing books to your various lists, the app will then give you recommendations based on what you have already enjoyed reading. The longer you use it, the better the recommendations.
The app is completely searchable in the usual ways, by genre, author, title, and topic.
There are also tons of book lists available by categories – and you can even create your own. For instance, there are lists of kindergarten read alouds, middle grade fairy tales, and a “Christian Classical school reading list: 3rd grade” just to name a few.
I even happened to find a few of Sarah Mackenzie’s book lists included.
One drawback many homeschoolers may have with Goodreads is that being an exhaustive book search engine, it will give recommendations that parents may not be familiar with.
So I suggest like with any online resource, using the app, lists, and recommendations with caution. Either way, the tracking aspect is a great feature for any reader.
For more information on Goodreads, check out the website here.
Free Booklist download
With all the book ideas pouring out of your head, now you need a great place to write them all down! In comes a great book list worksheet!
I have created several types of booklist I’d love to give you! A worksheet for read alouds, tracking each child’s reads, and even tracking books as you read them with the dates.
A new addition is a visual booklist that looks like a bookshelf! Just add the titles to the spine of the “books”, and color it in once you’ve read it! Easy and fun!
Conclusion
There are many substantial resources out there for creating a fabulous homeschool booklist for your children. Try out different resources and see which ones you like the most. With many great books to reference as well as online resources, you are sure to create the perfect homeschool booklist for your child!
Do you have a favorite resource for finding books for your children? Let us know in the comments! We would love to hear from you.
Happy reading!
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