Reading is such an important part of homeschooling. That's why we're listing sites that have reading related materials: book lists, worksheets, literature studies, assessment tools and more. If you are looking for sites that help you teach reading, please click here.

Book lists can be very helpful if you want an idea of what your child "should" be reading or to simply get some ideas for what books might go with your topic of study (or just be fun and / or interesting to read). Sometimes it's also helpful to see "leveled" lists and see if your child is reading below, at, or above his or her "grade" level.

Assessments can also be helpful for determining what your child's reading level is, but we suggest you don't get too worked up over the results. Some children are slower in acquiring reading and then suddenly catch up to (and many times then surpass) their counterparts. In other instances you might have a child reading WAY above grade level (and then the challenge is finding suitable and "appropriate" books)! Assessments are certainly not perfect, you'll be able to better tell where your child is at than any test...but sometimes it CAN be "reassuring".

No matter what your situation, you will most likely appreciate the time others have put into making lists of "good" books for a variety of ages and materials to help make your studies more meaningful.

We have included some of our favorites, and will continue to add more!

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Icon Explanation:

A favorite -they may all be good in one way or another, but this one is "special"
Most appropriate for teens and adults
Site geared mostly to young learners
Interactive materials (flash, shockwave, etc.)
Oodles of printables

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Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project
"Bringing Yesterday's Classics to Today's Children". Free online copies of classic children's books.

Classical Christian Education Support Loop 1000 Good Books List
This is a list of 1000 books meeting the following criteria:
"Does the book have literary value? Does the book reemphasize a Biblical worldview or the Judeo-Christian heritage in some way? Does the book teach, through whatever means, what is moral or just or true? Does the book encourage to love and good works? Does the book exemplify warmth, tenderness, courage, humor, and other values and characteristics that we desire our children to be exposed to? Does the book nourish the intellect and fire the imagination? Does the book cross age barriers to be enjoyed by all? "

Eager Readers Book Lists
" To help parents and children find these books, we have collected a list of good titles for all ages, based on books we and our own children have read and enjoyed - the cream of the crop. Some are very light, others richer and more serious, but all have qualities that make them fun, memorable, and exciting - not bland, stuffy, or boring. Many of these are in print and most are available at your local library. In order to help you find books to match your child's age and tastes, we have organized the titles by subject and reading level. "

Glencoe Writer's Choice: Literature Library
Excellent study guides that accompany a variety of middle to high school literature titles (with maybe some for older elementary as well). Study guides are in PDF format and feature information about the author, vocabulary, background, worksheets, literary terminology that apply to the different chapters, diagrams and much more. This is a very helpful resource if you want to extend your books and dig deeper.

Learning Island FREE Books
There are lots of free books in PDF format to print out. The books are marked for reading level (approximate grade level) and word count. They have pictures and some even have corresponding activity sheets. This site is a GREAT resource.

Literature to Supplement History
An excellent list of books for different time periods.

Living Books for Children
" Living Books = books that are well-written and engaging---they absorb the reader---the narrative and characters "come alive"; living books are the opposite of cold, dry textbooks."
This is a list of "living" books for preschool through highschool. It's not one of the "bigger" lists, but it is a good list nonetheless.

PaperBackSwap.com
Yes, I give this two hearts! This site is community of people from all over who are sharing books on the "honor" system. List your books and you get credits to order books. When someone chooses a book from "your" list, you send it and pay for the shipping (usually $1.59 or less). When you order a book, whomever has listed it sends it to you (and they pay the shipping). There are quite a few children's book titles as well as a homeschool category. Check it out!

Reading Level Assessment
There are lots of distracting items on this page, but scroll down for a quick and easy reading assessment. It may not be totally "right on", but it should give you a general idea of your child's reading grade level.

Top 1000 Books
"This list, updated for 2005, contains the "Top 1000" titles owned by OCLC member libraries—the intellectual works that have been judged to be worth owning by the "purchase vote" of libraries around the globe." It's kind of interesting to go through and see what others are reading and maybe get some ideas on what you may not want to miss. Click on the year to the left to read the complete listing of all 1000 books.

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The Internet changes daily so you never know if a site that is here today might be "gone" tomorrow. We suggest you save materials you want to use in the future to your hard drive (if it doesn't interfere with the copyright). Also, we can't predict what might change on a site or what advertising might be present. Surf at your own risk!
Please report any bad links to me (or inappropriate materials and / or advertising)!

P.S. Some of the links have stuff that is good, fun, informative, etc. for mom too, not just the kids!