Montessori List for Younger Readers 

Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry
The ups and downs of a precocious ten-year-old girl…

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Although Anna Sewell’s classic paints a clear picture of turn-of-the-century London, its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness

The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Anyone who has ever entertained the notion of “little people” living furtively among us will adore this artfully spun classic.  Also, The Borrowers Afloat, The Borrowers Afield, The Borrowers Avenged, The Borrowers Aloft

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Jess Aarons is eager to start fifth grade. He’s been practicing his sprints all summer, determined to become the fastest runner at school. All seems to be on track, until the new girl in class leaves all the boys in the dust, including Jess…

Call of the Wild by Jack London
Survival in the Arctic is brutal, at best, for both man and dog…  Also, White Fang

The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
George Selden’s whimsical tale of a little Connecticut cricket named Chester, whose entrapment in a wicker picnic basket leads to never-before-dreamed-of adventures upon his arrival in Times Square…

The Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
To Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane, and their baby brother, the house in the country promises a summer of freedom and play.  But when they accidentally uncover an accident Psammead–or Sand-fairy–who has the power to make wishes come true, they find themselves having the holiday of a lifetime, sharing one thrilling adventure after another…

The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Gilly Hopkins is a determined-to-be-unpleasant 11-year-old foster kid who the reader can’t help but like by the end. Gilly has been in the foster system all her life, and she dreams of getting back to her (as she imagines) wonderful mother. But she soon learns about illusions–the hard way…

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Unflinchingly honest portrayal of childhood problems and emotions changed children’s literature forever. …remains one of the best children’s novels ever written. The fascinating story is about an intensely curious and intelligent girl…

Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The classic story of a young orphan sent to live with her grumpy grandfather in the Swiss Alps, Heidi has charmed and intrigued readers since it’s original publication in 1880…

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Inspired by the real-life story of a 12-year-old American Indian girl, Karana, a remarkable young woman who, during the evacuation of Ghalas-at (an island off the coast of California), jumped ship to stay with her young brother who had been abandoned on the island. He died shortly thereafter, and Karana fended for herself on the island for 18 years

The Last Dog on Earth by Daniel Ehrenhaft (upper elementary and up)
In this boy-and-his-dog tale with a twist, Logan Moore, 14, doesn’t measure up to the expectations of his mom and stepdad, and is friendless at school. His one interest, inventing electronic gadgets, only gives vent to mischievous impulses. The teen lacks direction and self-esteem until he adopts Jack, a wild and mangy mutt…

Little House by Laura Ingalls Wilder (9 Books, Boxed Set)
Pa Ingalls decides to sell the little log house, and the family sets out for Indian country! They travel from Wisconsin to Kansas, and there, finally, Pa builds their little house on the prairie. Sometimes farm life is difficult, even dangerous, but Laura and her family are kept busy…   Also available separately, beginning with Little House in the
Big Woods

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The classic story fo a family, still entrancing readers…  Also available in an annotated version with margin notes on period clothing, customs, and more, or an illustrated version for read-aloud…

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
On an island off the coasts of Virginia and Maryland lives a centuries-old band of wild ponies. Among them is the most mysterious of all, Phantom…

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going…  Also On the Far Side of the Mountain, Frightful’s Mountain

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Pippi is an irrepressible, irreverent, and irrefutably delightful girl who lives alone (with a monkey) in her wacky house, Villa Villekulla. Pippi’s high-spirited, good-natured hijinks cause as much trouble as fun, but a more generous child you won’t find anywhere

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A wonderfully symbolic story about children finding love and happiness through their mutual delight in the magic of nature and in each other…

Swallows & Amazons by Arthur Ransome (all ages, from read aloud through young adult!)

Swallows and Amazons
Swallowdale
Peter Duck: A Treasure Hunt in the Caribbees
Winter Holiday
Coot Club
Pigeon Post
We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea
Secret Water
The Big Six
Missee Lee: The Swallows and Amazons in the China Seas
The Picts & the Martyrs: Or Not Welcome at All (Godine Storyteller)
Great Northern?: A Scottish Adventure

The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White
The Sword And The Stone recreates, against the background of magnificent pageantry and dark magic that was medieval England, the education and training of young King Arthur, who was to become the greatest of Britain’s legendary rulers…

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Climb aboard for the swashbuckling adventure of a lifetime. The names Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins are destined to remain pieces of folklore for as long as children want to read Robert Louis Stevenson’s most famous book

The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting
Chronicles of the delightful voyages of Doctor Dolittle…

Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein

A Light in the Attic, Falling Up

The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall
The Minnipins’ world is a colorful, well-detailed world full of adventures, with no shortage of eccentric characters…  And the sequel, The Whisper of Glocken

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Few fantasy lands have captured our hearts and imaginations as has the marvelous land of Oz… Also (in order!)
The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Tik-Tok of Oz, Rinkitink in Oz, The Lost Princess of Oz, The Tin Woodman of Oz, The Magic of Oz, Glinda in Oz and continued by other authors…

Roald Dahl:

The BFG
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (the sequel)
James and the Giant Peach
Matilda
Danny the Champion of the World

Eleanor Estes’:

The Moffats
The Middle Moffat
Rufus M.
The Moffat Museum
Ginger Pye
Pinky Pye
The Hundred Dresses

Rudyard Kipling’s:

The Jungle Book

Louis Sachar’s:

Wayside School Boxed Set: Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, Wayside School is Falling Down, Sideway Stories from Wayside School
Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School
More Sideways Arithmetic From Wayside School
Some Day Angeline
There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom
Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes
Holes Full of humor and absurdity, but also a deep understanding of friendship and a searing compassion for society’s underdogs…
Small Steps the sequel to Holes, focuses on Armpit. It’s two years after his release, and the 16-year-old is still digging holes, although now getting paid for it, working for a landscaper in his hometown …

E. B. White’s:

Charlotte’s Web
Stuart Little
The Trumpet of the Swan