In my years of homeschooling, I have learned that the primary resource for practically every subject is good literature! Aside from math, we can get away with using nothing more than a rich living book library and produce well-educated children. Of course, we add in narrations and writing and more in our homeschool, but the foundation of all of it truly is good, quality literature!

In this blog post I explain living books and my favorite recommendations for living books for children.

In this blog post:

• What is a living book?
• Best living books for preschool & kindergarten homeschool
• Top living books for elementary homeschool (1st-5th Grade)
• Homeschooling with literature: Literature-based curriculum favorites
• Curated book resources: Discovering quality literature for kids
• More literature-based resources from Treehouse Schoolhouse

What is a living book?

Let’s start by talking about the term “living books.”

The term “living book” comes from the writings of Charlotte Mason. It is not clearly and specifically defined in her books, but rather an idea she references. She writes: “Why in the world should we not give children, while they are at school, the sort of books they can live upon; books alive with thought and feeling, and delight in knowledge, instead of the miserable cram-books on which they are starved?”

After many years of reading, researching, and discovering books for our own homeschool, I have come to a better understanding of what to look for in a book. Here’s how I classify a living book:

• The author often has a first-hand experience or a passion for the subject.
• The book is written in story-form, containing ideas rather than just presenting dry facts (as opposed to “cram books” or textbooks).
• The story lingers with you; you think about it long after you finish reading.
• It is easy to remember what you have read and make real life connections from the story.
• The story engages your imagination and moves you to emotions.

It took me a while to discover how to distinguish a living book from “twaddle” (the opposite of a living book, according to Charlotte Mason), but it becomes simple once you get the hang of it. It is like being able to distinguish junk food from nutritious food. The more you have nutritious food, the more you crave it and junk food isn’t as appealing.

Whenever I need to justify spending money on books, I refer to this quote from Charlotte Mason: “One more thing is of vital importance; children must have books, living books. The best is not too good for them; anything less than the best is not good enough. And if it is needful to exercise economy, let go everything that belongs to soft and luxurious living before letting go the duty of supplying the books, and the frequent changes of books, which are necessary for the constant stimulation of the child’s intellectual life.” –Charlotte Mason

Early on in my home education journey I needed someone to help me find these books. Over the years, the best way I have found quality literature is by gathering books from book lists found in curricula and websites that I have come to trust. I started there and then began to compile my own lists.

Best living books for preschool & kindergarten homeschool

These are my favorite sources and lists for living books for preschool and kindergarten children.

• 100 Living Books for the Early Years from Treehouse Schoolhouse – This is my personally compiled list for the early years! It includes board books, Bible books, early readers, chapter books, treasuries, and more!
• A Year of Picture Books (Read Aloud Revival) – This book list is categorized by months, and I especially love the seasonal and holiday books she lists. She updates it with new finds each year!
• Early Reader Books (Read Aloud Revival) – If your child is beginning to put letter sounds together to begin to read, I recommend this list of early readers. Obviously, it is difficult to pack a full, inspiring story in a beginning reader, so the “living book” idea is a little different with these books.
• First Novels to Read Aloud (Read Aloud Revival) – I used this source for the first few years of reading aloud to my young ones. It’s a treasure trove!
• Year 0 (Pre-K/Kindergarten) Book List (Ambleside Online) – If you aren’t familiar with Ambleside Online, it is a free curriculum based around Charlotte Mason principles. I have used their book lists continually for all of my children. This list is specific for preschool – kindergarten age.
• Read-Aloud Books for Preschoolers (Simply Charlotte Mason) – This is another great book list for the early years that I like to refer to. This includes picture books and chapter books for read-alouds.

Top living books for elementary homeschool (1st-5th Grade)

• Read Aloud Revival – This website is chock full of book lists for practically every theme and subject. Some of the ones we have referred to over and over are their chapter book recommendations and biographies.
• Stories of Color – This is a wonderful, growing list of living books categorized in many ways, including culture, history, and more. Their mission is to be a resource for homeschooling families on the pursuit to bring more diverse, multicultural ideas and perspectives to life for their children. Highly recommend!
• Curated book lists from Treehouse Schoolhouse – Browse our picture book lists curated by seasons and holidays, plus our favorite read-aloud lists for families and kids.

Homeschooling with literature: Literature-based curriculum favorites

• Treehouse Story School: Preschool – Treehouse Story School: Preschool is a gentle, literature-based preschool curriculum that invites children to learn through the themes in stories they love. Each focuses on a picture book, inviting children into connection and learning through music and movement, play-based narration, alphabet and number play, motor skills, practical life development, crafts, and baking together. Preview a free week here.
• AmblesideOnline – Ambleside Online is a free curriculum based around Charlotte Mason principles. But without using the full curricula, you can simply search by “year” for their booklists. Just click on the link, find the year you would like to see, and then click on “booklist” in the right hand box. I especially refer to the “free reads” for my children for read alouds and independent reading.
• Sonlight – If you are looking for a complete literature-based, Christian homeschool curriculum, you may enjoy Sonlight. You can download various book lists on their website.
• My Father’s World – We have used multiple years of My Father’s World core curriculum and while we haven’t loved everything about it, I have loved their comprehensive living book lists included in the back of their teacher manuals.
• Beautiful Feet Books – This curriculum in a new favorite for us, and one we are diving into more next school year. They have complete guides for geography, history, science, and more completely centered on living books.
• Five in a Row – This is another curriculum totally centered on living books. We have enjoyed using this, especially for the early years of our homeschooling. You can find book lists on their website.
• A Connected Christmas and An Expectant Easter – These two holiday curriculums have lovely living book lists that you can download for free.

Curated book resources: Discovering quality literature for kids

• Honey for A Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt – If you’re looking for a resource to help you know how to select good books for children of all ages, Honey for a Child’s Heart is great! The author also has a comprehensive list broken down by age in the back of the book. I like to add some of these books to our library haul as well! I hope you enjoyed this round up and you found it useful in creating a plan for a school year full of creating connections over rich literature with your children.
• Read for the Heart: Whole Books for Wholehearted Families by Sarah Clarkson – This book is full of timeless classics, modern favorites, picture books, adventure novels, and read-aloud favorites. There are more than 1,000 wonderful stories for children of all ages listed in this resource.

More literature-based resources from Treehouse Schoolhouse

Treehouse Story School: Preschool

Treehouse Story School: Preschool is a gentle, literature-based preschool curriculum that invites children to learn through the themes in stories they love. Each week will focus on a picture book, inviting children into connection and learning through music and movement, play-based narration, alphabet and number play, motor skills, practical life development, crafts, and baking together.

It would be a great fit for your toddler or preschooler if you are looking to incorporate multi-sensory, play-based learning while introducing them to timeless stories. From toddler through upper preschool, this curriculum can be used year after year as you dive deeper into beloved, classic stories your family will cherish.

Treehouse Nature Study, Primary Years

Treehouse Nature Study, Primary Years is a seasonal nature study curriculum designed with family-style learning in mind. It is a gentle guide meant to invite various ages to connect with each other and the world around them through living books, nature notebooking, hands-on projects, and beauty subjects such as poetry, picture study, and folk songs. 

From preschool through upper middle school, it appeals to every age and is easily used with multiple ages at the same time. 

It would be a great fit for your preschool or kindergartener’s core curriculum or your whole family’s home education Morning Time and Nature Study. It also provides supplemental work for your children’s language arts through poetry memorization, recitation, copywork, and notebooking.

Treehouse Nature Study, Intermediate Years

Treehouse Nature Study, Intermediate Years is a nature study geared towards grades 4th-8th. Experience a seasonal study that invites your older children to connect with each other and the world around them through living books, nature notebooking, hands-on projects, poetry, and picture study. Deepen your child’s learning through advanced language arts and scientific experiments.

It would be a great fit for your upper elementary or middle schooler’s science curriculum or your whole family’s home education Morning Time and Nature Study. It also provides supplemental work for your children’s language arts through poetry copywork, creating an Illustrated Science Dictionary, creative writing prompts, notebooking, and internet research.

Treehouse Book Studies

Add literature to your homeschool with Treehouse Book Studies – book study guides of children’s literature for ages 5-13. Use in your homeschool as literature curriculum or as book study with a small group. Create lasting connections through rich stories while you study themes such as science, nature, geography, history, and language arts. Each download includes: Book Study with weekly lesson plans, recipes, Book Report Template, Extension Book List, Multimedia Reference Materials links, and Book Club Meet-up Guide.