A Library to Build Great Americans, Ages 3-99+

"How frugal is the chariot that bears the human soul." - Emily Dickinson

[Note: Affiliate Links Below]

Benjamin Franklin did not invent the lending library — he invented the free market version of it: a member-supported circulating library. For an upfront sign-up fee and small monthly payments, tradesmen, merchants, farmers, et al could borrow anything within. The Founding Fathers all recognized the necessity of education, though they argued the extent to which the state should run such a system — yet another thing they were right to be concerned about. Still, Franklin’s system meant that access to great ideas was no longer reserved for the rich.

And here we are, 250 years later, many of us with the space and the disposable income necessary to build the kind of library that would’ve made any of those great men envious — thanks to independent used booksellers in our towns and nationally on eBay and companies like Bookshop.org.

My purpose here is to make it easier for you to find and purchase the books I recommend. I’ve separated the libraries into three age groupings and all the lists are searchable by genre, so if you have a sense of who your reader is, selecting a fitting title will be easier.

You can navigate each list with the pagination button on the top right corner of the table or search by genre, author, and title. Give some attention to lexile level. Lexile levels below 800 are best for young readers. Mid-range readers are comfortable anywhere from 700-1100, and experienced readers will thrive at 1000+. Don’t be afraid to pick up a book with a high lexile score — just know you may end up reading it to your child instead of with him.

While I am a Bookshop.org affiliate and I’d love it if you bought these books using my links, eBay is a great place to buy them used at low prices. Sometimes the only way to get a particular title is from a used bookseller. Many can also be found on Kindle, and the out-of-print titles are often under $3 in the Kindle bookstore. Physical books are much better for young readers though.

Many large used booksellers on eBay offer discounts like “Buy 3, get 1 free” or a set discount if you purchase multiple books. Most offer free shipping. Amazon makes it easy to ship long distances and delivers quickly, but eBay is a great option if you’ll be there to place gifts under the tree and have time to plan. I recommend purchasing hardbacks wherever possible; they hold up better. Someday, your grandchildren might be reading the very same copy of your child’s favorite story.

The most important note: if you’re gifting these to little ones in your extended family, don’t forget to sign the inside cover (hopefully after rereading these wonderful stories yourself). My grandmother signed a book for my first child; every time I open it, I remember how much she loved him—and me.

If my house was on fire, I would save that book.

Booklists for Ages 3-7

As Julie Andrews sang to us, “Let’s start at the very beginning; a very good place to start.” So this is my first, and most important recommendation: Siegfried Engelmann’s Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. If your child is very young, but ready to read — and very young children can be ready to begin learning to read — pick it up. You won’t regret it. If your child is older, aged 5-7, I hope you don’t need it. I hope that your child’s school has done a great job of teaching her how to read. If it hasn’t though, this book will save you both. That recommendation, along with my tips for taking on a list this full of joy and love with your own children are in the essay linked below.

You probably don’t need all that much motivation from me here because these books are mostly very straightforward and clear, but I will say this: read these books yourself. They will fill you with love and wonder and new appreciation for their depth and wisdom.

Below, you can find a clickable, searchable list of the titles I recommend for young children. (Note: as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) The first column will tell you the type of book. Anthologies (ANTH) will give you the best bang for your buck. They contain lots of stories and information. If you’re very tight on funds, E.D. Hirsch’s What Your _____ Grader Needs to Know is a great place to start for a variety of stories, poems, idioms, and nonfiction texts in science, history, art, music, math, and geography. The other anthologies are either full of stories (ANTH:ST) or poetry (ANTH:PO).

Picture books (PIC) tend to be better for bedtime reads with smaller children. The pictures draw them in and the words, read in your voice, will resonate in their hearts for years and years, if not forever.

Chapter Books (CH) are where the rubber meets the road. Older kids have more patience for a story drawn out over several sessions, but younger kids love them too. Don’t hesitate to read to your children when they’re drawing or eating or doing other (non-screen) things; they’re still listening. These stories are so good, sometimes they won’t want to stop for anything. There are more varied genres here too. You can choose from Biographies, Classic Literature, Fantasy, Folktales, History, Science Fiction, and Western.

And now, the list, all 14 clickable, searchable pages of it:

Booklist for Ages 8-12

My original essay is linked below if you’re interested in the thinking behind these recommendations and tips I offer for reading them with your children. The list below has 15 pages of recommendations. You can search by genre if you know the tastes of the child with whom you’d like to read. Your choices there are Adventure, Animal Stories, Anthology, Autobiography, Biography, Drama, Fantasy, Fiction (General), Historical Fiction, History, Science Fiction, and Western.

Booklist for Ages 13-99+

My original essay is linked below if you’re interested in the thinking behind these recommendations. This list, more than any other, is the one you’ll have to work up to. It takes no prisoners. The essay below is a long read, but it’s meant to support you as you open the door and invite the greatest minds the planet has ever known to guide you in the great search for truth.

The list below has 18 pages of recommendations you can navigate from both the top and bottom of the table. You can search by subject, author or genre, which on this list are Adventure, Autobiography, Drama, Economics, Fantasy, Fiction (which includes General Fiction and Science Fiction), Historical Fiction, History, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Poetry, Political Philosophy, and Western. Here it is:

Final Thoughts

This took a ton of man hours to put together and I don’t know how much good it will do. Lists like these exist all over the internet. I’m not sure people read many books based on them. I know that because sometimes I buy books fully intending to read them, but am satisfied enough by having them that I don’t open them.

Still, I’m publishing this in hopes it helps adults who love the children around them find the stories that speak that love aloud. I hope that they not only buy a book, but sit patiently beside their beloved and read it too, or read it aloud together. I hope that in a book (or two or three), they find the true, the good, and the beautiful. I hope that they see the great gifts the men and women who wrote these books bequeathed to us. I hope that they look to become more like the heroes those great men and women imagined up for us.

I hope.

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