Top No-Twaddle Printable Book List for Every Age

"Jamie, got any book suggestions for a third grader? My son is a voracious reader and I just can't keep up with him."

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This is just one example of the emails I receive daily from mommas all around the world looking for something better for their kids besides what the trade-show aisles at Walmart and Target are doling out. These mommas see shelf after shelf filled and overflowing with all the usual suspects-- the trendy books like The Day My Butt Went Psycho and The Fantastic Flatulent Fart Brothers Go to the Moon!--and are desperate for book suggestions that will help them cultivate a love for truth, beauty, and goodness in their homes.


If you, like so many other moms, myself included, are sick and tired of all the grossology books that have set up camp both in stores and in libraries, then you are in luck, my friend! I've compiled a complete list of my most favorite books for all ages, from tots to tweens. I hold it out to you and wish you all the best as you seek to build a reading culture in your home.

This is a list you can download for FREE and take with you the next time you're at the library.

While most of these are great read alouds to enjoy together as a family, some of them are emergent readers and are really only good as read alones. To that end, I've divided these book titles by age level based on the publisher's recommendations and my own personal preference. However, you know your kids and their reading abilities. Feel free to give my age suggestions the big old side-eye and choose your own reading adventures!

These books are the best of the best, in my opinion, anyway. These are no-twaddle titles with well-crafted plots and quality characters. (Sorry, Captain, you can keep your underpants. I don't want them on my list!) You'll not find many modern award-winners here. If you've been a regular reader of The Unlikely Homeschool, you know why I've left those off my lists.

What you will find, however, are books that are good, beautiful, and virtuous--books that will help you cultivate a rich literary pallet in your home. Because remember, if you continue to point them to excellence, they will eventually become repelled by the cheap, tawdry offerings of the world. 

So, here's my list. I hope you and yours enjoy these books as much as my kids and I have. Happy reading!

Need more book suggestions?

Since you wanted to grab this list, I can only assume that you are either a parent who needs help vetting titles for your voracious reader, a teacher who wants to suggest both clean and captivating books to your students, or a homeschool mom wading through a sea of potential books for your next read aloud and you're just not sure which one to choose. 

I can understand that. At one time or another, I’ve been all three! 

What if you were able to access a handful of titles each month, just like the ones I’ve provided in my No Twaddle list—books that had already been pre-vetted for sexual content, liberal agenda, graphic violence, and explicit language?

What if that list came from someone whose opinion you've already grown to trust?

As a Christian writer, an avid reader, the host of a bi-weekly tween/teen book club, a former children's librarian of a large church library, and a teacher who's spent the past 21 years helping kids discover great books both in and out of the classroom, I'd love to help you put great books in the hands of your kids. 

Head to the Biblio-files to learn how you can get my monthly book lists sent right to your inbox!