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Recommended reading from our family library

many of the older books can be found online for free or on Amazon for very little!

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We follow a Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling

For more info visit www.Amblesideonline.org (this one has a great list of pre-K books)

www.Agentlefeast.com

www.Holistichomeschooler.com

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We also enjoy utilizing Laura Ingalls Little House Books as curriculum through The Prairie Primer https://cadroncreek.com/shop/prairie-primer/

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Also we LOVE old historic tunes and ballads.  Contemplator.com is a great resource for finding new ones to learn

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Child not reading independently yet? We love Teach your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons

Fiction:

A note here. I prefer historical fiction as the medium through which to teach and entertain children.  I do however prefer older books.  The language is better, the stories and culture presented much more wholesome. Most of these books date from 1880-1970.

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For Younger Children (ages 3-8):

The Billy & Blaze Series

  • Billy & Blaze

  • Blaze Fins The Trail

  • Blaze And The Gypsies

  • Blaze And The Gray Spotted Pony

  • Blaze Shows The Way

  • Blaze And The Lost Quarry

  • Blaze And The Forest Fire

  • Blaze Find Forgotten Roads

  • Blaze And Thunderbolt

  • Blaze And The Mountain Lion

  • Blaze And The Indian Cave

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Jim Forest early readers - fantastic for boys

  • Jim Forest And Ranger Don

  • Jim Forest And Dead Man's Peak

  • Jim Forest And The Flood

  • Jim Forest And The Bandits

  • Jim Forest And The Mystery Hunter

  • Jim Forest And Lone Wolf Gulch

  • Jim Forest And Phantom Crater

  • Jim Forest And The Ghost Town

  • Jim Forest And Lightning

  • Jim Forest And The Plane Crash

  • Jim Forest And The Trapper

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Stories by Albert Payson Terhune

(mostly collie books but some others too)

  • Syria from the Saddle (1896) 

  • Lad: A Dog (1919)

  • Bruce (1920)

  • Buff: A Collie (1921)

  • His Dog (1922)

  • Black Gold (1922)

  • Black Caesar's Clan (1922)

  • Further Adventures of Lad (1922) Republished as Dog Stories Every Child Should Know (1941)

  • The Pest (1923)

  • Lochinvar Luck (1923)

  • The Amateur Inn (1923)

  • Grudge Mountain (1923) Republished as Dog of the High Sierras (Grosset & Dunlap)

  • Treve (1924)

  • The Heart of a Dog (1924)

  • Wolf (1925)

  • The Faith of a Collie (1949)

  • My Friend the Dog (1926)

  • Gray Dawn (1927)

  • The Luck of the Laird (1927) Republished as A Highland Collie (1950)

  • Collie to the Rescue (1940)

  • Lad of Sunnybank (1929)

  • A Dog Named Chips (1931)

  • The Way of a Dog (1932)

  • Dog of the High Sierras (1951)

  • Wallace: Glasgow's Immortal Fire Dog (1961)

  • Black Gold (1922)

 

Stories by Jim Kjelgaard

(dog books and historical adventure etc)

  • Forest Patrol (1941)

  • Rebel Siege (1943)

  • Big Red (1945)

  • The Fangs of Tsan-Lo (1945)

  • Buckskin Brigade (1947)

  • Snow Dog (1948)

  • Kalak of the Ice (1949)

  • A Nose for Trouble (1949)

  • Wild Trek (1950)

  • Chip the Dam Builder (1950)

  • Irish Red, Son of Big Red (1951)

  • Fire-hunter (1951)

  • The Explorations of Pere Marquette (1951)

  • Trailing Trouble (1952)

  • Outlaw Red, Son of Big Red (1953)

  • The Spell of the White Sturgeon (1953)

  • The Coming of the Mormons (1953)

  • Haunt Fox (1954)

  • Cracker Barrel Trouble Shooter (1954)

  • Lion Hound (1955)

  • The Lost Wagon (1955)

  • Desert Dog (1956)

  • Trading Jeff and his Dog (1956)

  • Wildlife Cameraman (1957)

  • Cochise, Chief of Warriors (1957)

  • Double Challenge (1957)

  • We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run (1957)

  • Wolf Brother (1957)

  • Swamp Cat (1957)

  • Rescue Dog of the High Pass (1958)

  • The Land is Bright (1958)

  • The Black Fawn (1958)

  • The Story of Geronimo (1958)

  • Hi Jolly (1959)

  • Stormy (1959)

  • Ulysses & his Woodland Zoo (1960)

  • Boomerang Hunter (1960)

  • The Duck-footed Hound (1960)

  • Tigre (1961)

  • Hidden Trail (1962)

  • Fawn in the Forest & other Wild Animal Stories (1962)

  • Two Dogs & a Horse (1964)

  • Furious Moose of the Wilderness (1965)

  • Dave and his Dog, Mulligan (1966)

  • Coyote Song (1969)

Stories by Marguerite Henry

(mostly historical fiction horse books)

  • Auno and Tauno: a Story of Finland, illus. Gladys Rourke Blackwood (1940)

  • Dilly Dally Sally, illus. Gladys Rourke Blackwood (1940)

  • Birds at Home, illus. Jacob Bates Abbott (1942)

  • Geraldine Belinda, illus. Gladys Rourke Blackwood (1942)

  • Their First Igloo On Baffin Island, illus. Gladys Rourke Blackwood (1943)

  • A Boy and a Dog, illus. Diana Thorne and Ottilie Foy (1944)

  • Justin Morgan Had a Horse, illus. Wesley Dennis (1945)

  • The Little Fellow, illus. Diana Thorne (1945)

  • Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman, illus. Lawrence Dresser (1945)

  • Always Reddy, illus. Wesley Dennis (1947); also published as Shamrock Queen

  • Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin, by Henry and Wesley Dennis (1947) – about the artist Benjamin West, OCLC 300163

  • Misty of Chincoteague, illus. Wesley Dennis (1947)

  • King of the Wind: the Story of the Godolphin Arabian, illus. Wesley Dennis (1948)

  • Little-or-Nothing from Nottingham, illus. Wesley Dennis (1949)

  • Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague, illus. Wesley Dennis (1949)

  • Born To Trot, illus. Wesley Dennis (1950) – about the Standardbred line

  • Album of Horses, illus. Wesley Dennis (1951)

  • Brighty of the Grand Canyon, illus. Wesley Dennis (1953)

  • Justin Morgan Had a Horse (revised), illus. Wesley Dennis (1954)

  • Wagging Tails: Album of Dogs, illus. Wesley Dennis (1955)

  • Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox, illus. Wesley Dennis (1956)

  • Misty, the Wonder Pony, by Misty, Herself, illus. Clare McKinley (1956) – picture book

  • Black Gold, illus. Wesley Dennis (1957) – about the horse Black Gold

  • Muley-Ears, Nobody's Dog, illus. Wesley Dennis (1959)

  • Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio, illus. Lynd Ward (1960); also published as The Wildest Horse Race in the World – featuring the Palio di Siena horserace

  • All About Horses, illus. drawings by Wesley Dennis and photos (1962)

  • Five O'Clock Charlie, illus. Wesley Dennis (1962)

  • Stormy, Misty's Foal, illus. Wesley Dennis (1963)

  • Portfolio of Horse Paintings, illus. Wesley Dennis, "with commentary by Marguerite Henry" (1964), LCCN 64-22279

  • White Stallion of Lipizza, illus. Wesley Dennis (1964) – about the Vienna Spanish Riding School

  • Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West, illus. Robert Lougheed (1966) – about Wild Horse Annie and American mustang conservation

  • Dear Readers and Riders (1969); also published as Dear Marguerite Henry

  • Stories from Around the World, edited and with an introduction by Marguerite Henry (1971)[17]

  • San Domingo, the Medicine Hat Stallion, illus. Robert Lougheed (1972); also published as Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion (1977) and adapted for television under that title by Ed Friendly (1978) – set in Pony Express-era Wyoming, LCCN 77-83915

  • The Little Fellow (revised), illus. Rich Rudish (1975)

  • A Pictorial Life Story of Misty, drawings by Wesley Dennis (1976)

  • One Man's Horse, illus. Wesley Dennis, "with famous paintings and prints by selected artists" (1977) – selections from Born to Trot (1950), LCCN 77-10080

  • The Illustrated Marguerite Henry, illus. Wesley Dennis, Robert Lougheed, Lynd Ward, Rich Rudish (1980) – biographical material about these four of her illustrators, with selections from their work, LCCN 80-52017

  • Our First Pony, illus. Rich Rudish (1984)

  • Misty's Twilight, illus. Karen Haus Grandpre (1992)

  • Album of Horses: a pop-up book, illus. Ezra N. Tucker (1993)

  • Brown Sunshine of Sawdust Valley, illus. Bonnie Shields (1996)

  • My Misty Diary, illus. Bill Farnsworth (1997)

 

Stories by Jack O'Brien

(dog books and historical adventure)

  • Jack O'Brien: Silver Chief, Dog of the North 

  • Jack O'Brien: Silver Chief to the Rescue

  • Jack O'Brien: The Return of Silver Chief 

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Stories by Laura Ingalls Wilder

(Historical novels based on her childhood)

  • Little House in the Big Woods (1932) — named to the inaugural Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list in 1958

  • Farmer Boy (1933) — about Almanzo Wilder growing up in New York

  • Little House on the Prairie (1935)

  • On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)[a]

  • By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)[a]

  • The Long Winter (1940)[a]

  • Little Town on the Prairie (1941)[a]

  • These Happy Golden Years (1943)

 

Stories by G.A Henty

(historical adventure)

  • A Search for a Secret1867

  • The March to Magdala1868

  • All But Lost, Volumes I, II and III1869

  • Out on the Pampas: The Young Settlers1871

  • The Young Franc-Tireurs and Their Adventure in the Franco-Prussian War1872

  • The March to Coomassie1874

  • The Young Buglers, A Tale of the Peninsular War1880

  • The Cornet of Horse: A Tale of Marlborough's Wars1881

  • In Times of Peril: A Tale of India1881

  • Facing Death, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit – A Tale of the Coal Mines1882

  • Winning His Spurs: A Tale of the Crusades (aka Boy Knight)1882

  • Friends Though Divided: A Tale of the Civil War1883

  • Jack Archer: A Tale of the Crimea1883

  • Under Drake's Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main1883

  • By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War1884

  • With Clive in India: The Beginnings of an Empire1884

  • In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce1885

  • St. George For England: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers1885

  • True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence1885

  • The Young Colonists: A Tale of the Zulu and Boer Wars1885

  • The Dragon and the Raven, or The Days of King Alfred1886

  • For Name and Fame: To Cabul with Roberts1886

  • The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of Religion1886

  • Through the Fray: A Tale of the Luddite Riots1886

  • Yarns on the Beach: A Bundle of Tales1886

  • The Bravest of the Brave, or, With Peterborough in Spain1887

  • A Final Reckoning: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia1887

  • The Sovereign Reader: Scenes from the Life and Reign of Queen Victoria1887

  • The Young Carthaginian, A Story of the Time of Hannibal1887

  • With Wolfe in Canada: The Winning of a Continent1887

  • Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden1888

  • For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem1888

  • Gabriel Allen M.P.1888

  • In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy1888

  • Orange and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick1888

  • Sturdy and Strong: How George Andrews Made His Way1888

  • Captain Bayley's Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California1889

  • The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt1889

  • The Curse of Carne's Hold: A Tale of Adventure, Volumes I and II1889

  • The Lion of St. Mark: A Story of Venice in the Fourteenth Century1889

  • The Plague Ship(1889)

  • Tales of Daring and Danger, Five Short Stories1890

  • By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic1890

  • One of the 28th: A Tale of Waterloo1890

  • With Lee in Virginia, A Story of the American Civil War1890

  • The Boy Knight: A Tale of the Crusades 
    (the American title for Winning His Spurs)1891

  • By England's Aid: The Freeing of the Netherlands, 1585–16041891

  • By Right of Conquest: With Cortez in Mexico1891

  • Chapter of Adventures: Through the Bombardment of Alexandria aka The Young Midshipman (USA)1891

  • A Hidden Foe, Volumes I and II1891

  • Maori and Settler: A Tale of the New Zealand War1891

  • Those Other Animals(1891)

  • The Dash For Khartoum: A Tale of the Nile Expedition1892

  • Held Fast for England: A Tale of the Siege of Gibraltar (1779–83)1892

  • The Ranche in the Valley(1892)

  • Redskin and Cowboy: A Tale of the Western Plains1892

  • Beric the Briton: A Story of the Roman Invasion1893

  • Condemned as a Nihilist: A Story of Escape from Siberia1893

  • In Greek Waters: A Story of the Grecian War of Independence (1821–1827)1893

  • Rujub, the Juggler, Volumes I, II and III1893

  • Dorothy's Double: The Story of a Great Deception, Volumes I, II and III1894

  • A Jacobite Exile: Being the Adventures of a Young Englishman in the Service of Charles XII of Sweden1894

  • Saint Bartholomew's Eve: A Tale of the Huguenot Wars1894

  • Through the Sikh War: A Tale of the Conquest of the Punjab1894

  • In the Heart of the Rockies: A Story of Adventure in Colorado1895

  • When London Burned: A Story of Restoration Times and the Great Fire1895

  • Woman of the Commune: A Tale of Two Sieges of Paris 
    (aka Cuthbert Hartington, A Girl of the Commune,Two Sieges and Two Sieges of Paris1895

  • Wulf The Saxon: A Story of the Norman Conquest1895

  • A Knight of the White Cross: A Tale of the Siege of Rhodes1896

  • Through Russian Snows: A Story of Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow1896

  • The Tiger of Mysore: A Story of the War with Tippoo Saib1896

  • At Agincourt: A Tale of the White Hoods of Paris1897

  • On the Irrawaddy: A Story of the First Burmese War1897

  • The Queen's Cup, A Novel, Volumes I, II and III1897

  • With Cochrane the Dauntless: A Tale of the Exploits of Lord Cochrane1897

  • Colonel Thorndyke's Secret (aka The Brahmin's Treasure (USA))1898

  • A March on London: Being a Story of Wat Tyler's Insurrection1898

  • With Frederick the Great: A Tale of the Seven Years War1898

  • With Moore at Corunna: A Tale of the Peninsular War1898

  • Among Malay Pirates; A Tale of Adventure and Peril(1899)

  • On the Spanish Main: A Tale of Cuba and the Buccaneers(1899)

  • At Aboukir and Acre: A Story of Napoleon's Invasion of Egypt1899

  • Both Sides the Border: A Tale of Hotspur and Glendower1899

  • The Golden Cañon and The Stone Chest, or The Secret of Cedar Island, 
    (The Stone Chest is a filler title, not by Henty) (2-in-1 book)1899

  • The Lost Heir1899

  • Under Wellington's Command: A Tale of the Peninsular War1899

  • In the Hands of the Cave Dwellers1900

  • No Surrender! A Tale of the Rising in La Vendée1900

  • A Roving Commission, or, Through the Black Insurrection at Hayti1900

  • Won by the Sword: A Story of the Thirty Years War1900

  • In the Irish Brigade: A Tale of War in Flanders and Spain1901

  • John Hawke's Fortune: A Story of Monmouth's Rebellion1901

  • Out With Garibaldi: A Story of the Liberation of Italy1901

  • Queen Victoria: Scenes from her Life and Reign1901

  • With Buller in Natal: A Born Leader1901

  • At the Point of the Bayonet: A Tale of the Mahratta War1902

  • To Herat and Cabul, A Story of the First Afghan War1902

  • With Roberts to Pretoria: A Tale of the South African War1902

  • The Treasure of the Incas: A Tale of Adventure in Peru1903

  • With Kitchener in the Soudan, A Story of Atbara and Omdurman1903

  • With the British Legion: A Story of the Carlist Wars1903

  • Through Three Campaigns: A Story of Chitral, Tirah, and Ashantee1904

  • With the Allies to Pekin: A Story of the Relief of the Legations1904

  • Gallant Deeds, Five Short Stories1905

  • By Conduct and Courage: A Story of Nelson's Days1905

  • In the Hands of the Malays1905

  • Among the Bushrangers from A Final Reckoning1906

  • Indian Raid, An from Redskin and Cowboy1906

  • Cast Ashore from With Clive in India1906

  • Charlie Marryat from With Clive in India1906

  • Cornet Walter from Orange and Green1906

  • A Highland Chief from In Freedom's Cause1906

  • The Two Prisoners from A Soldier's Daughter1906

  • The Young Captain from With Clive in India1906

Stories by Jerry West (Andrew Svenson)

(The Happy Hollisters is children's adventure series and has an old style collie prominently featured)

  • # 1 The Happy Hollisters

  • # 2 The Happy Hollisters on a River Trip

  • # 3 The Happy Hollisters at Sea Gull Beach

  • # 4 The Happy Hollisters and the Indian Treasure

  • # 5 The Happy Hollisters at Mystery Mountain

  • # 6 The Happy Hollisters at Snowflake camp

  • # 7 The Happy Hollisters and the Trading Post Mystery

  • # 8 The Happy Hollisters at Circus Island

  • # 9 The Happy Hollisters and the Secret Fort

  • #10 The Happy Hollisters at the Merry-Go-Round Mystery*

  • #11 The Happy Hollisters and Pony Hill Farm*

  • #12 The Happy Hollisters and the Old Clipper Ship

  • #13 The Happy Hollisters at Lizard Cove

  • #14 The Happy Hollisters and the Scarecrow Mystery

  • #15 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Totem Faces

  • #16 The Happy Hollisters and the Ice Carnival Mystery

  • #17 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery in Skyscraper City

  • #18 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Little Mermaid

  • #19 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery at Missile Town

  • #20 The Happy Hollisters and the Cowboy Mystery

  • #21 The Happy Hollisters and the Haunted House Mystery

  • #22 The Happy Hollisters and the Secret of the Lucky Coins

  • #23 The Happy Hollisters and the Castle Rock Mystery

  • #24 The Happy Hollisters and the Cuckoo Clock Mystery

  • #25 The Happy Hollisters and the Swiss Echo Mystery

  • #26 The Happy Hollisters and the Sea Turtle Mystery

  • #27 The Happy Hollisters and the Punch and Judy Mystery

  • #28 The Happy Hollisters and the Whistle Pig Mystery

  • #29 The Happy Hollisters and the Ghost Horse Mystery

  • #30 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Golden Witch

  • #31 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Mexican Idol

  • #32 The Happy Hollisters and the Monster Mystery

  • #33 The Happy Hollisters and the Mystery of the Midnight Trolls

 

Stories by Jack O'Brien stopped here

(dog books and historical adventure)

  • Jack O'Brien: Silver Chief, Dog of the North 

  • Jack O'Brien: Silver Chief to the Rescue

  • Jack O'Brien: The Return of Silver Chief 

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