The Best Living Books for the Elementary Years

Need ideas for living books for your elementary students? There are so many good choices! Here are our favorites that I believe should be staples for everyone’s home library.

What is a Living Book?

What is a living book and why do they matter? A living book simply means a book written in a narrative form. Unlike a dry textbook that only gives facts, dates, and information, living books communicate stories and ideas in a way that is relatable to the reader. In other words, a living book has the power to draw the reader into its world and envelop him in the story and its ideas. A living book can capture our mind and imagination in a much more effective way than any textbook ever could.

Using Living Books in the elementary years

The elementary years (1st through 5th grade) cover a pretty broad age range. But that is the beauty of using living books! They are not specific to any certain grade. They can be read whenever you feel your child is ready for them. My middle school children even enjoy many of these and will still listen in whenever they are being read aloud. In fact, many of the books on this list are just as rewarding for parents as they are for the kids!

This list is not exhaustive. There are certainly so many more titles that could be and will be added here! But these are our favorites that we consider to be staples for any home library.

1. Bible/Theology

We’ve used several different Bible storybooks throughout the years but have found these to be our favorites. In the early elementary years, I still read aloud from a storybook Bible and then gradually transition the kids to read their own Bibles as they are ready.

• The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible by Janice Emmerson
• The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments by Marty Machowski
• The Action Bible: God’s Redemptive Story by Sergio Cariello
• Egermeier’s Bible Story Book by Elsie Egermeier (This is my personal favorite)
• WonderFull: Ancient Psalms Ever New by Marty Machowski
• The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New by Marty Machowski
• Wise Words: Family Stories that Bring the Proverbs to Life by Peter Leithart (We really enjoyed the audio version of this on Canon+)
• The Treasure: Ancient Story Ever New of Jesus and His Church by Marty Machowski

2. History

The following d’Aulaire biographies are perfect for elementary students who are reading comfortably. They also make for a great read aloud for students who still struggle with reading.

• Leif the Lucky
• Columbus
• Pocahontas
• Benjamin Franklin
• George Washington
• Buffalo Bill
• Abraham Lincoln

No matter which period of history you are studying, you’ll find the following books by Genevieve Foster to be beautiful and engaging. I love to use these books as history “spines” that we read aloud together. These make great read alouds for older elementary students.

• Augustus Caesar’s World
• The World of Columbus and Sons
• The World of William Penn
• The World of Capt. John Smith
• George Washington’s World (The copy that is currently available on Amazon is extremely expensive. I was able to find a beautiful older edition of this on eBay for far less.)
• Abraham Lincoln’s World

The New Americans: Colonial Times: 1620-1689 by Betsy Maestro

The Story of Hiawatha by Allen Chaffee (adapted from the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

The Fourth of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh

The Story of the Statue of Liberty by Betsy Maestro

They Were Strong and Good by Robert Lawson

The Dear America Series

The Magna Charta by James Daugherty

Poor Richard by James Daugherty

Of Courage Undaunted: Across the Continent with Lewis & Clark by James Daugherty

Christian Heroes: Then & Now by Janet and Geoff Benge (There are many wonderful biographies in this series ranging from Corrie ten Boom to Hudson Taylor. They are all worth reading! My children and I love listening to this series on audio through Canon+)

Trial and Triumph: Stories from Church History by Richard Hannula

Heralds of the Reformation: Thirty Biographies of Sheer Grace by Richard Hannula

Radiant: Fifty Remarkable Women in Church History by Richard Hannula

For Christ’s Crown: Sketches of Puritans and Covenanters by Richard Hannula

3. Science/Nature Study

• Fabre’s Book of Insects by Jean-Henri Fabre
• Small Wonders: Jean-Henri Fabre and His World of Insects by Matthew Clark Smith
• Minn of the Mississippi by Holling Clancing Holling
• Pagoo by Holling Clancing Holling
• Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas by Cheryl Bardoe
• The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
• The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton W. Burgess
• The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon by Jacqueline Davies
• The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman
• The Ocean of Truth: The Story of Sir Isaac Newton by Joyce McPherson
• Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Seton-Thompson
• Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer

4. Math

• Sir Cumference Series by Cindy Neushwander
• The Boy Who Loved Math by Deborah Heiligman
• Bedtime Math series by Laura Overdeck
• Anno’s Magic Seeds by Mitsumasa Anno
• Anno’s Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Mitsumasa Anno

5. Geography

All of the following books of Holling C. Holling are worth adding to your home library. They teach geography in such an engaging and memorable way.

• Paddle to the Sea
• Minn of the Mississippi
• Seabird
• Tree in the Trail

Anno’s China by Mitsumasa Anno

Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska

Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf

6. Literature/Mythology/Poetry

• Gilgamesh the King (The Gilgamesh Trilogy) Retold by Ludmila Zeman
• The Revenge of Ishtar Retold by Ludmila Zeman
• The Last Quest of Gilgamesh Retold by Ludmila Zeman
• D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths
• D’Aulaire’s Book of Norse Myths
• D’Aulaire’s Book of Norwegian Folktales
• Tales from The Odyssey Part 1 by Mary Pope Osborne
• Tales from The Odyssey Part 2 by Mary Pope Osborne
• Classic Starts: The Iliad (All of the books in the Classic Starts series are worth reading and owning. My children have read many of them in their elementary years and loved them. They are a great way to introduce the classics so they are ready to read the originals later on.)
• The Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Little Pilgrim’s Progress by Helen L. Taylor
• Billy and Blaze Collection by C.W. Anderson
• Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
• Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
• The Complete Grimms’ Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm
• The Random House Book of Poetry for Children by Jack Prelutsky (illustrated by the great Arnold Lobel)
• The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children’s Poems edited by Donald Hall
• The Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical Curriculum by Laura M. Berquist

I hope you have found this list to be helpful! These have been staples in our homeschool and I know you’ll love having them in your homeschool library as well.

Need to add books to your library for your kindergartener? Check out my list of the best living books for kindergarten right here.