CLASSIC LITERATURE. A classic usually expresses some artistic quality--an expression of life, truth, and beauty.

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1 CLASSIC LITERATURE A classic usually expresses some artistic quality--an expression of life, truth, and beauty. A classic stands the test of time. The work is usually considered to be a representation of the period in which it was written; and the work merits lasting recognition. In other words, if the book was published in the recent past, the work is not a classic. A classic has a certain universal appeal. Great works of literature touch us to our very core beings--partly because they integrate themes that are understood by readers from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of experience. Themes of love, hate, death, life, and faith touch upon some of our most basic emotional responses. A classic makes connections. You can study a classic and discover influences from other writers and other great works of literature. Of course, this is partly related to the universal appeal of a classic. But, the classic also is informed by the history of ideas and literature-- whether unconsciously or specifically worked into the plot of the text. Some examples follow

2 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck A Stranger Came Ashore by Mollie Hunter A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain Amos Fortune, Free Man The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry The Call of the Wild by Jack London The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey Dragonwings by Laurence Yep Enchantress From the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Frankenstein by Mary Shelley The Ghost Belonged To Me by Richard Peck Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien The Horatio Hornblower Series by C.S. Lewis The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo Incident at Hawk's Hill by Allan W. Eckert Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O'Dell Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George Kim by Rudyard Kipling The Last Mission by Harry Mazer The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper Le Morte d'arthur by Sir Thomas Malory The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving Washington The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery Little Women by Louisa May Alcott M.C. Higgins the Great by Virginia Hamilton The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle My Brother Sam Is Dead by James and Christopher Collier My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

3 National Velvet by Enid Bagnold The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Pigman by Paul Zindel The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Poems by Robert Frost The Red Pony by John Steinbeck Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor Shane by Jack Schaefer Story of My Life by Helen Keller To Be a Slave by Julius Lester Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera Cleaver Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls The White Mountains by John Christopher The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

4 1. Classic Literature Reading List for Middle School Students By: LuAnn Schindler Many middle school students enjoy the connection with a young adult novel, but classic literature never goes out of style. Several humanities organizations have established a classic literature reading list that emphasizes the importance of reading timeless books. This list introduces new characters and alien worlds to the middle school set. Several of these books are commonly taught in middle school English classes, so adding them to a summer reading list can give your child an advantage when they come up during the school year. Title Author 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens A Day No Pigs Would Die Robert Newton Peck A Stranger Came Ashore Mollie Hunter A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. LeGuin A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle Across Five Aprils Irene Hunt Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain Amos Fortune, Free Man Elizabeth Yates The Bridge of San Luis Rey Thornton Wilder Call It Courage Armstrong Sperry The Call of the Wild Jack London The Chocolate War Robert Cormier The Count of Monte Cristo Alexander Dumas Daddy Long Legs Jean Webster Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank Dragonsong Anne McCaffrey Dragonwings Laurence Yep Enchantress From the Stars Sylvia Engdahl The Endless Steppe: Growing up in Esther Hautzig Siberia Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Frankenstein Mary Shelley The Ghost Belonged To Me Richard Peck Goodbye, Mr. Chips James Hilton The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien The Horatio Hornblower Series C.S. Forester

5 The Hunchback of Notre Dame Incident at Hawk's Hill Ivanhoe Island of the Blue Dolphin Jacob Have I Loved Johnny Tremain Journey to Topaz Julie of the Wolves Kim The Last Mission The Last of the Mohicans The Legend of Sleepy Hollow The Little Prince Little Women M.C. Higgins the Great The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood My Brother Sam Is Dead My Friend Flicka Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass National Velvet The Outsiders The Pigman The Pilgrim's Progress The Red Pony Rifles for Watie Robinson Crusoe Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Shane Story of My Life To Be a Slave Treasure Island The Upstairs Room War of the Worlds Where the Lilies Bloom Where the Red Fern Grows The White Mountains The Yearling Victor Hugo Allan W. Eckert Sir Walter Scott Scott O'Dell Katherine Paterson Esther Forbes Yoshiko Uchida Jean Craighead George Rudyard Kipling Harry Mazer James Fenimore Cooper Irving Washington Antoine de Saint-Exupery Louisa May Alcott Virginia Hamilton Howard Pyle James and Christopher Collier Mary O'Hara Frederick Douglass Enid Bagnold S.E. Hinton Paul Zindel John Bunyan John Steinbeck Harold Keith Daniel Defoe Mildred D. Taylor Jack Schaefer Helen Keller Julius Lester Robert Louis Stevenson Johanna Reiss H.G. Wells Vera Cleaver Wilson Rawls John Christopher Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

6 2. Older Classics for Children The following titles commonly appear on lists of classic children's literature. Most have been issued in several different editions, offering a range of illustration styles from which to choose. Author Title and Date Alcott, Louisa May Little Women. c1868 Barrie, J.M. Peter Pan. c1904 Baum, L. Frank The Wizard of Oz. c1902 Bond, Michael A Bear Called Paddington. c1958 Brink, Carol Ryrie Caddie Woodlawn. c1935 Burnett, Frances Hodgson The Secret Garden. c1911 Carroll, Lewis Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. c1866 Collodi, Carlo Adventures of Pinocchio. c1833 Defoe, Daniel Robinson Crusoe. c1836 Dickens, Charles A Christmas Carol. c1844 Farley, Walter The Black Stallion. c1941 Forbes, Esther Johnny Tremain. c1943 Frank, Anne The Diary of a Young Girl. c1952 Gannett, Ruth Stiles My Father's Dragon. c1948 Gipson, Fred Old Yeller. c1956 Golding, William Lord of the Flies. c1954 Grahame, Kenneth The Wind in the Willows Kipling, Rudyard The Jungle Book Knight, Eric Lassie Come-Home. c1940 Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. c1950 Lindgren, Astrid Pippi Longstocking. c1945 Milne, A. A. Winnie-the-Pooh. c1926 Montgomery, L. M. Anne of Green Gables. c1908 Norton, Mary The Borrowers. c1953 Pearce, Philippa Tom's Midnight Garden. c1958 Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan The Yearling. c1938 Sewell, Anna Black Beauty Speare, Elizabeth G. The Witch of Blackbird Pond. c1958 Spyri, Johanna Heidi. c1884 Stevenson, Robert Louis Treasure Island. c1884 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit Travers, P. L. Mary Poppins. c1934 Twain, Mark The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. c1876 Verne, Jules Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. c1873 White, E. B. Charlotte's Web. c1952 Wilder, Laura Ingalls Little House in the Big Woods. c1932 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit Travers, P. L. Mary Poppins. c1934

7 Twain, Mark Verne, Jules White, E. B. Wilder, Laura Ingalls The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. c1876 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. c1873 Charlotte's Web. c1952 Little House in the Big Woods. c1932

8 3. Contemporary Classics The following books are highly regarded by children's literature specialists, as well as being popular with children - two qualities that make them likely to stand the test of time. Author Title and Date Adams, Richard Watership Down. c1972 Alexander, Lloyd The Book of Three. c1964 Babbitt, Natalie Tuck Everlasting. c1975 Blume, Judy Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. c1972 Burnford, Sheila The Incredible Journey. c1961 Cleary, Beverly Ramona the Pest. c1968 Cormier, Robert The Chocolate War. c1974 Creech, Sharon Walk Two Moons. c1994 Curtis, Christopher Paul The Watsons Go to Birmingham: c1995 Dahl, Roald Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. c1964 DiCamillo, Kate Because of Winn-Dixie. c2000 Farmer, Nancy A Girl Named Disaster. c1996 Fitzhugh, Louise Harriet the Spy. c1964 Gantos, Jack Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key. c1998 Hamilton, Virginia M.C. Higgins, the Great. c1974 Jacques, Brian Redwall. c1986 Juster, Norton The Phantom Tollbooth. c1961 Konigsburg, E. L. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler LeGuin, Ursula The Wizard of Earthsea. c1968 L'Engle, Madeline A Wrinkle in Time. c1962 Lowry, Lois The Giver. c1982 Lowry, Lois Number the Stars. c1989 MacLachlin, Patricia Sarah, Plain and Tall. c1985 Myers, Walter Dean Scorpions. c1988 North, Sterling Rascal. c1963 Paterson, Katherine Bridge to Terabithia. c1977 Paulsen, Gary Hatchet. c1987 Pierce, Tamora Alanna: The First Adventure. c1983 Rasking, Ellen The Westing Game. c1978 Rawls, Wilson Where the Red Fern Grows. c1961 Rockwell, Thomas How to Eat Fried Worms. c1973 Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer s Stone. c1998 Sachar, Louis Holes. c1998 Soto, Gary Baseball in April, and Other Stories. c1990 Staples, Suzanne Fisher Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind. c1989

9 Taylor, Mildred D. Uchida, Yoshiko Watkins, Yoko Kawashima Yep, Laurence Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. c1976 Journey to Topaz. c1971 So Far From the Bamboo Grove. c1986 Dragonwings. c1975

10 4. Classic Reading Recommended Books Author Title Louisa May Alcott Little Women William Armstrong Sounder Jane Austin Pride and Prejudice Lynne Reid Banks The Indian in the Cupboard Frank Baum The Wizard of Oz Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights Frances Hodgson Burnett The Secret Garden Willa Cather My Ántonia Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales Agatha Christy Murder on the Orient Express Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness Stephen Crane The Red Badge of Courage Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens Great Expectations Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities George Eliot Silas Marner Ralph Ellison Invisible Man F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby Esther Forbes Johnny Tremain Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl William Gibson The Miracle Worker Fred Gipson Old Yeller William Golding Lord of the Flies Kenneth Grahame The Wind in the Willows Bette Greene Summer of My German Soldier John Gunther Death Be Not Proud Alex Haley Roots Thomas Hardy Tess of the D Urbervilles Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter Ernest Hemingway A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway The Old Man and the Sea S. E. Hinton The Outsiders Irene Hunt Across Five Aprils Aldous Huxley Brave New World Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon Rudyard Kipling The Jungle Book (Books I and I) John Knowles A Separate Peace Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird

11 Madeleine L Engle A Wrinkle in Time C. S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Jack London The Call of the Wild Lois Lowry The Giver Patricia MacLachlan Sarah, Plain and Tall Herman Melville Moby-Dick Arthur Miller The Crucible Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman Margaret Mitchell Gone With the Wind L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables Scott O Dell Island of the Blue Dolphins George Orwell 1984 George Orwell Animal Farm Alan Paton Cry, The Beloved Country Robert Newton Peck A Day No Pigs Would Die Wilson Rawls Where the Red Fern Grows Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front Antoine de Saint-Exupéry The Little Prince J. D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye Jack Schaefer Shane William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion Mary Shelley Frankenstein Sophocles Antigone Armstrong Sperry Call It Courage John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck The Pearl John Steinbeck The Red Pony Robert Lewis Stevenson Kidnapped Robert Lewis Stevenson Treasure Island Jonathan Swift Gulliver s Travels J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Jules Verne 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Alice Walker The Color Purple Edith Wharton Ethan Frome E. B. White Charlotte s Web Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie Thornton Wilder Our Town Richard Wright Black Boy Richard Wright Native Son Johann David Wyss The Swiss Family Robinson Paul Zindel The Pigman

12 Additional Lists of Classics. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain Andersonville MacKinlay Kantor The Black Arrow Robert Louis Stevenson Black Beauty Anna Sewell The Call of the Wild Jack London A Day No Pigs Would Die Robert Newton Peck Dracula Bram Stoker Lord of the Rings (Series) J.R.R. Tolkien Frankenstein Mary Shelley Good-Bye Mr. Chips James Hilton The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo Ivanhoe Sir Walter Scott Jane Austen, Her Complete Novels Jane Austen The Last of the Mohicans James Fenimore Cooper Little Women Louisa May Alcott Lord of the Flies William Golding The Moffats Eleanor Estes Mutiny on the Bounty Charles Nordhoff The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway Oliver Twist Charles Dickens Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne The Sea Wolf Jack London A Separate Peace John Knowles To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith White Fang Jack London Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte

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