Anders's Homeschool Curriculum Reading List: 5 and Under

I keep this list partly for Anders's records and party for curious readers, but mainly because I hope it can serve as a helpful tool for other parents who struggle to find philosophically-sound material to share with their kids.

I also want to draw attention to the fact that a book is a conversation. The quality of our thinking (and the thinking of our children) will be directly related to the quality of the conversations in which we/they partake. If we value high quality, rational thinking, what we read to our children (and what we read ourselves) should be chosen with great care and attention.

I did not read any non-reality oriented books featuring anthropomorphic animals/plants/objects to my son until he was very clear about reality, around age 4. I highly recommend this practice. (Note that I did not try to overly control this--if we were at a friend's house or a library and Anders became very interested in a certain book and asked me to read it, then I would, and we would talk about it.)

At our house we talk a lot about health. We eat healthy food before we eat junk food and try to keep a good ratio of healthy to junky. Watching television is similar--we do watch television, but we know it isn't good for our brains, so we do brain exercises (workbooks) before we watch television. Just like with food as well, we also try to pick the Less Bad (documentaries) over the High Fructose Corn Syrup (cartoons). Anders never watched cartoons at all until he was 4 1/2 and expressed an interest after seeing them at a friend's house. Now on each full moon we watch a cartoon movie. (I show Anders 3 trailers, he picks.) Thus far, Anders has said he liked the cartoon movies, but hasn't cared about them very much, and they have not become big parts of his life. Neither has TV. He does love his documentaries, but most days we don't watch it.

These are not rules that we follow blindly at all times, but our general customs, so that we feel good.

Books in red are the best.

Books in blue I highly recommend.

Books in light blue I recommend.

Books in black were good enough to make it into my son's library.

Book in gray I did read to Anders but did not like or do not recommend.
*I have reviewed many of these books on Goodreads.com, click here to read my reviews.

Aesop: Aesop's Fables
Alcott, Louisa May: Little Men
Allen JP and Marci Winters: Giraffe Juice: The Magic of Making Life Wonderful
Andry, Andrew C. and Steven Schepp: How Babies are Made

Bauer, John (illustrated by): Swedish Folk Tales

Baum, L. Frank: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Barton, Byron: The Little Red Hen

Bennet, Grace Irene: Diddle Daddle Duckling
Berger, Melvin: Switch on, Switch Off
Berger, Melvin: Spinning Spiders

Beskow, Elsa: Pelle's New Suit

Bishop, Gavin: The Three Little Pigs

Blake, Robert: Togo

Blaisdell, Bob: Favorite Greek Myths

Boyack, Connor: The Tuttle Twins and the Creature from Jekyll Island

Boyack, Connor: The Tuttle Twins and the Food Truck Fiasco

Boyack, Connor: The Tuttle Twins and the Miraculous Pencil

Boyack, Connor: The Tuttle Twins Learn About the Law

Boyack, Connor: The Tuttle Twins and the Road to Surfdom
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker: Energy Makes Things Happen
Branley, Franklyn M.: Day Light, Night Light 

Branley, Franklyn M.: Down Comes the Rain
Branley, Franklyn M.: Earthquakes

Branley, Franklyn M.: Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll  

Branley, Franklyn M.: Gravity is a Mystery
Branley, Franklyn M.: Sunshine Makes the Seasons
Branley, Franklyn M.: The Moon Seems to Change
Branley, Franklyn M.: Volcanoes
Branley, Franklyn M.: What Makes Day and Night 
Brett, Jan: The 3 Little Dassies

Breslin, Theresa: An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales
Buckley, James Jr.: Who Was Milton Hershey?
Burgan, Michael: Who Is Richard Branson?

Burnett, Frances Hodgson: A Little Princess

Burnett, Frances Hodgson: The Secret Garden

Burns, Marilyn: Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!
Burns, Marilyn: The Greedy Triangle

Church, Lisa: Ballet Stories
Craig-Gaddis, Lora: Elsie & Pooka Stories of the Sabbats and Seasons: Yule & Imbolc
Cressy, Can You Find It

Crowther, Ruth: Manly Manners

D'Aulaire, Ingri:  D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
D'Aulaire, Ingri: D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
D'Aulaire, Ingri: Children of the Northlights

D'Aulaire, Ingri: Leif the Lucky

Dahl, Roald: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Dahle, Borge: Smajutuls in the Winter Mountain
Demuth, Patricia Brennan: Who Was Bill Gates
Dewan, Ted: Crispin and the 3 Little Piglets

Dorros, Atrhur: Ant Cities
Dorros, Atrhur: Feel the Wind

Downard, Barry: The Little Red Hen

Duke, Kate: Archaeologists Dig for Clues

Duvoisin, Roger: Petunia

Drummond, Ree: Charlie the Ranch Dog

Emberly, Ed: Make a World
Espeland, Pamela: Dude, That's Rude!
Evert, Lori: The Christmas Wish

Forest, Heather: The Little Red Hen

Galdone, Paul: The Little Red Hen

Gay, Marie-Louise: Three Little Pigs

Geist, Ken: The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark

George, Jean Craighead: Everglades
Gipson, Fred: Old Yeller

Grim, The Brothers: Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

Grahame, Kenneth: The Wind in the Willows

Haas, Nicole: Freedom Bee
Heller, Ruth: Animals Born Alive and Well

Heller, Ruth: Chickens Aren't the Only Ones

Heller, Ruth: How to Hide a Butterfly

Heller, Ruth: Plants That Never Ever Bloom

Heller, Ruth: The Reason for a Flower

Hooks, William H.: The Three Little Pigs and the Fox

Hughes, Catherine D. and National Geographic Kids: Little Kids First Big Book of Space

Hughes, Shirley: Bathwater's Hot

Iggulden, Conn: The Dangerous Book for Boys

Jenkins, Emily and G. Brian Karas: Lemonade in Winter: A Book About Two Kids Counting Money

Kellogg, Steven: The Three Little Pigs

Kellogg, Steven: The Mysterious Tadpole

Ketteman, Helen: The Three Little Gators

Kimmel, Eric A.: The Three Little Tamales

Kimmel, Eric A: The Hero Beowulf

Kipling, Rudyard: Just So Stories
Kipling, Rudyard: The Jungle Book
Kiyosaki, Robert: Escape the Rat Race: Learn How Money Works and Become a Rich Kid
Krimms, Simon: Rollerdog
Kunhardt, Edith: Pompeii: Buried Alive!

Laird, Donivee: The Three Little Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark

Langley, Andrew: You Wouldn't Want to be a Viking Explorer

Lauber, Patricia: Be a Friend to Trees

Lenski, Lois: The Little Train

Lewis, C.S.: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Lindman, Maj: Flicka, Ricka, Dicka Go To Market

London, Jack: Call of the Wild

Love, Sandrine and Mohammad Naser, The Adventures of Andrew Price

Lowell, Susan: The Three Little Javelinas

Lunge-Larson, Lise: The Troll With No Heart in His Body and Other Tales of Trolls from Norway

Macaulay, David: Jet Plane: How It Works

Maestro, Marco and Giulio Maestro, What Do You Hear When Cows Sing?

Marshall, James: The Three Little Pigs

Macaulay, David: Castle

Macaulay, David: Castle: How It Works
Macaulay, David: City
Macaulay, David: How Machines Work

Macaulay, David: Mill

Macaulay, David: Pyramid

MacKenzie, Donald A.: Scottish Fairy Tales

MacLachlan, Patricia: Sarah, Plain and Tall

McFadden: Deanna: Robinson Crusoe

McNamara, Margaret: The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot

McQueen, Lucinda: The Little Red Hen

McPhail, David: The Party
Messner, Kate and Christopher Silas Neal: Over and Under the Snow

Miles, Betty: The Three Little Pigs

Milne, A.A.: Winnie-the-Pooh

Milne, A.A.: The House At Pooh Corner

Moeller, Joy and Samantha Weaver: Tucker the Tongue Finds His Spot

Montgomery, Lucy Maud: Anne of Green Gables
Moser, Barry The Three Little Pigs

Mura, David: Tools

Murawski, Darlyne and National Geographic Kids: Ultimate Bug-opedia

Nesbo, Jo: Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder

Olmstead, Kathleen: Oliver Twist
Orwell, George: Animal Farm

Parish, Peggy: Amelia Bedelia Helps Out

Pichon, Liz: The Three Horrid Little Pigs

Pinkney, Jerry: The Little Red Hen

Pollack, Pam and Meg Belviso: Who Was Steve Jobs

Professor, Baby: Alexander the Great

Rawls, Wilson: Where the Red Fern Grows
Reiser, Lynn: Margaret and Margarita

Rex, Michael: My Fire Engine

Roberts, Tom: The Three Little Pigs

Ross, Dev: The Three Little Pigs

Rounds, Glen: Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf

Rubin, Vicky: The Three Swingin' Pigs

Rylant, Cynthia: Henry and Mudge

Salinas, Bobbi: The Three Little Pigs

Sciff, Irwin: How an Economy Grows and Why It Doesn't
Schwartz, Corey: The Three Ninja Pigs

Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman: Nate the Great

Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman: Nate the Great Goes Undercover

Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman: Nate the Great and the Lost List

Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman: Nate the Great and the Phony Clue

Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman: Nate the Great and the Sticky Case

Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman:  Nate the Great and the Missing Key

Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman:  Nate the Great and the Snowy Trail
Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman:  Nate the Great and the Musical Note
Sharmat, Marjaroie Weinman:  Nate the Great and the Halloween Hunt

Showers, Paul: Hear Your Heart
Sidney, Margaret: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

Sloane, Eric: A Reverence for Wood
Sloane, Eric: Diary of an Early American Boy
Sloane, Eric: Do's and Don's of Yesteryear: A Treasury of Early American Folk Wisdom
Smith, Patrick: Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers...
Smith, Philip: Irish Fairy Tales
Sobol, Donald J: Encyclopedia Brown
Sobol, Donald J: Encyclopedia Brown Carries On
Sobol, Donald J: Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case
Sobol, Donald J: Encyclopedia Brown Saves the Day
Sobol, Donald J: Encyclopedia Brown, Super Sleuth

Speedy Publishing: Fastest Animals of the World

Standiford, Natalie: The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto

Stevenson, James: Could Be Worse!
Snorri, Sturluson: The Prose Edda
Sutcliff, Rosemary: Black Ships Before Troy
Sutcliff, Rosemary: The Wanderings of Odysseus

Tait, Chris: Treasure Island

Teague, Mark: The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf

Titus, Eve: Anatole

Twain, Mark: The Prince and the Pauper

Viorst, Judith: Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

Weisner, David: The Three Pigs

Wilder, Laura Ingles: A Little House Traveler: Writings from Laura Ingalls Wilder's Journeys Across America

Wilder, Laura Ingles: Little House in the Big Woods
Wilder, Laura Ingles: Little House on the Prarie

Wilder, Laura Ingles: On the Banks of Plum Creek
Wilder, Laura Ingles: By The Shores of Silver Lake
Wilder, Laura Ingles: The Long Winter
Wilder, Laura Ingles: Little Town on the Prarie
Wilder, Laura Ingles: These Happy Golden Years
Wilder, Laura Ingles: The First Four Years

Wilder, Laura Ingles: Farmer Boy

Wilkes, Maria D.: Little House in Brookfield

Winterberg, Phillipp: Am I small? Soy Pequena?

Wright, Thomas: The Fisherman's Catch

Wyss, Johann: The Swiss Family Robinson

Zamorsky, Tania: Pinocchio
Zamorsky, Tania: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

Zemach, Margot: The Three Little Pigs

Ziefert, Harriet: The Three Little Pigs

WORKBOOKS/LEARNING BOOKS

BOB Books for learning to read
Kumon Workbook Series 
Kumon Thinking Skills Workbook Series

APS

Audubon Guides

Brain Strain

Montessori Counting Board by GrashopperAps 

Montessori Matching by GrashopperAps

Montessori Numbers by L'Escapadou
Montessori Writing Wizard by L'Escapadou
Montessori Crosswords by L'Escapadou

YouTube

Ted Ed
WranglerStar YouTube Show--wonderful values to impart along with his homesteading tutorials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFlnlGx0B5U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yda8RtOcVFU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV9x79_WYbk
Anders has also watched many YouTube videos his father about water systems, plumbing, and composting.
Anders has watched many YouTube videos with me about nutrition, Iceland, vikings, and castles.

TELEVISION
Animal Planet: Insane Pools 

BBC: Dinosaur Planet
BBC: Walking With Dinosaurs
Discovery: Man, Woman, Wild (episodes about Central America)
Discovery: Naked and Afraid (The Jungle Curse, and other episodes about Central America)
Discovery: When We Left Earth (Project Mercury)
HGTV - Building Hawaii
HGTV - House Hunters: Off The Grid
History: Specials (The Real Story of Thanksgiving, Secret Access: Airforce One,  The White House: Behind Closed Doors, Weird Warfare, Scammed, 101 Inventions That Changed the World, What People Earn: Beer, Knives, Football; What People Earn: Baseball Bats & Cowboy Hats, History's Most Extreme Airports, Weapons That Changed the World, Invisible)
National Geographic: Creatures of the Deep Collection (episodes on topics he was interested in)
National Geographic: Explorer (Secret History of Gold, Lost Cities of the Amazon, T.Rex Walks Again)
National Geographic: Kids Really Wild Animals (Animal Builders)
National Geographic: Known Universe: Construction Zone
National Geographic: Live Free or Die
National Geographic: Most Amazing (episodes on topics he was interested in)
National Geographic: Specials (episodes on topics he was interested in)
National Geographic: Survive the Tribe (episode about the rain forest)
National Geographic: Taboo (episode about cock fighting)
National Geographic: Wild (Eternal Enemies, episodes on topics he was interested in)

PBS: First Peoples: Europe
PBS: Inside Animal Minds (episodes on topics he was interested in)
PBS: Nature (episodes on topics he was interested in)
PBS: Nova (Vikings Unearthed)
PBS: The Mind of a Chef (episodes about Faviken)
Travel: Hotel Amazon
Unknown Network DVD Set: On Duty Firefighters

MOVIES - DOCUMENTARIES

A Cow's Life 
Bears by DisneyNature
An Original Duckumentary 
Babies
Fabulous Frogs 
I Am In Space (Anders didn't like this one)
IMAX Hubble
King Corn: You Are What You Eat
Little Hard Hats: Farm Country Ahead
Little Hard Hats: Fire & Rescue
Little Hard Hats: House Construction Ahead
Little Hard Hats: Road Construction Ahead
Little Hard Hats: Where the Garbage Goes

March of the Penguins

More Than Honey
Oceans by DisneyNature
The Crimson Wing by DisneyNature
Turtle: The Incredible Journey

MOVIES - FICTION

Anne of Green Gables
Balto
Ratatouille
Sleeping Beauty 

The Peanuts Movie
Winnie-the-Pooh

WallE
Zootopia

*We watch fiction movies on full moons. We watch them once, not over and over.

FIELD TRIPS

Autry Museum of the American West

J. Paul Getty Museum of Art

Los Angeles Zoo

Los Angeles Auto Show

Peterson Automotive Museum

*Going to work with Papa

*Visiting the workplaces of various family friends