Publication year 2019
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Family, Mothers, Shame & Pride, Hope, Gratitude, Hate & Anger
Tags Realistic Fiction, Poverty, Trauma & Abuse, Children`s Literature, Biography
School Book List Titles
Browse a Collection of texts frequently assigned in literature classrooms, including well-studied classics and contemporary literature. Representitive of the breadth of the literary tradition, the School Book List Titles Collection features texts for readers of all age levels, from children's literature to plays and novels centered on adult themes.
Free Lunch
From Blossoms
From the Desk of Zoe Washington
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Full of Beans
Fuzzy Mud
Gargantua And Pantagruel
George's Marvelous Medicine
Ghost
Ghost Squad
Girl in the Blue Coat
Glitch
Good Country People
Good Different
Granted
Gravity's Rainbow
Grendel
Gulliver's Travels
Guts
Hands
Publication year 2019
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Family, Mothers, Shame & Pride, Hope, Gratitude, Hate & Anger
Tags Realistic Fiction, Poverty, Trauma & Abuse, Children`s Literature, Biography
Publication year 1986
Genre Poem, Fiction
Themes Environment, Love, Nostalgia, Family, Perseverance
Tags Lyric Poem, American Literature, Food
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1967
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Childhood & Youth, Coming of Age, Siblings, Art
Tags Classic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Education, Education, Realistic Fiction
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a 1967 children’s novel by E. L. Konigsburg. With elements of mystery and adventure, the novel follows two children who run away from home to hide out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they are drawn into a mystery involving a newly acquired sculpture, even as they learn about themselves and the world around them. Praised for its humor and characters, the novel won... Read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Coming of Age, Friendship, Family, Truth & Lies, Guilt, Community
Tags Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, World History, Humor, Historical Fiction, Great Depression
Jennifer L. Holm’s Full of Beans is a 2016 middle-grade historical novel set in 1934. Main character and first-person protagonist Beans Curry is a 10-year-old boy born and raised in Key West, Florida. The Great Depression causes difficulties for the locals of the dilapidated town, including Beans’s family. “New Dealer” Mr. Julius Stone, Jr. arrives with the plan to boost Key West’s failing economy by recreating it as a tourist destination, but Beans decides that... Read Full of Beans Summary
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Environment, Friendship, Community, Fear, Food, Animals, Perseverance, Education, Globalization, Loneliness, Self Discovery, Future, Politics & Government, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Safety & Danger
Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Horror & Suspense, Survival Fiction, Natural Disaster, Science & Nature, Children`s Literature, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Realistic Fiction
In Newbery medalist Louis Sachar’s sci-fi thriller Fuzzy Mud (2015), Tamaya and Marshall cut through the restricted woods behind their school to avoid a bully—but encounter a strange mud that has the potential to destroy nearly all life on Earth. While Marshall struggles with the emotional effects of being bullied, Tamaya develops an unusually aggressive rash from the mud and worries that in protecting Marshall she has gravely injured Chad. Each character faces difficult ethical... Read Fuzzy Mud Summary
Publication year 1564
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Marriage, Self Discovery, Education, Politics & Government
Tags Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire, Fantasy, Humor, French Literature
The Life of Gargantua and Pantagruel is a series of five novels written in French by François Rabelais in the 16th century. The novel-cycle relates the adventures of two giants in hyperbolic, satirical prose. Using humor ranging from slapstick to irony, Rabelais explores serious themes such as the development of education and religious reformation. The books are noted for their colorful, rich literary style, bursting with puns, allusions, and social commentary. An early example of... Read Gargantua And Pantagruel Summary
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Aging, Childhood & Youth, Animals, Family, Mothers, Fathers
Tags Fantasy, Humor, Children`s Literature, Magical Realism, British Literature
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Teamwork, Childhood & Youth, Family
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Sports, Modern Classic Fiction
Ghost is a 2016 novel by American author Jason Reynolds. Reynolds began his writing career as a poet and published his first novel, When I Was the Greatest, in 2014. Reynolds has won several accolades, including a Kirkus Prize, an NAACP Image Award, a Schneider Family Book Award, a Newbery Medal, and a Carnegie Medal. From 2020 to 2022, he was the Library of Congress’s National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and he won the... Read Ghost Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Grandparents
Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, Children`s Literature, Religion & Spirituality
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship
Tags Realistic Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction
Monica Hesse’s 2016 novel Girl in the Blue Coat was the winner of the Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery. Its events take place over two weeks in January 1943 during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. The narrator, Hanneke Bakker, is an 18-year-old girl who lost her boyfriend, Sebastian “Bas” Van de Kamp, two years before the events of the novel. As far as her parents know, Hanneke works as a receptionist for an undertaker... Read Girl in the Blue Coat Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes The Past, Friendship, Teamwork, Good & Evil, Justice, Order & Chaos, Science & Technology
Tags Science Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Children`s Literature, Historical Fiction
Publication year 1955
Genre Short Story, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Good & Evil, Shame & Pride, Mothers, Daughters & Sons, Truth & Lies
Tags Southern Gothic, Education, Education, American Literature, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction
“Good Country People” first appeared in Flannery O’Connor’s short story collection A Good Man is Hard to Find in 1955 and is widely regarded as an exemplary work of Southern Gothic literature. Like many of O’Connor’s works, “Good Country People” contains a critique of the American South and religious hypocrisy rooted in O’Connor’s worldview informed by her Catholic faith. This study guide uses the 1988 Library of America edition of Flannery O’Connor’s Collected Works. The... Read Good Country People Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Disability, Mental Health, Conflict, Perseverance, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Family, Friendship, Community, Justice
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Justice, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed
Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, Children`s Literature, Animals
Publication year 1973
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Truth & Lies, Conflict, Science & Technology
Tags Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, World War II, Satirical Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Military & War, American Literature, Classic Fiction
Gravity’s Rainbow is a 1973 historical satire by American novelist Thomas Pynchon, who is known for complex narratives that are often dense, fragmented, and episodic. The story is set during the last days of World War II as characters search for a mysterious rocket developed by the German military. The novel has been hailed as one of the most important English language works of the 20th century.Pynchon, disinclined to engage with the press or public... Read Gravity's Rainbow Summary
Publication year 1971
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Beauty, Good & Evil, Art, Order & Chaos, Loneliness, Revenge, Hate & Anger
Tags Fantasy, Mythology, Postmodernism, Education, Education, Classic Fiction
John Gardner’s 1971 novel Grendel is a retelling of the story of Beowulf, an Anglo-Saxon epic poem from the 6th century, from the perspective of the villain, the monster Grendel. In Grendel, the monster Grendel is an anti-hero, challenging the conventions of traditionally heroic behavior as he tries to understand the world in which he lives. In 1982, an animated Australian film adaptation of the novel called Grendel Grendel Grendel was released in major cities... Read Grendel Summary
Publication year 1726
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Power & Greed, Politics & Government, Self Discovery, Nation
Tags Satirical Literature, Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Travel Literature
Gulliver’s Travels is a 1726 novel written by Jonathan Swift. It is both an early English novel and a seminal satirical text in British Literature, remaining Swift’s best-known work and spawning many adaptations in both print and film. The targets of Swift’s satire range from political structures in early 18th-century England to the national rivalry between England and France during the same period. Swift also lampoons science and educational trends that lean towards more speculative... Read Gulliver's Travels Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction
Themes Mental Health, Fear, Friendship, Family, Perseverance, Art
Tags Coming of Age, Children`s Literature, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Mental Illness
Guts is the third mid-grade graphic memoir in a trilogy by author/illustrator Raina Telgemeier through which she relates the true story of her childhood. Guts specifically records Raina’s fourth- and fifth-grade years, when she transitioned from nine to 10 years old. During this period, she first experiences gastrointestinal issues, eventually diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Panic attacks accompany the IBS, and the two conditions exacerbate each other, intensifying her distress. Her narrative chronicles how... Read Guts Summary
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Self Discovery, Community, Fathers
Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Sports, Trauma & Abuse, Coming of Age, Children`s Literature