Publication year 1956
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, The Past, Justice, Power & Greed
Tags Historical Fiction, Medieval
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.
The Sword in the Tree
The Tail of Emily Windsnap
The Tale of Despereaux
The Terrible Two
The Thing Around Your Neck
The Three Musketeers
The Threepenny Opera
The Tin Drum
The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez
Pudd'nhead Wilson
The Trial
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Underneath
The Varieties of Religious Experience
The View From Saturday
The Visit
The War of the End of the World
The War of the Worlds
The Waves
The Way of All Flesh
Publication year 1956
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, The Past, Justice, Power & Greed
Tags Historical Fiction, Medieval
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Memory, Shame & Pride, Childhood & Youth, Fathers, Friendship, Mothers, Self Discovery, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice
Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Children`s Literature, Mythology
Publication year 2003
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Social Class, Friendship, Literature, Family, Fate, Forgiveness, Good & Evil, Grief, Hope
Tags Fairy Tale & Folklore, Fantasy, Animals, Children`s Literature, Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Conflict, Loneliness, Shame & Pride, Perseverance, Revenge, Forgiveness, Teamwork, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Wins & Losses, Family, Appearance & Reality, Animals, Hate & Anger, Childhood & Youth, Education
Tags Action & Adventure, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education
Publication year 2009
Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction
Themes Family, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Immigration
Tags African American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, African Literature, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Relationships, Gender & Feminism
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was published in 2009. Adichie had previously published two novels, making this text her third book and her first short story anthology. Some of the stories had been published previously in publications like The New Yorker and The Iowa Review. The book received praise, situating Adichie as a rising star of Nigerian literature. These short stories deal with problems of political conflict, immigration, artistic integrity, and... Read The Thing Around Your Neck Summary
Publication year 1844
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Loyalty & Betrayal, Teamwork, The Past, Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Revenge
Tags Action & Adventure, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, French Literature, European History, Military & War, Love & Sexuality, World History
The Three Musketeers (1844), by French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas, is a novel that borrows tropes from the swashbuckling genre, historical fiction, and romance to recount the adventures of a group of king’s guard who face off against the machinations of nefarious political factions set on destabilizing the monarchy. It was first published through serialization in 1844 to great popularity. Though set in the mid-1600s, the novel connected with the philosophical underpinnings of the... Read The Three Musketeers Summary
Publication year 1928
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Social Class, Justice, Power & Greed
Tags Comedy & Satire, Classic Fiction, Poverty, Trauma & Abuse
Publication year 1959
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Guilt, Regret, War, Family, Memory
Tags Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Military & War, Trauma & Abuse, German Literature, Classic Fiction
The Tin Drum is a 1959 novel by German author Gunther Grass. In the novel, a man named Oskar tells the story of his life, particularly focusing on his experiences during World War II. The novel employs satire, absurdism, magical realism, and allegory to wrestle with the pain and trauma of life under Nazi rule. The Tin Drum was adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1979 and has been hailed as a landmark in literary... Read The Tin Drum Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Friendship, Coming of Age
Tags Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Action & Adventure, Animals, Magical Realism, Children`s Literature
Publication year 1893
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Social Class, Nature Versus Nurture
Tags Humor, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Satirical Literature, Race & Racism, American Literature
Publication year 1925
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Truth & Lies, Justice, Politics & Government, Guilt
Tags Classic Fiction, Science Fiction, Absurdism, Philosophy, Jewish Literature, German Literature, World History, Philosophy
Book DetailsThe Trial, an unfinished novel by Franz Kafka, was written in the 1910s and published posthumously in 1925. One of Kafka’s most famous works, it is a nightmarish story where the rules of reality are bent and twisted as the protagonist, Josef K., is prosecuted for a crime whose nature is never revealed to him. Literary Movement & Major ThemesWritten at a pivotal moment in European history, The Trial has become one of the... Read The Trial Summary
Publication year 1984
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Literature, Art, Politics & Government, Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Philosophy, Existentialism
The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a novel by Czech author Milan Kundera. Written in 1982, it first appeared in print in its French translation in 1984. It was published in Czechoslovakia in 1986. The novel describes Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring, the 1968 Russian invasion, and its resulting “Normalizace” (Normalization) Period, a time of increased repression and persecution of Czech and Slovak intellectuals. At once a philosophical meditation on duality, an inquiry into the nature of... Read The Unbearable Lightness of Being Summary
Publication year 2008
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Animals, Plants, Family, Beauty
Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Animals, Science & Nature, Children`s Literature
Publication year 1902
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Conflict, Appearance & Reality, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality
Tags World History, Psychology, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Psychology, Science & Nature
The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Nature (1902) by William James is a philosophical examination of how religious revelations function in individuals’ lives and minds. This renowned work applies James’s theoretical framework of pragmatism to the study of the functionality of religion. James utilizes radical empiricism to examine both the subjective and objective experiences of religion. James argues that individual experiences, not major religious institutions, form the spiritual shape of the world. He... Read The Varieties of Religious Experience Summary
Publication year 1996
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Teamwork, Loneliness, Friendship, Animals
Tags Realistic Fiction, Children`s Literature, Disability, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction
The View From Saturday by American author Elaine Lobl Konigsburg was published in 1996 and won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children’s literature in 1997—Konigsburg’s second Newbery Medal. She is one of only six writers to win the award twice (her first was awarded for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in 1968). Prior to becoming a writer of children’s and young adult fiction and publishing over 20 works from... Read The View From Saturday Summary
Publication year 1956
Genre Play, Fiction
Themes Power & Greed, Revenge, Justice, Truth & Lies
Tags Tragedy, Comedy & Satire, German Literature
The Visit, by Swiss author and playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt, premiered in 1956 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich under the German title Der Besuch der alten Dame, or The Visit of the Old Lady. Dürrenmatt’s darkly comic satiric plays are credited with helping revitalize German theatre following World War II. His writing also reveals the influence of German playwright Bertolt Brecht, notably in Dürrenmatt’s use of parables: simple stories using human characters to illustrate a lesson or... Read The Visit Summary
Publication year 1981
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes War, Politics & Government, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Social Class, Nation
Tags Historical Fiction, Latin American Literature, Classic Fiction
Publication year 1898
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Space
Tags Science Fiction, Science & Nature, Victorian Period, Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Classic Fiction
The War of the Worlds is a landmark science fiction novel published in 1897 by English author H. G. Wells. Its nameless narrator provides a firsthand account of the arrival of Martians in the area surrounding London and their subsequent devastation of central England. Vastly outmatched by Martian technology, human civilization is brought entirely to its knees in a matter of days, although the Martians are totally eradicated by terrestrial bacteria before they can expand... Read The War of the Worlds Summary
Publication year 1931
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Coming of Age, Aging
Tags British Literature, World History, Classic Fiction
The Waves by Virginia Woolf was published in 1931. Widely considered to be Woolf’s most experimental work, The Waves is a proponent of themes and techniques of modernism, including stream-of-consciousness narration and the use of leitmotifs. Set in England in the first part of the 20th century, the novel explores the lives of six characters from childhood into adulthood, exploring their unique experiences and the relationships between them. Employing a rotational structure of the six... Read The Waves Summary
Publication year 1903
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Family, Marriage, Death, Education, Coming of Age
Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, Victorian Period, British Literature, Music, World History, Victorian Era