Thread: Secular Book List???

Hello peeps!!

Just wondering if there was any interest in us starting a forum for a list of great secular (only) reading books?? We have been looking for lists all over the place and can't seem to find any that are ONLY secular with reviews from people who have read them. It would be a place where we ALL list books and comments about the book (maybe age level, and if your kiddo or you liked it?) So it would work that once you read a book then you could post about it and we can go from there.

So what do you think??? They can be any book classic, popular or ones you just stumbled across!

We're talking about children's books? It seems so unnecessary. The vast majority of children's books are secular in nature. The vast majority of "recommended" books for kids are secular in nature. Ones that aren't are usually learning experiences, featuring characters of all kinds of religions and not being evangelical in nature. Or they're from Christian specific presses and obviously evangelical but really easy to avoid because you can't buy those books in most regular bookstores by accident. Also, there's way too much out there to easily compile such a list. It would be, I suppose, easy enough to annotate other lists (Newbery, Caldecott, Printz, Geisel award winners, FIAR booklists, Sonlight lists, etc.) for what religious content they have, but to make one's own list... that's just way too much. There are thousands upon thousands of quality titles out there.

I would definitely be interested, as long as book included a grade/reading level and some sort of (very short) synopis.


I agree that there are lots of lists out there, but I love to see what folks here prefer and recommend, and having a vague idea of what a book is about saves me having to look up every title on amazon to try to figure out what's in it. I guess I'm thinking.. a book list would just repeat whatever else is already available, but something to highlight extra excellent reads (with some info with the title) would be lovely.

Yes, interested.

I agree with Farrar that it's really not that hard to find secular books since that's what is available most places. It might be interesting to have some book reviews and suggestions based on age or grade level.

i'm also with farrar . . . its usually easy to find book lists . . .except I have found a few gems from recommendations here . . .both from Farrar and from whoever recommended those Georges Adventure books about the universe. i think people would have more fun making it than using it maybe. idk.

Being new to the homeschooling world I would love to find a reading list online that is leveled out by either grade or age. For History I plan on doing mostly reading assignments and have found myself using sites such as Sonlight and then having to research each and every book to make sure it is appropriate for our needs. The task is daunting and exhausting in light of having so much to figure out. Maybe the members here could list books they have used by subject, age, or grade to help with compiling such a list?

I'm so confused and overwhelmed by all the online the reading lists for kids. My son can't possible read them all! So how do I pick? I don't just want the lists, I want the "whys." What's the value? Entertainment is not enough - there are so many books. I remember how the books I read as a child shaped me. I am very interested in reading lists, but I am also interested in the value systems and the messages in the books. Do kids still read Orwell in high school? Some of these books are extremely important IMO because if you haven't read them you won't have the same framework as people who have. So which books are absolutely essential?

I keep coming back to this: It's not enough to avoid indoctrinating my children with religious ideas about science, or to avoid materials that teach history from the perspective of "God's plan." I'm convinced that books are very influential in shaping core values, and that it goes beyond religion. I'd be enthusiastic about reading recommendations that address that.