Best Books By Grade Level: Reading Recommendations For All Ages And Abilities

It is impossible to overstate the benefits of reading in your child’s development. Learning to read and fostering an ongoing reading practice is essential to learning for all ages.

Reading not only opens the doors to knowledge and imagination, but also serves as a cornerstone for academic success and personal growth.

Click here for Master Books' Recommended Book List for Reading Practice

One of the best ways to foster a lifelong love of reading is to encourage your child to learn to read with more and more ownership and independence. 

Take a look at just a few of the significant benefits of guided independent reading:

1. Building Confidence: One of the most significant benefits of independent reading is the boost it gives to a child's confidence. When children are provided with books that match their reading level, they experience success in understanding and engaging with the material. This success instills a sense of accomplishment, motivating them to explore more books and challenging texts as they progress.
2. Cultivating a Love for Reading: Reading books catered to a child's ability ensures that they find the experience enjoyable rather than frustrating. By selecting books that align with their interests and comprehension level, children are more likely to develop a passion for reading.
   
   
   Encourage students to track (and rate!) the books they read with this book review printable. 
   
   
3. Enhancing Comprehension Skills: Independent reading allows children to practice comprehension skills at their own pace. When children read books suited to their ability, they are better able to focus on understanding the content rather than struggling with decoding unfamiliar words or complex sentence structures.
4. Encouraging Autonomy and Responsibility: Providing children with the opportunity to choose their own books empowers them to take ownership of their reading journey. By selecting books that interest them and match their abilities, children learn to make independent decisions and develop a sense of responsibility for their learning. This autonomy fosters a positive attitude towards reading and promotes self-directed learning habits that extend beyond the realm of literature.
5. Supporting Individualized Learning: Every child is unique, with distinct strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. Tailoring independent reading experiences to a child's ability allows for personalized learning opportunities. Whether a child is a reluctant reader who needs extra encouragement, or an advanced reader hungry for more challenging material, providing access to books that cater to their individual needs ensures that they have the enrichment necessary for their growth and development.

As you encourage your child to read more independently, it’s important to recognize that not all children will progress at the same rate when it comes to reading ability. Tailoring independent reading experiences to match a child's skill level is paramount in fostering a love for literature and facilitating their overall learning development.  

Guiding your child’s independent reading based on their ability is essential for their intellectual, emotional, and academic development. By offering children books that match their reading level, interests, and comprehension skills, we empower them to become confident, lifelong readers who derive joy and fulfillment from the written word. 

We have compiled the following list of our favorite books for kids, by grade level, to help you support your child’s growing independent reading practice. However, please note, it is far more important to choose a book that best suits your child’s interests and abilities, than to worry about the grade level itself. 

We have compiled the following list of our favorite books for kids, by grade level, to help you support your child’s growing independent reading practice. However, please note, it is far more important to choose a book that best suits your child’s interests and abilities, than to worry about the grade level itself. 

This list is a great place to start as you look for ideas to customize your child’s reading practice. We encourage you to feel free to pick and choose what works best for your child, no matter what the designated grade level!

The books in each group are listed alphabetically, not according to the reading level.

Board books are a childhood staple and an important first step in learning to read. These board books are our top picks for the younger years.

• A is for Adam
• D is for Dinosaur
• N is for Noah
• All God's Children
• Inside Noah's Ark 4 Kids
• My Creation Bible
• Remarkable Rescue
• The Very Best Plan
• When You See A Rainbow
• When you See A Star
• When you See A Cloud

As children begin to learn to read, finding books to help them practice independent reading can be a challenge. Not to worry! This list is age-appropriate and well-suited to a child in the initial stages of learning to read. 

• 44 Animals of the Bible
• Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers (series)
• Charlie & Trike in the Grand Canyon Adventure
• The Creation Story for Children
• Dinosaurs: Stars of the Show
• The Door of Salvation
• A True Story About Jesus (13 Book Pack)
• God is Really, Really Real
• Not Too Small at All
• The True Account of Adam & Eve
• The True Story of Noah's Ark
• Whale of a Story
• When Dragons' Hearts were Good
• The Work of Your Hand
• The Big Book
• The Tiny Book
• Westley, the Big Truck
• Bombus the Bumblebee
• Bombus Finds a Friend

As a child grows in their reading ability, finding compelling, language-rich books becomes essential to their learning. These books are ideal for children in the late elementary years.

• America's War Heroes
• Inventors & Scientists
• Extraordinary Animal Heroes
• America's Famous Spies
• Heroes of the War from Independence
• Famous Women in History
• Famous Pioneers & Frontiersmen
• Amazing American Presidents
• Famous American Statesmen
• Answers for Kids, Vol. 1-8
• Dinosaurs by Design
• Dinosaurs for Kids
• Dinosaurs of Eden
• Dry Bones and Other Fossils
• God's Amazing Creatures and Me
• How Many Animals Were on the Ark?
• Inside Noah's Ark - Why it Worked
• Life in the Great Ice Age
• Marvels of Creation - Birds
• Marvels of Creation - Mammals
• Marvels of Creation - Sea Creatures
• Men of Science, Men of God
• Noah's Ark and the Ararat Adventure
• Noah's Ark: Thinking Outside the Box
• The Story of In God We Trust
• The Story of The Pledge of Allegiance
• Why Is Keiko Sick?

The middle school years bring new challenges and opportunities for growing learners. These books have been carefully selected to meet the needs of tweens and teens as they move into more adult thinking and learning. 

• God's Story
• The 10 Minute Bible Journey
• The Building of the ARK Encounter
• Champions of Mathematics
• Dragons of the Deep
• Footprints in the Ash
• The Great Alaskan Dinosaur Adventure
• Great for God
• If Animals Could Talk
• Life Before Birth
• Quick Answers to Tough Questions
• Uncovering the Mysteries of the Woolly Mammoth
• Quick Answers to Social Issues

Independent reading is necessary for learning in the high school years. It is also an opportunity for your high school learner to flourish as they establish their own personal reading habits. The following books are a compelling mix of both for the high school years.

• Life of Series (John Newton, John Knox, Washington, Luther, Sir Isaac Newton, Andrew Jackson)
• Advice for Seekers
• Fruits of Solitude
• A Good and Faithful Servant
• The Ultimate Proof of Creation
• Answers Book for Teens Vol. 1 & 2
• G.I. Joe & Lillie
• Unveiling the Kings of Israel
• The Summit
• Questions God Asks
• Questions Jesus Asks
• Gifted Mind
• Jesus Unmasked
• Created and Called
• The Priority of Making Disciples
• Dinah Harris Mystery Series
• The Remnant Trilogy

While it is important to foster your child’s ability to read independently, reading together as a family also has a special place in a child’s learning and development. Studies have shown the following benefits of reading aloud to children of all ages:

• Stress reduction—it is relaxing to listen and become absorbed in the story!
• Better comprehension—a child is more likely to understand and better follow the storyline, character development, and overall theme when a story is read aloud.
• Increased fluency—learning pronunciation and intonations, pausing, and creating emphasis is easier when a child is accustomed to listening to books read aloud.
• Improved memory—following a story with all it’s characters and plot twists strengthens working memory
• Vocabulary improvement—listening to language is one of the best ways for a child to learn new and more advanced vocabulary words and their use

Taking the time to read together is another essential ingredient in creating a captivating learning environment. 

Many families find a morning basket to be an excellent way to foster reading and learning together. 

Essentially, a morning basket is a collection of books or other activities that a family uses to begin their learning together each day. Families find that having the shared books all in one place, and reading them at a designated time together each day, helps ensure reading happens each day in a way that is meaningful and cultivates family relationships. 

We have put together the following collections, perfect for your family’s morning basket. 

• Family Morning Basket
• Heart For God Morning Basket
• Faith Grower Morning Basket
• Elementary Morning Basket
• High School Morning Basket

Whether you are looking to foster your child’s ability to read independently or develop a family habit of reading together, Master Books is uniquely designed to help. We offer a variety of options for an educational journey that combines faith, practicality, and flexibility while cultivating a lifelong love of learning in your children.