First up, let me just say this: this is not an exclusive list of great books for farm kids. I'm sure there are a thousand others. This is the list that we've built over the years of classics and personal favorites that we enjoy sharing with our own little farm kids.
Second up, let me just say this too: I'm probably not the best homeschool parent for anyone to try and copy. I'm Charlotte Mason-esque, lifestyle focused, life skill focused, nature focused, and character focused. I'm not into worksheets. I don't have a classroom set up at the house. I don't know what grades my kids are in. I just do what I do and that's what I'm sharing. For what it's worth.
We are an incredibly book centered family. Much of our home education revolves around reading, exploring, and discussing good literature. Turns out, a lot of what we try to teach them in various subjects (ex: history, geography, etc.) they can easily pick up through stories. Therefore, a lot of subject matter isn't forced but rather absorbed through the telling of a tale.
I hear parents say all the time: I can't teach my kid ‘all the things' because I don't know ‘all the things'. Here's a tip: No one does. Go to books that do!
As kids go, they love to read stories about things they can identify with. We've read through this list by utilizing Audible (one of my very favorite homeschooling tools), reading out-loud as a family, or having the older kids read on their own (even if they can't “read” yet, they spend lots of time looking).
Great Books for Farm Kids
My Side of The Mountain, On The Far Side of the Mountain, Frightful's Mountain
The Secret Garden (the one illustrated by Tasha Tudor, of course)
After reading, we often practice “Written Narrations” or “Oral Narrations”. These are fancy words for the children being given an opportunity to share what it is we just heard or read. The older children will write down what happened in the story (Georgia in cursive), we correct spelling, and they rewrite it correctly. Other times, we just ask them to verbally tell us what happened in the story.
With practice, they can get really great at retention and they start to listen to the story with different ears knowing they'll be asked to retell it. We don't do this every time we read, but we do it intentionally with certain stories and at certain times of day. The fables are great for the really young children because they're often short and memorable.
I love hearing their little voices retell an age-old story.
Currently, we're reading up on fairies and dragons. There may even be a salami-baited dragon snare somewhere up in our oak tree. A certain six year old is quite excited at the prospect of capturing a real one.
I'm ever thankful for the world that books create in their mind.
Also, I tell my kids dragons are real. Because they are.
Over and out.
Laura Ayars
great thoughts and great books. it’s so sad that these titles are the ones I’m finding at library book sales, so that more room can be made for vampire stories. My kids LOVE all these books. Some others we love are Understood Betsy, Narnia, Bound for Oregon, the Sign of the Beaver, and I want to read Little Britches too.
Season
Oh Understood Betsy is one of my faves!! I’ve cried both times I’ve read it to my kids.
Judy Willetts
I’m 78 and if I could do life over again I would have loved to give these experiences to my children. I enjoy your sharing. Makes me happy. God bless you all.
meg
Look for SUMMER OF THE MONKEYS also by Wilson Rawls who wrote WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. This story also takes place in the Ozark mtns. It doesn’t have the sad ending like RED FERN, but just as sweet, adventuresome and funny. It’s a hoot to read aloud. Great life lessons taught too. 🙂
Kayla
Great book list! Many of these are our favourite books! All of our pigs are named after Charlottes Web characters, and I like to pretend I’m Ma Ingalls 😜
Audie
Another one that is great for farm kids is McBroom’s Wonderful One Acre Farm. It cracks me up! It is not on the same quality of literature as the ones that you have listed, but it isn’t bad writing either. We read it again recently after reading the Long Winter when I just needed something a bit more light and fun. And it provides some good laughs out in the garden when planting seeds.
Sherri
I was a home school parent and the local school storyteller, and the “The Book Aunt” of dozens of nieces and nephews. We are a family of voracious readers, something I do not regret now they are grown as this quality has never left them.
A few of our favorites from when they were young are;
Owl Moon
Rascal
The Boxcar Children (series)
Gentle Ben
A Bear in the Orchard
A doll house in the Garden (ghost)
Heckedy Peg
A promise is a promise
Mortimer!
All Things Great and Small
So many more
Enjoy!
Emma
I love all of Tasha Tudor books! Her illustrations are so beautiful! Thornton Burgess books, Howard R. Garis books, Little Britches & Man of the Family, Caddie Woodlawn, Snip Snap Snur books, Flicka Ricka Dicka books, James Harriot Treasury for Children, Brambley Hedge by Jill Barklem, Billy & Blaze by C.W. Anderson, The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, Heart Strings & Tail-Tuggers by Penny Porter are some of our favorites.
If you love Charlotte Mason style of learning look into Well-Educated Heart, so many resources have been pulled together by Marlene Peterson.
https://www.welleducatedheart.com/
Dave
Your post brought me back to my childhood and young adulthood. Books were a big part of it. I would include a selection of books whose main characters would be good role models. My main interest as a boy was aviation, and books by Ernest K Gann and Richard Bach served that purpose. Those books also helped me develop self-esteem.
Migita
I have read all of those titles except for “Harris and Me”, so I will look into that one. I would like to offer a recommendation for your list: “Caddie Woodlawn” by Carol Brink. It is such a splendid book. Laura Ingles and Caddie would completely be best friends if ever their worlds met.
Julie
The “Redwall” series is an awesome collection of books to read with your children. My husband and I are in our 30’s and still enjoy reading them aloud to each other!
Rose
Hi Shaye,
My librarian father recently mentioned an online bookstore like Amazon/Audible called Scribed. It’s absolutely amazing. We signed up for a free trial and will keep up our membership. There is so much treasure there for children in the audio book section, let alone the book section. It’s more affordable than Audible and the selection is beautiful. Please have a look.
Thank you for your lovely blog. I have followed for nine years since my eldest daughter was a baby.
Robin
Glad the Potter series was omitted! I remember my Mum reading The Water Babies to us as we huddled in a tiny green tent waiting for the rain to stop but not minding that it didn’t! That was in a field outside of Harlech North Wales . The land of Dragons!
Heather
“A Wrinkle in Time” and its companion books are well written and interesting. They would go on the bookshelf next to the Narnia books and The Hobbit. “A Little Princess” is one of our favorites and “All the Places to Love” by Patricia McLaughlin might be our top pick!
Erinn
I’m a farm kid, your missing out on Hank the cow dog series, and my all time favorite: James Herriot All Creatures Great and Small series!! Good list though, I’ve read most of those too.
Sarah
Dragons = Dinosaurs :). Lots of evidence for it actually and a few good books… “Dire Dragons” and “Guide to Dinosaurs” are good.