Our 8th Grade Reading List

While McKenna is excited to start earning a few high school credits, she is also a little nervous because one of her credits focuses on literature this year. She enjoys reading, but the different types of papers she will be writing this year scare her a little bit. Many of the books on this list are similar to ones we have used in years past with Laurianna because they go along with the guide Introduction to Literature by Janice Campbell. McKenna will be reading one book a month for our literature class and writing three papers based on each book or short story. For writing reference, she will be using the book Excellence in Literature – Handbook for Writers. If you’d like to take a look at all of our 8th grade homeschool curriculum picks, you can do so here. 

We have added in a few additional books for her to read since they go along with the era of history we are studying (American History), and there are a few we’d like her to read before seeing some movies! Her typical pace is one book per month for the literature class, with three papers/essays assigned per book.

For the additional books she and I will have a discussion together, but otherwise, no special papers. The below books also do not include any book choices she makes during the year or read-alouds/audiobooks we work through together as a family. 

Our 8th Grade Reading List:

• Short Stories: A White Heron (Jewett), The Diamond Necklace (de Maupassant), The Ransom of Red Chief (O. Henry), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber), The Purloined Letter (Poe), A Worn Path (Welty)
• Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court – Mark Twain
• Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
• Pygmalion – George Bernard Shaw
• Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
• Animal Farm – George Orwell
• The Tempest – William Shakespeare

Many of the books also have a video version, so we’re hoping to watch them together (after we read the books, of course) and compare the book to the movie version. It’ll be a little something fun we can do with our co-op friends. Here are a few in our queue: 

A Few Extras on the List for 8th Grade:

To go along with our American History learning, we’ve added in a few biography books for her to read as well as a few classic literature books. 

• The Fellowship of the Ring trilogy by Tolkien
• Biographies from Heroes of History series: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan

Overall not a huge list for the year, but several of the books are fairly hefty and will involve a lot of essay writing and discussion, so definitely enough to keep her busy for the year!

What books are in your kid’s reading stack for this year?

Homeschool Reading Lists for our Other Children

Interested in seeing reading lists for our other kids as well? Check out our reading choices for this year by clicking on the images below. Stay tuned for our 4th and 6th grade reading choices!

Homeschool Reading Lists for our Other Children

Check out our reading choices for this and past years by clicking on the links below. Stay tuned for our 4th and 6th grade reading choices for this year too!

• 3rd grade homeschool reading list (2015)
• 4th grade homeschool reading list (2014)
• 5th grade homeschool reading list (2015)
• 6th grade homeschool reading list (2014)
• 7th grade homeschool reading list (2015)
• 9th grade homeschool reading list (2014)
• 10th grade homeschool reading list (2015)