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The Homeschool Library – Top Picks for Best Books Ever

By Gwen

Our family has the public library to thank for our treasured collection of prized books! Our homeschool library is much, much smaller than theirs, containing only the very best of personally hand-selected titles. We read constantly so we have consumed an innumerable amount of books, purchasing only a fraction. To land on our home shelf, a book must be the best of the best. It has to be a story worth telling over and over again. Today, I want to share twenty of the best books ever, according to us – a couple of self-respecting book nerds, that have landed with distinction in our own homeschool library.

** This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.**

Books are an important part of every good homeschool education.

Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.

Dr. Seuss

Let me begin with an expression of gratitude for public libraries across the country. The value of a public library and the savings it allows homeschoolers are immense. For us, the Johnson City Public Library has been a huge part of our homeschool journey. T has been part of their book clubs, their Stories To Service Projects, and on the Teen Advisory Board since he was twelve. He has attended countless events, met many published authors, attended game nights and movie nights, learned art skills, and even participated in cooking competitions over the years. Most importantly, he has made many friends through this group.

We have picked up bundles on countless subjects across the years. We have researched, imagined, and DIY’ed our way through just about every aisle. For many of us homeschool families, it is the place where a vast array of the most cherished tools in our teaching belts can be found. And if we can’t find something, the library will hunt it down and have it ready in a week. They never let us down.

Checking out the first newspaper printed in East Tennessee.
Here I am viewing the first copy of a newspaper published in Elizabethton, TN.
I enjoyed the ads as much as the articles. Thanks to Elizabethton Public Library for allowing us access to the town historian and the town archives every time we asked for it!

Not just books either. We borrow documentaries, music DVDs, and even tickets to local museums and historic places. We have combed through town archives with the town historian in Elizabethton’s public library, reading newspapers from the time our state was founded and digging through selections in the Tennessee Room in Johnson City to discover local landmarks and historic sites we wouldn’t have found without those resources. Even better than textbooks are these personal relics of our local history. These are the things the internet can’t compete with. The things you can hold in your hand. The things yet to be scanned. The hidden treasures.

It’s been amazing. And we couldn’t have enjoyed such a thorough education without the help of our public libraries. If you haven’t reached out to your local library to see what they can offer your homeschool, I strongly encourage you to do that now.

Public libraries offer so much value to homeschool families across the country.

T and I will finish our homeschool journey this May and the ending will certainly be bitter-sweet. Like any homeschool, our days have been filled with triumphs and challenges. We have both desperately struggled and victoriously achieved far more than we ever dreamed. Sometimes all in the same day. It has been delightful and difficult, beautiful and emotional, and oftentimes as exhausting as it was exhilarating. But overall this journey has been one of the greatest rewards I’ve known in my life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything at all. It has all been worth it.

Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people – people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.

E.B. White

So back to my point in this post. Our homeschool library is full of some of the greatest stories ever told. Today I want to share our very favorite titles for you to consider for your own homeschool library. Ours will soon be carried over to our home library as a reminder of all the days we spent turning those pages together, emerged in lands far away, learning compassion and hope one adventure at a time. We think every family can benefit from shared experiences like these.

Top Twenty Books for Homeschoolers

Our Top Twenty Book Picks for Your Homeschool Library

And there we have them. Our very favorites. One day when T has children of his own, I hope he reads with them the way I did with him. I hope his family values that time spent together at the end of the day lost in imagination and when my grandchildren are grown I hope the tradition continues as these books pass from one generation to the next. Our homeschool library today, one day a family heirloom. That’s the dream.

Do you have a book you would like to recommend? If so, please share in the comments section below. We love to hear from you.

Happy tales to you,

Gwen

Thanks for visiting Geez, Gwen today! We are so glad you found us! We are not believers in coincidence so we are confident you are here for a reason! We are a family-focused blog so we have a lot of inspiration and encouragement for you and your loved ones. Perhaps we can offer you some simple yet tasty recipes to make your weeknights easier? Perhaps you’ve been wondering how to bring your family closer together or strengthen your marriage? Maybe you’re looking for fun family activities you can enjoy together. Perhaps it’s been too long since your last date night and you need inspiration. Maybe you just want to know the truth about what we homeschoolers really do all day! Whatever it is, it’s clearly Destiny at its finest! Don’t let this opening door of opportunity slam shut! Run through by subscribing to our newsletter? 

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