School Book List Titles

Browse a Collection of texts frequently assigned in literature classrooms, including well-studied classics and contemporary literature. Representitive of the breadth of the literary tradition, the School Book List Titles Collection features texts for readers of all age levels, from children's literature to plays and novels centered on adult themes.

Publication year 1990

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family

Tags Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature


Publication year 1939

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Society: War, Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Lyric Poem, Education, Education, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1816

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Lyric Poem, Science / Nature, Romanticism / Romantic Period


Publication year 1918

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Immigration

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

IntroductionMy Ántonia, first published in 1918, is the third novel in what reviewers sometimes refer to as “The Prairie Trilogy” or “The Great Plains Trilogy” by celebrated American author Willa Cather (1873-1947). The other two books, O Pioneers! (1913) and The Song of the Lark (1915) also feature strong female characters from immigrant families in a Great Plains setting but are otherwise unrelated. My Ántonia is considered one of Cather’s most outstanding novels for its... Read My Antonia Summary


Publication year 1901

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Literature, Identity: Femininity

Tags Historical Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Romance, History: World, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Race, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Society: Immigration

Tags Immigration / Refugee, Latin American Literature, Children's Literature, Mental Illness, Biography


Publication year 1948

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Animals, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance

Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Children's Literature, Classic Fiction, Animals

In Ruth Stiles Gannett’s classic children’s adventure, My Father’s Dragon (1948), nine-year-old Elmer Elevator runs away to rescue a baby dragon held captive by the animals of Wild Island. Elmer must navigate a dense jungle and outwit fearsome adversaries, including tigers, a rhinoceros, and a lion in his expedition and, hopefully, realize his own dream of flying. As Elmer follows his quest, Gannett explores themes of courage, cleverness, and social sensitivity. My Father’s Dragon received... Read My Father's Dragon Summary


Publication year 2004

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags Narrative / Epic Poem, Relationships


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Self Discovery, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Grandparents, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family

Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, African American Literature, Children's Literature, History: World


Publication year 1942

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Mythology, Classical Period, Education, Education, History: World, Fantasy, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality

Originally published in 1942, Mythology is primarily a compendium of Greek and Roman myths, with a brief final section on Norse mythology, written by American educator and classicist Edith Hamilton. Hamilton engages with the myths as both a storyteller and a literary critic. She organizes and retells the myths narrated in ancient sources, and she assesses those ancient sources as works of literature. Her approach is grounded in the assumptions that Greek and Roman civilizations... Read Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes Summary


Publication year 1880

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Society: Class, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Fame, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Love / Sexuality, Realism, Realistic Fiction, Naturalism, Class, History: European, French Literature


Publication year 1779

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Play: Historical, Religion / Spirituality, Relationships, Elizabethan Era, Drama / Tragedy, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1836

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Philosophy, Science / Nature, American Literature, Transcendentalism, Education, Education, History: World, Philosophy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1938

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Identity: Mental Health, Self Discovery

Tags Existentialism, Philosophy, French Literature, Classic Fiction, History: World, Philosophy

Nausea is a philosophical novel by the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Originally published in 1938, the novel was first translated to English in 1949. Nausea takes place in the fictional French city of Bouville (“Mud Town”) and follows the day-to-day life of the reclusive historian Antoine Roquentin. Antoine lives completely alone, without friends or family, as he researches and writes a book on an 18th-century French aristocrat, the Marquis de Rollebon. Antoine’s daily interactions with... Read Nausea Summary


Publication year 2022

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Natural World: Place, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Identity: Race, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Class, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Emotions/Behavior: Regret

Tags Race / Racism, Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1890

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: The Future, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Beauty

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Classic Fiction, Politics / Government, Victorian Period, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Victorian Literature / Period

News From Nowhere by William Morris (1834-1896) is a work of speculative science fiction and socialist utopian imagination. The narrator, William Guest, is mysteriously transported from 1890 to the 21st century. As he travels through a version of London that is both familiar and strange, he records his impressions of the socialist society that has come to replace the industrialized, capitalist one of his own time. Through conversations with a number of 21st-century Londoners, Guest... Read News from Nowhere Summary


Publication year 1839

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed

Tags Classic Fiction, Victorian Period, Historical Fiction, British Literature, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period

Nicholas Nickleby is Victorian writer Charles Dickens’s third novel. Published through serialization in 1838, it first appeared in its novel form in 1839. The novel has been adapted for the stage and for the screen several times, the first theatrical version appearing in 1838, before the novel was even finished. Dickens wrote Nicholas Nickleby with the intention of exposing the abuses of for-profit boarding schools in England. In focusing on the titular hero, Nicholas, Dickens’s... Read Nicholas Nickleby Summary


Publication year 1983

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Community, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Hope

Tags Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Education, History: U.S., Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Religion / Spirituality, American Literature, Anthropology, Anthropology, History: World, Arts / Culture


Publication year 1944

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt

Tags Existentialism, Play: Drama, French Literature, Philosophy, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Relationships, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

No Exit (1944) is a play by French philosopher, writer, and critic Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre was drafted into the French army during World War II and spent nearly a year as a German prisoner of war. He then wrote and debuted No Exit in Paris while the city was still under German occupation and control. No Exit is comprised of one act which takes place in a single room in the afterlife, which the characters... Read No Exit Summary


Publication year 1960

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community

Tags Heinemann African Writers, African Literature, Historical Fiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, African American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

No Longer At Ease (1960) is a novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The story takes place in the years prior to Nigeria’s independence from the British Empire and focuses on Obi Okonkwo. Obi is a young Nigerian man who returns home after studying English in Britain and finds a job in the civil service. He finds himself situated within the conflict between African and Western culture, raising questions about his identity and worldview. No... Read No Longer at Ease Summary