What is Good Books@St. Mary About?

Man…is a storytelling animal.”
-Alasdair MacIntyre 

Good Books @ St. Mary is a partnership of parents, priests, and faculty offering families access to virtuous, delightful and useful stories — stories that form our moral imagination, touch our relationships, and enliven our engagement with the world.  

Each month, recommended books from the St. Mary community will appear on this site, arranged by grade levels: Preschool/Picture Books, Early Elementary, Upper Elementary, Middle School, and High School/Adult.

Read more…

The 1,000 Good Books Challenge

Every book that our children read matters. The more good books they read, the more their imaginations will expand and the more prepared they will be for the Great Books they will hopefully read some day. We will begin to keep track of each book from the Good Books @ Saint Mary newsletters that students read. As a school, we will create a beautiful display of books near the school office. There will be individual and school-wide prizes for readers. Our goal is for our St. Mary community to read 1,000 Good Books this year. Please help your students to find books from our newsletter to enjoy!

Book Lists

Find the grade level you’re looking for, then click the tab to open the list of books.

Consider helping our school by purchasing these books through the Amazon Smile program! With every purchase, Amazon will send a percentage to St. Mary School. Start by visiting our Amazon Smile page here, then click “start shopping.” It’s just that easy!

Preschool/Picture Books

Not A Box by Antoinette Portis

Mysterious Patterns Growing Patterns by Sarah Campbell

The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times by Meghan Bausch

St. John Bosco and His Big Gray Dog by Hayley Madeiro

The Little Flower: A Parable of Saint Therese of Lisieux by Becky B. Arganbright

The Story of Saint John Paul II: A Boy Who Became Pope by Fabiola Garza

The Holy Twins Benedict and Scholastica by Kathleen Norris

The Man Who Loved Books by Jean Fritz

Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

The Umbrella by Ingrid and Dieter Schubert

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Jangles: A Big Fish Story by David Shannon

Jumanji by Chris VanAllsburg

Wreck of the Zephyr by Chris VanAllsburg

Grasshopper on the Road by Arnold Lobel

The Journey Trilogy by Aaron Becker

Tell Me About the Catholic Faith for Small Children by Christine Pedotti

A is for Altar, B is for Bible by Judith Lang Main

The Children of the King by Max Lucado

Saints Tell Their Stories by Patricia Mitchell

Little Bible Heroes book series by Victoria Kovacs

Hail Mary and Our Father by Xavier Deneux

The Lord’s Prayer by Rick Warren

Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood

It’s a Bear by Jez Alborough

It’s Not Easy Being A Bunny by Marilyn Sadler

Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats

In the Tall Tall Grass by Denise Fleming

Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran

One by Kathryn Otoshi

Early Elementary

The Saint and His Bees by Dessi Jackson

Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda

The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie dePaola

Saint Bernadette and the Miracle of Lourdes by Demi

Saints and Me! (Series) by Barbara Yoffie

The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

The Magic Treehouse Series by Mary Pope Osborne

Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne

Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges

Lost: In Peter’s Tomb by Dianne Ahern: (1st of 4 in the Adventures with Sister Philomena series)

The Boxcar Children Series by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Happy Times in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren

My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling (Adapted by Jerry Pinkney)

Tell Me About The Catholic Faith: From The Bible to The Sacraments by various authors

Angel Food for Boys and Girls (vol. 1-4) by Fr. Gerald T. Brennan

King of the Golden City by Mother Mary Loyola

Saints and Me! books series by Barbara Yoffie

Be Saints! An invitation from Pope Benedict XVI by Amy Wellborn

Mary Stories from the Bible by Grossetête, Charlotte

Maybe God is Like That Too by Jennifer Grant

The Mass Book for Children by Rosemarie Gortler

Saintly Rhymes for Modern Times by Meghan Bausch

Dear Pope Francis by Pope Francis

The Monks’ Daily Bread by Sylvia Dorham

Hooray! I’m Catholic! by Hanna Cole

A Peek Into My Church by Wendy Goody

Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos by Deborah Helligman

The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka

Just a Second by Steve Jenkins

One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J Pinczes

Sir Cumference books by Cindy Neuschwander

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Ramona by Beverly Cleary

Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read by Rita Lorraine Hubbard

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

Alvin Ho by Lenore Look

George’s Marvelous Medicine by Roald Dahl

Upper Elementary

Encounter the Saints (Series) by Pauline Book and Media

Amon’s Adventure by Arnold Ytreeide

Stories of the Saints for Young People by Mary Fabyean Windeatt

Saint Teresa of Avila: God’s Troublemaker by Song I-Yun

Loyola Kids Book of Saints by Amy Welborn

Chime Travelers (Series) by Lisa Hendey

Bluffton by Matt Phelan

Around the World by Matt Phelan

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson

The Green Ember Series by S.D. Smith

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Crispin by Avi

Can You Survive? Series by Matt Doeden

Adventures with Waffles by Maria Parr

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series (original)

Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Half Magic by Edward Eager

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  by L. Frank Baum

Pedro’s Journal: A Voyage with Christopher Columbus by Pam Conrad

The Adventures of TinTin by Herge

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson

My Path to Heaven by Geoffrey Bliss, S.J

Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe

Peppe the Lamplighter by Elisa Barton

Olivia and the Little Way by Nancy Carabio Belanger

Olivia’s Gift by Nancy Carabio Belanger

Search for the Hidden Garden : a Discovery with Saint Thérèse by Sherry Weaver Smith

The Wolf and the Shield : an Adventure with Saint Patrick by Sherry Weaver Smith

Saint Francis of Assisi, Messenger of Peace by Toni Matas

Who was Mary, Mother of Jesus? by Mat Koceich

The Prince Warriors series by Priscilla Evans Shirer

The Ark, the Reed, & the Fire Cloud by Jenny Cote

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky

Black Stallion by Walter Farley

Middle School

Art Through Faith by Mary Lynch

The Biblical World: An Illustrated Atlas by Jean-Pierre Isbouts

The Catechism in Examples (vol. 1-5) by Rev. D. Chisholm

The Loyola Treasury of Saints by David Self

Ablaze: Stories of Daring Teen Saints by Colleen Swaim

Women of Faith: Saints and Martyrs of the Christian Faith by Calee M. Lee

Our Holy Father, the Pope: the Papacy from Saint Peter to the Present by Don R. Caffery

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metals

Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton

The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain)

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Crispin by Avi

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Will Wilder series by Raymond Arroyo

The Adventures of TinTin by Herge

A Soldier Surrenders by Susan Peek

St. Magnus the Last Viking by Susan Peek

U.S. Saints Stained Glass Coloring Portfolio by Brenda & George Nippert

St. Benedict Hero of the Hills by Mary Fabyan Windeatt

Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking by D.Q. Mcinerney

Constructing the Universe by Michael Schneider

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

High School/Adult

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox by G.K. Chesterton:

Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux

Padre Pio, Man of Hope by Renzo Allegr

The Joyful Beggar: A Novel about Saint Francis of Assisi by Louis deWohl

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Canoeing with the Cree by Eric Severeid

Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

The Great Adventure–A Chronological Timeline of Salvation History by Jeff Cavin

Faith, Science, and Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge by Christopher T. Baglow

Called to Love: Approaching John Paul II’s Theology of the Body by Fr. Jose Granados, Carl Anderson

Perelandria by C.S. Lewis

The Way of the Fathers: Praying with the Early Christians by Multiple Authors

Socrates Meets Jesus: History’s Greatest Questioner Confronts the Claims of Christ by Peter Kreeft

Consoling the Heart of Jesus by Fr Michael Gaitly

A Father Who Keeps His Promises by Scott Hahn

Walking with God by Tim Gray & Jeff Cavin

Who am I To Judge? by Edward Sri

Further Up & Further In by Joseph Pearce

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver

Pope Francis by Beatrice Gormley.

Set All Afire by Louis de Wohl

The Joyful Beggar by Louis de Wohl

The Golden Thread by Louis de Wohl

The Spear by Louis de Wohl

The Restless Flame by Louis de Wohl

Citadel of God by Louis de Wohl

The Last Crusader by Louis de Wohl

Lay Siege to Heaven by Louis de Wohl

The Quiet Light by Louis de Wohl

The Living Wood by Louis de Wohl

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

Kristin Lavransdatter: The Wreath by Sigrid Undset

I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevina

The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah

Saint Gianna Molla: Wife, Mother, Doctor by Pietro Molla

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Letter to Women by St. John Paul II

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Joan of Arc by Marc Twain

Math and the Mona Lisa: The Art and Science of Leonardo da Vinci by Bülent Atalay

Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott

Lewis Carroll in Numberland: His Fantastical Mathematical Logical Life by Robin Wilson

The Man of Numbers: Fibonacci’s Arithmetic Revolution by Chris Devlin

The Golden Ratio: The Divine Beauty of Mathematics by Gary Meisner

Math Art: Truth, Beauty, and Equations by Stephen Ornes

Fantasia Mathematica by Clifton Fadiman

Priests: What Lies Ahead? by Carlos Granados (interview)

Love and Responsibility by Karol Wojtyla