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.
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