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Core Knowledge
Books to Build On: A Grade-by-Grade Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers
For Grades K-6
384 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1996
32 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
About the author
E.D. Hirsch Jr.
81books107followersE. D. Hirsch, Jr. is the founder and chairman of the Core Knowledge Foundation and professor emeritus of education and humanities at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several acclaimed books on education in which he has persisted as a voice of reason making the case for equality of educational opportunity.
A highly regarded literary critic and professor of English earlier in his career, Dr. Hirsch recalls being “shocked into education reform� while doing research on written composition at a pair of colleges in Virginia. During these studies he observed that a student’s ability to comprehend a passage was determined in part by the relative readability of the text, but even more by the student’s background knowledge.
This research led Dr. Hirsch to develop his concept of cultural literacy—the idea that reading comprehension requires not just formal decoding skills but also wide-ranging background knowledge. In 1986 he founded the Core Knowledge Foundation. A year later he published Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, which remained at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for more than six months. His subsequent books include The Schools We Need, The Knowledge Deficit, The Making of Americans, and most recently, How to Educate a Citizen: The Power of Shared Knowledge to Unify a Nation.
In How to Educate a Citizen (September, 2020), E.D. Hirsch continues the conversation he began thirty years ago with his classic bestseller Cultural Literacy, urging America’s public schools, particularly in Preschool � Grade 8, to educate our children using common, coherent and sequenced curricula to help heal and preserve the nation.
A highly regarded literary critic and professor of English earlier in his career, Dr. Hirsch recalls being “shocked into education reform� while doing research on written composition at a pair of colleges in Virginia. During these studies he observed that a student’s ability to comprehend a passage was determined in part by the relative readability of the text, but even more by the student’s background knowledge.
This research led Dr. Hirsch to develop his concept of cultural literacy—the idea that reading comprehension requires not just formal decoding skills but also wide-ranging background knowledge. In 1986 he founded the Core Knowledge Foundation. A year later he published Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, which remained at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for more than six months. His subsequent books include The Schools We Need, The Knowledge Deficit, The Making of Americans, and most recently, How to Educate a Citizen: The Power of Shared Knowledge to Unify a Nation.
In How to Educate a Citizen (September, 2020), E.D. Hirsch continues the conversation he began thirty years ago with his classic bestseller Cultural Literacy, urging America’s public schools, particularly in Preschool � Grade 8, to educate our children using common, coherent and sequenced curricula to help heal and preserve the nation.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 2, 2016
Books to Build On: A Grade-by-Grade Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers has some great lists of books broken down by subject and grade. I found I disagreed with the grade breakdowns across the board (many of the books that this volume says are for kids in 2nd grade are in our preschool favorites � kids can understand more than they are given credit for) and some of the scope and sequence is not very ambitious or comprehensive. However, within the lists I did find a lot of books I hadn’t checked out before, and I think the recommendations for books about specific historical eras will be helpful.
I thought it was sort of funny that the book we’re currently reading aloud [Note: when I published this review in 2011], Carlo Collodi’s original Pinocchio, is mentioned in Books to Build On as not recommended for first grade because it is “too long.� That’s funny because I would say the chapters are short and easy to understand, perfect for preschoolers! Hannah and Jack love the book and are always clamoring for one more chapter and telling me that they like the book more than the Disney movie. That’s not because my kids are so smart or anything, the book just really is a lot more entertaining than the movie adaptation. I think the idea that a 6 year old first grader couldn’t sit through an eight page long chapter about a wooden puppet having adventures is really really sad.
Onward. I did find some good book recommendations in this book and I would still recommend it as a resource even though I disagree with some of the grade sorting. I think it would be especially helpful for parents whose children are in school that might be following a scope and sequence similar to the one in this book. You could get a lot of great ideas for at home enrichment reading to supplement what your child is getting at school.
{Read more of my reviews at .}
I thought it was sort of funny that the book we’re currently reading aloud [Note: when I published this review in 2011], Carlo Collodi’s original Pinocchio, is mentioned in Books to Build On as not recommended for first grade because it is “too long.� That’s funny because I would say the chapters are short and easy to understand, perfect for preschoolers! Hannah and Jack love the book and are always clamoring for one more chapter and telling me that they like the book more than the Disney movie. That’s not because my kids are so smart or anything, the book just really is a lot more entertaining than the movie adaptation. I think the idea that a 6 year old first grader couldn’t sit through an eight page long chapter about a wooden puppet having adventures is really really sad.
Onward. I did find some good book recommendations in this book and I would still recommend it as a resource even though I disagree with some of the grade sorting. I think it would be especially helpful for parents whose children are in school that might be following a scope and sequence similar to the one in this book. You could get a lot of great ideas for at home enrichment reading to supplement what your child is getting at school.
{Read more of my reviews at .}
April 18, 2014
I got some book ideas for homeschooling next year, but the non-fiction recommendations did not sound as kid-appealing as the ones in the Eyeopeners book. There was definitely more of a "take your vitamin, kid" vibe with this book. He also recommends a lot of adaptations for fiction reads, which I prefer to avoid. On the positive side, there were a lot more poetry and art recommendations than in similar books.
April 17, 2022
This well-thumbed book is more useful as an indication of what schools expect at any given grade than for suggesting specific books. Many of the books (at least in my older edition) are unavailable, expensive or in some way problematic. Even so, any child who was taught strictly according to the recommendations in the book would end up with an excellent education.
Some sections are better done than others. Generally, literature, history and geography, and most especially art are excellent. The sections on science and music are less helpful, and that on mathematics pretty much useless.
I did get a lot of ideas about topics to address and the general type of book to look for. The age recommendations are approximate, but the authors are very good about pointing out possible issues in a book for specific age ranges e.g., the font is rather small or the coloring-in drawings rather too detailed for small fingers.
All in all, an excellent reference that I regularly return to.
Some sections are better done than others. Generally, literature, history and geography, and most especially art are excellent. The sections on science and music are less helpful, and that on mathematics pretty much useless.
I did get a lot of ideas about topics to address and the general type of book to look for. The age recommendations are approximate, but the authors are very good about pointing out possible issues in a book for specific age ranges e.g., the font is rather small or the coloring-in drawings rather too detailed for small fingers.
All in all, an excellent reference that I regularly return to.
August 19, 2007
This book is an amazing resource for any parent wanting to find excellent reading material for their child. Essential subjects such as history, art, geography, etc., are covered in a grade by grade format (starting with preschool).
We originally borrowed this book from our library and used it to make a reading list for the summer. I've used it so much that I ended up purchasing a copy for myself from Amazon. I've been very pleased with the suggested readings for my 5yr old and 2.5 yr old. We've found several books that I never would have thought of reading if not for "Books to Build On". Another bonus is that most of books suggested in BTBO are available in our library system, which is always a bonus.
I would recommend this book for any parent who wants to expand their reading list for preschool/gradeschool children. It's exceptionally handy for homeschoolers, too.
We originally borrowed this book from our library and used it to make a reading list for the summer. I've used it so much that I ended up purchasing a copy for myself from Amazon. I've been very pleased with the suggested readings for my 5yr old and 2.5 yr old. We've found several books that I never would have thought of reading if not for "Books to Build On". Another bonus is that most of books suggested in BTBO are available in our library system, which is always a bonus.
I would recommend this book for any parent who wants to expand their reading list for preschool/gradeschool children. It's exceptionally handy for homeschoolers, too.
September 20, 2008
I was really excited about this book when I first discovered it, but now that I've reviewed books in it, I'm not as excited. Lots of the books are out of print and some of them are quite liberal in nature, particularly the history stuff. But there are still a lot of good books for teaching children listed here.
April 24, 2009
Perhaps I am not the right audience for this book. The outline of recommendations was shallow, the suggestions had low expectations of children's learning capacity and the organization of the book was poor. Overall, I do not recommend this book.
July 13, 2023
We are in agreement that there are serious problems with the public schools. I liked a few of their opinions (sharing them myself) on the surface; however, I greatly disagreed with their idea of how to remedy the dismal situation within government schooling (notice I did not call it education, but I digress). There is no remediation possible! Public schools are doing exactly what they were designed to do. They can’t be “fixed”—they can only be demolished or simply not used by parents. These writers are only adding themselves to the endless queue of reformers who all promise to make things make sense—none of whom ever achieve their goals as they aren’t addressing the core of the issue. For more on that, I might first recommend “Crimes of the Educators.�
Btw, they come right out and say that certain things should only be taught by schools, not parents. 🚩🚩🚩🚩
The book lists were a lot more brief than I had expected, but that’s possibly because I’m always immersed in book lists.
P.S. Some of their recommended resources are 😳😳.
Btw, they come right out and say that certain things should only be taught by schools, not parents. 🚩🚩🚩🚩
The book lists were a lot more brief than I had expected, but that’s possibly because I’m always immersed in book lists.
P.S. Some of their recommended resources are 😳😳.
September 10, 2020
I am a fan of books about books!
This is a great resource and thankfully many titles are carried by my library.
I’m not one to strictly follow lists on specific age/grade level so I wasn’t bothered by layout given here; I take it as a guideline. Some I’d choose earlier or later for my kiddo.
This is a great resource and thankfully many titles are carried by my library.
I’m not one to strictly follow lists on specific age/grade level so I wasn’t bothered by layout given here; I take it as a guideline. Some I’d choose earlier or later for my kiddo.
June 6, 2013
As a Reading Teacher, Books to Build On is an excellent resource to assist in finding and assessing quality books. It is broken into curriculum areas including Visual Arts and Mathematics which are often-time overlooked in book reviews. It includes a wealth of information about books for children from grades Kindergarten to the sixth grade. It is also crosses the genres and genders by providing a variety of fiction, nonfiction, collections,series, multi-cultural and multidisciplined books. I have shared the information in this books with colleagues and parents. It was also instrumental in selecting materials for my own students and children.
Want to read
July 2, 2007I would love to know more about this book...
Read
November 27, 2008Another excellent resource on my current wishlist.
May 4, 2009
Some good ideas
September 2, 2009
I enjoyed looking ahead at what my children will be taught in school and how it might be taught by the teacher.
April 20, 2011
Great supplemental to the Core Knowledge curriculum. The actual curriculum books have additional readings and suggested books within. This book would be good if you need more than what's suggested.
Read
January 1, 2018I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
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