Children's Books in a Montessori Classroom

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Maria Montessori took a view of children's literature that was was very different from most others' of her day and ours. She thought that it was best to avoid giving books to young children that had magic or other fantastical elements in the stories. She thought that children below a certain age would be confused about what things in the stories were real or not. She thought is was disrespectful to children to not provide them with an accurate portrayal of the world when they were still building there understanding of how the world worked.
Another useful criteria for selecting children's books comes from the 19th century British educator Charlotte Mason. She advised against books that used baby-talk, or dumbed-down stories, or that insulted the intelligence of the reader in any other ways. She referred to these books as "twaddle."
Please feel free to add books to the lists:

Realistic/Historical Fiction

Picture Books

  • Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson
    word count: 5,871
  • Will I Have a Friend by Miriam Cohen
    word count: 484
  • The Nutcracker Doll by Mary Newell DePalma
    word count: 473
  • The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola
    word count: 567
  • Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
    word count: 654
  • A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman
    word count: 732
  • The Colors of Us by Karen Katz
    word count: 423
  • The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
    word count: 316
  • I Love My Hair by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley
    word count: 469
  • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
    word count: 741
  • A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
    word count: 1,068

Chapter Books

  • A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    word count: 66,181
  • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    word count: 80,398
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
    word count: 8,377
  • Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
    word count: 52,038

Non-Fiction

Picture Books

Chapter Books

Biography

Picture Books

  • Susan B. Anthony by Alexandra Wallner
    word count: 1,610

Chapter Books