Whether in class or learning from home, the 2020-21 school year promises to be a weird one. But as always, reading will still be a major part of students’ education. So to help overwhelmed kids, parents, teachers, and administrators during this unprecedented time, we’ve put together a list of the most common assigned summer reading books available in the public domain. You can read all of these popular titles, categorized by grade level, entirely for free. And they are easy to find and download in multiple formats at Project GutenbergOpens in a new tab.
We constructed this list by looking at summer reading titles from school districts around the country as well as online lists. Then we consulted with current high school English teachers who offered more titles and helped us mark them according to grade level.
This is also a great resource for readers of all ages looking for their next book.
Barnes & Noble
How to Use These Lists for School
These lists can be used for both summer reading and in-school assignments. Make sure you consult with your teachers and get specific titles pre-approved for any formal work. However, this list also provides great ideas for supplemental reading material options. Read a lot even outside of class! And because all these titles are available for free they are perfect for creating book clubs, either with classmates, friends, or family.
Grade breakdowns cover wider ranges than you might realize though. There can be a huge difference between a book appropriate for a fifth grader and one for an eighth grader. The same is true for books read by high school freshmen and seniors. Ask your teachers about finding the exact right reading level for you.
Grades 5 to 8
Treasure IslandOpens in a new tab (Robert Louis Stevenson)
The Wonderful Wizard of OzOpens in a new tab (L. Frank Baum)
The Secret GardenOpens in a new tab (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
The Red Badge of CourageOpens in a new tab (Stephen Crane)
The Call of the WildOpens in a new tab (Jack London)
Alice’s Adventures in WonderlandOpens in a new tab and Through the Looking-GlassOpens in a new tab (Lewis Carroll)
Peter PanOpens in a new tab (J. M. Barrie)
Anne of Green GablesOpens in a new tab (L.M. Montgomery)
Little WomenOpens in a new tab (Louisa May Alcott)
The Invisible ManOpens in a new tab, The Time MachineOpens in a new tab, and The War of the WorldsOpens in a new tab (H.G. Wells)
Swiss Family RobinsonOpens in a new tab (Johann David Wyss)
The Jungle BookOpens in a new tab (Rudyard Kipling)
The Legend of Sleepy HollowOpens in a new tab (Washington Irving)
Graded 9 to 12
The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesOpens in a new tab (Arthur Conan Doyle)
Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil DisobedienceOpens in a new tab (Henry David Thoreau)
SiddharthaOpens in a new tab (Hermann Hesse)
The Autobiography of Ben FranklinOpens in a new tab (Benjamin Franklin)
Great ExpectationsOpens in a new tab and A Tale of Two CitiesOpens in a new tab (Charles Dickens)
EmmaOpens in a new tab, Sense and SensibilityOpens in a new tab, and Pride and PrejudiceOpens in a new tab (Jane Austen)
Jane EyreOpens in a new tab (Charlotte Brontë)
Wuthering HeightsOpens in a new tab (Emily Brontë)
The House of MirthOpens in a new tab and Ethan FromeOpens in a new tab (Edith Wharton)
DraculaOpens in a new tab (Bram Stoker)
The Adventures of Tom SawyerOpens in a new tab and Adventures of Huckleberry FinnOpens in a new tab (Mark Twain)
The Scarlet LetterOpens in a new tab (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
The Importance of Being EarnestOpens in a new tab and The Picture of Dorian GrayOpens in a new tab (Oscar Wilde)
The JungleOpens in a new tab (Rudyard Kipling)
The AwakeningOpens in a new tab (Kate Chopin)
Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and AntigoneOpens in a new tab (Sophocles)
The Mayor of CasterbridgeOpens in a new tab (Thomas Hardy)
A Doll’s HouseOpens in a new tab and An Enemy of the PeopleOpens in a new tab (Henrik Ibsen)
The Grapes of WrathOpens in a new tab (Boyd Cable)
Les MisérablesOpens in a new tab (Victor Hugo)
Romeo and JulietOpens in a new tab, A Midsummer Night’s DreamOpens in a new tab, and Julius CaesarOpens in a new tab (William Shakespeare)
Advanced
BeowulfOpens in a new tab (Old English Epic Poem)
DublinersOpens in a new tab (James Joyce)
MetamorphosisOpens in a new tab (Franz Kafka)
Don QuixoteOpens in a new tab (Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra)
FrankensteinOpens in a new tab (Mary Shelley)
Crime and PunishmentOpens in a new tab (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
Anna KareninaOpens in a new tab (Leo Tolstoy)
HamletOpens in a new tab and King LearOpens in a new tab (William Shakespeare)
More Titles
You can also find other free titles with our previous lists of classic books in the public domain. They include:
Sci-Fi Books You Can Read For Free Right NowOpens in a new tab
Fantasy Books You Can Read for Free Right NowOpens in a new tab
Horror Books You Can Read For Free Right NowOpens in a new tab
Mysteries You Can Read for Free Right NowOpens in a new tab
Adventure Books You Can Read for Free Right NowOpens in a new tab
Also check out our list of Eight Ways to Listen to Audiobooks For FreeOpens in a new tab.
And the best way to read Shakespeare is by listening to it at the same time. The internet is full of ways to download entire plays for freeOpens in a new tab. Find a version that works for you. The Bard is far less daunting when you hear his works being performed as you read along.
We know this school year is going to be weird, but remember, reading is always going to be an important part of your education. And it’s easier—and freer—than ever to do it.
Featured Image: Barnes & Noble
