Here is a list of 8th grade reading books that IrishWrath has read for school so far in 2013. I don’t limit books to his reading level. I often require books that are easy for him but have a lovely story, or are well written. Here is what he has read for free choice reading this year.
Physics
The Physics of Superheroes: Spectacular Second Edition
The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World
Programming
New York Review Children’s Collection Books age 9 and up
The Lost Island
Uncle
Uncle Cleans Up
Lizard Music
The Midnight Folk
The Box of Delights
The Little Bookroom
Pecos Bill: The Greatest Cowboy of All Time
Bel Ria: Dog of War
Mistress Masham’s Repose
Jenny and the Cat Club: A Collection of Favorite Stories about Jenny Linsky
The Kingdom of Carbonel
Carbonel and Calidor
The Peterkin Papers
The Annotated Hobbit
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
The Wouldbegoods
Men of Iron
The Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
What IrishWrath has read to go along with SOTW 2 (Here is my complete list of books for SOTW 2)
Chapter 1 — The Glory That Was Rome
Outcast
Between the Forest and the Hills (Adventure Library)
Attila the Hun: Leader of the Barbarian Hordes (Wicked History)
Chapter 2 — The Early Days of Britain
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Bilingual Edition)
Dragonslayers: From Beowulf to St. George (Myths and Legends)
The Smashing Saxons (Horrible Histories)
Chapter 3 — Christianity Comes to Britain (We are spending extra time on Ireland here)
Atlas of Irish History
The Story of Ireland
The King of Ireland’s Son
A Treasury of Irish Myth, Legend & Folklore: Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry
Ireland Our Island Story: A History of Ireland for Children
Irish Legends For Children
Best-Loved Irish Legends: Mini Edition
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Pearl; [and] Sir Orfeo
Otto of the Silver Hand
Chapter 4 — The Byzantine Empire
Sailing from Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World
Chapter 5 — The Medieval Indian Empire
Chapter 6 — The Rise of Islam
Chapter 7 — Islam Becomes an Empire
Mosque
Chapter 8 — The Great Dynasties of China
Science in Ancient China
Chapter 9 — East of China
Easy Origami (Dover Origami Papercraft)
Folded Fun Beginner’s Origami
Decorative Origami Boxes (Dover Origami Papercraft)
Star Wars Origami: 36 Amazing Paper-folding Projects from a Galaxy Far, Far Away….
No history here, but I have to mention this series. It is a HUGE hit with my boys, and it is about origami!
- The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
- Darth Paper Strikes Back: An Origami Yoda Book
- The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee: An Origami Yoda Book
- Art2-D2’s Guide to Folding and Doodling: An Origami Yoda Activity Book (Star Wars)
Activity style book
- The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett: An Origami Yoda Book
Activity style book
Chapter 10 — The Bottom of the World
Chapter 11 — The Kingdom of the Franks
Chapter 12 — The Islamic Invasion
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights (Oxford Story Collections)
Chapter 13 — The Great Kings of France
Famous Men of the Middle Ages. Free e-book. Includes a section on Charlemagne.
Son of Charlemagne 
Chapter 14 — The Arrival of the Norsemen
Viking: The Norse Warrior’s Manual
The Children of Odin: The Book of Northern Myths
D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths
The Vicious Vikings (Horrible Histories)
Chapter 15 — The First Kings of England
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction
Sword Song
Knight: The Medieval Warrior’s (Unofficial) Manual
The Reluctant Dragon
The Stormin’ Normans (Horrible Histories)
Chapter 16 — England After the Conquest
Adam of the Road (Puffin Modern Classics)
Life in a Medieval Castle
Life in a Medieval City
Life in a Medieval Village
The Castle in the Attic
