2026 Novel Study Book Picks | Book Explorer Guides

I am so excited about this year's Book Explorer Guide releases! I had every intention of finishing so many of these in 2025 and life happened...life happened hard. We are in such a great place right now and I have so much more time to devote to our Book Explorers.

If you are new here, our Book Explorer Guides offer full language arts unit studies for beautiful books. We bring the books to life in each and every lesson. Your child will learn grammar, writing, literature skills and more! Each lesson includes a Story Explorer which is a hands-on activity to teach the children about the topic they are reading about. Reading about whales in the Pacific Northwest? We study the local geography and dive heavily into animal research. Reading a classic like Peter Pan? Let's bake Captain Hook's green cake or make our very own Tinkerbell fairy jars!

I pour so much love into these guides and the time spent with our children learning through these beautiful stories has been so incredibly special! We cannot wait for your family to discover these alongside us.

In 2025 we are releasing 25 of each guide; 25 printed and 25 as PDF. Once they are sold out, they won't be available again until January 1st of the following year.

So here it is... the 2026 Book List!

Two Age Levels

Buds: lower elementary (6-8 year olds)

Blossoms: upper elementary (9-12)

Buds Book List 2026 (in no specific order)

1. The Borrowers

2. Hotel Flamingo

3. Mary Poppins

4. Growing Home

5. Matilda

6. The Complete Peter Rabbit

Blossoms Book List 2026 (in no specific order)

1. The Phantom Tollbooth

2. Anne of Green Gables

3. The Lightning Thief

4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

5. I Am Rebel

6. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe