Books for 8th Grade

Explore 48 curated books for 8th Grade students. Each resource has been reviewed for quality and age-appropriateness.

Key to Geometry, Book 7: Perpendiculars and Parallels, Chords and Tangents, Circles

The seventh workbook in the compass-and-straightedge series that teaches geometry by construction. Self-paced, consumable, and unusually gentle on math-anxious students.

Practice Makes Perfect: Exploring Grammar

Short explanations followed by heavy drill, from McGraw-Hill's long-running self-study series. Cheap, plentiful practice.

Side by Side: Student Book 1 (Third Edition)

A conversation-first beginner course built around guided dialogues, which makes it one of the few ESL books that works with two people at a kitchen table.

Essential Grammar in Use with Answers

Raymond Murphy's elementary grammar reference, built on a two-page unit format that makes it genuinely usable for self-study.

Word Power Made Easy

A vocabulary builder that teaches Greek and Latin roots rather than word lists, so each session unlocks families of words at once.

Basic English Grammar Workbook (Azar-Hagen, 5th Edition)

The grammar series most ESL teacher training programs are built around, in workbook form with a full answer key for self-study.

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Oxford Picture Dictionary, Third Edition

The standard visual dictionary in ESL classrooms worldwide: roughly 4,000 words organized by real-life situation rather than alphabetically.

English for Everyone Practice Book Level 1: Beginner

The written practice half of DK's Level 1 course. Buy it with the course book, not instead of it.

English for Everyone Course Book Level 1: Beginner

DK's visual self-study English course, built so a complete beginner can work through it alone without a teacher explaining every page.

The Executive Functioning Workbook for Teens

A worksheet-based workbook the teenager completes themselves, building planning, time estimation and self-monitoring habits one short activity at a time.

Late, Lost, and Unprepared

A clinical psychologist's parent guide to executive functioning, organized skill by skill so you can work on the one your child actually struggles with.

That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week

Ana Homayoun's parent guide to organizing disorganized middle and high schoolers, built on the binder-and-planner system she uses with private clients.

Amos Fortune, Free Man

Newbery Medal biography of an African-born man enslaved in colonial New England who bought his freedom and that of others.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Newbery Medal novel about a Black family holding onto their Mississippi land during the Depression and Jim Crow.

Across Five Aprils

Newbery Honor novel following an southern Illinois farm family through the five Aprils of the American Civil War.

Johnny Tremain

Newbery Medal historical novel following a Boston silversmith's apprentice into the events of the American Revolution.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

Newbery Medal biography-novel of Nathaniel Bowditch, the self-taught sailor-mathematician who rewrote the book on navigation.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Newbery Medal novel about a Barbados-raised girl adjusting to Puritan Connecticut in 1687 and the witchcraft accusation that follows.

The Golden Goblet

A Newbery Honor novel set in ancient Egypt, commonly paired with ancient-history studies for grades 5-8.

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad

Rosemary Sutcliff's vivid prose retelling of Homer's Iliad, widely used to introduce middle-grade students to the Trojan War.

The Bronze Bow

Elizabeth George Speare's Newbery Medal novel set in Roman-occupied Galilee, a mainstay of ancient-history literature lists.

The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey

Sutcliff's companion volume to Black Ships Before Troy, retelling Homer's Odyssey for middle-grade and early high school readers.

The Organized Student: Teaching Children the Skills for Success in School and Beyond

Donna Goldberg's practical system for teaching organisation — binders, backpacks, planners and workspaces — for the bright student who loses everything.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

Sean Covey's teen adaptation of the classic habits framework — goal-setting, prioritisation and personal responsibility, aimed at ages 12-17.

Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying

Barbara Oakley's bestselling learning-science guide rewritten for ages 10-17, teaching focused and diffuse thinking, chunking, and how to beat procrastination.

Our Mother Tongue: A Guide to English Grammar

A classical, literature-rich English grammar guide that surveys the major concepts of grammar through sentence diagramming and selections from great writers and Scripture. Recommended for grades 6-9.

Easy Grammar Plus Student Workbook

Student workbook for Easy Grammar Plus by Wanda C. Phillips, using the prepositional approach to teach grammar with low-prep daily lessons and built-in review. Grades 7 and up.

The Art of Argument: An Introduction to the Informal Fallacies (Revised Edition)

A best-selling middle-school logic course from Classical Academic Press that teaches 28 informal fallacies through vivid examples, mock advertisements, and engaging discussion.

The Thinking Toolbox: Thirty-Five Lessons That Will Build Your Reasoning Skills

A friendly, comic-illustrated follow-up to The Fallacy Detective, with 35 hands-on lessons and activities that teach practical reasoning, evidence, and problem-solving for ages 13 and up.

History Year by Year: The History of the World, from the Stone Age to the Digital Age

DK's richly illustrated visual timeline of world history from the Stone Age to today—photographs, maps, and infographics that make a perfect homeschool history reference for ages 8–13.

A Child's History of the World

V. M. Hillyer's warm, story-driven survey of human history from cave dwellers to modern times—a classic homeschool read-aloud spine for elementary and middle-grade students.

DK Knowledge Encyclopedia Science!

A visually stunning DK reference covering matter, forces, energy, chemistry, life science, earth science, and space—an ideal hardcover spine or companion for homeschool science across the elementary and middle years.

Janice VanCleave's 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizarre, & Incredible Experiments

201 safe, low-cost, hands-on science experiments across biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, and astronomy using common household materials—a long-running homeschool favorite for elementary and middle school.

Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook

The Brain Quest team's wildly popular middle-school science study guide—notes, doodles, mnemonics, and quizzes covering the periodic table, forces, energy, space, earth science, and biology. A great homeschool supplement or review tool.

DK Smithsonian: The Science Book — Big Ideas Simply Explained

Comprehensive illustrated science reference covering key discoveries and concepts across physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science from ancient times to today.

The Human Body Coloring Book: The Ultimate Anatomy Study Guide (DK)

A hands-on DK anatomy study guide using coloring to teach all major body systems — ideal for grades 6 through adult learners.

Human Body: A Visual Encyclopedia (DK)

A beautifully illustrated DK encyclopedia covering all human body systems with photographs, CGI artworks, and infographics for young learners.

Total Health: Talking About Life's Changes (Middle School)

A Christian-based middle school health curriculum covering puberty, nutrition, fitness, emotional health, peer pressure, and life skills for preteens.

Mark Twain Health, Wellness, and Physical Fitness Workbook (Grades 5-8)

A comprehensive health education workbook for grades 5-8 covering nutrition, fitness, mental health, substance abuse prevention, and personal wellness.

Home School Family Fitness: The Complete Physical Education Curriculum for Grades K-12

A complete 40-week K-12 physical education curriculum with lesson plans, fitness tests, and sports labs designed for homeschool families.

Coding Projects in Scratch

A beautifully illustrated Scratch programming guide with step-by-step coding projects for ages 8-14.

Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World

An inspiring guide combining coding instruction with stories of women in tech, for middle and high school students.

Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners, 3rd Edition

A father-son guide to Python programming for kids 12+ and complete beginners, now in its 3rd edition.

JavaScript for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming

A fun, illustrated guide to JavaScript programming for kids ages 10+, building games in the browser.

Python for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming

A fun, illustrated guide to Python programming for kids ages 10 and up, with games and puzzles.

No More Meltdowns: Positive Strategies for Managing and Preventing Out-of-Control Behavior

A practical, four-step approach to preventing and managing meltdowns in children with autism, ADHD, and other behavioral challenges — with real-world scenarios and solutions.

Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism

A paradigm-shifting book that reframes autism as a difference to be understood rather than a disorder to be fixed, with practical guidance for parents and educators.

Smart but Scattered Teens: The Executive Skills Program for Helping Teens Reach Their Potential

The teen-focused follow-up to the bestselling Smart but Scattered, providing executive skills strategies specifically designed for adolescents aged 12-18.