Revised March 17, 2008
Revised May 12, 2010
The OUHSD Core Literature Reading List
Through reading great works of literature, students experience the beauty of our literary heritage and the unique history of the United States and its peoples. With
books, they are able to encounter many cultures which exist both within and beyond our nation’s borders. The OUHSD ‘s Core Literature Reading List reflects titles
from the traditional canon of literature, as well as the addition of works reflecting our country’s multicultural heritage. The complete OUHSD Core Literature Reading
List, to date and by recommended grade level, is outlined below:
* Titles ADDED to the Core Literature List 2007- 2008.
[Traditional Titles]
Grade 9
* Animal Farm, George Orwell
Classical Mythology (selections)
Diary of Anne Frank
The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
* The Odyssey, Homer
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
The Pearl, John Steinbeck
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
A Separate Peace, John Knowles
A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Grade 10
All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Remarque
Antigone, Sophocles
Arthurian Legends (Mallory, Tennyson, et. al.)
Candide, Francois-Marie Voltaire
Children’s Story, James Clavell (ESL only)
Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
Hope for the Flowers, Trina Paulus (ESL only)
Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare
Othello, William Shakespeare
* Siddhartha, Herman Hesse
* Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
Grade 11
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
The Crucible, Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller
Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
* My Antonia, Willa Cather
Grade 12
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Emma, Jane Austen
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Macbeth, William Shakespeare
Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
* 1984, George Orwell
Pygmalion, George B. Shaw
Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare
[Multicultural Titles]
Grade 9
And the Earth Did Not Devour Him, Tomas Rivera [L]
Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya [L]
Counting Coup, Larry Colton [N]
Cuentos: Tales from the Hispanic Southwest, Griego/Anaya [L]
A Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki-Houston [AS]
Living Up the Street, Gary Soto [L]
House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros [L]
Revolutions of the Heart, Marsha Qualey [N]
Summer Life, Gary Soto [L]
Grade 10
Barrio Boy, Ernesto Galarza [L]
El Indio, Gregorio López y Fuentes [L]
I Heard the Owl Call My Name, Margaret Craven [N]
Island of Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell (ESL only) [N]
Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan [AS]
Mexican Folk Tales, Anthony Campos [L]
Night, Elie Weisel (J)
Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe [A]
Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Pattilo Beals [AF]
Zia, Scott O’Dell [N] (ESL only)
Grade 11
The Chosen, Chaim Potok [J]
Dances With Wolves, Michael Blake [N]
Estampas del valle y otras obras, Orlando Hinojosa [L]
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison [AF]
Kitchen God’s Wife, Amy Tan [AS]
Laughing Boy, Oliver La Farge [N]
Rain of Gold, Victor Villasenor [L]
A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry [AF]
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston [AF]
Trini, Estella Portillo Trambley [L]
Underdogs, Mariano Azuela [L]
Grade 12
Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk as told to John Nauhardt [N]
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Dee Brown [N]
A Chronicle of Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez [L]
* Cry the Beloved Country, Alan Paton [A]
A Place Where the Sea Remembers, Sandra Benitez (L)
The Color of Water, James McBride (AF)
Of the 36 multicultural titles, 15 reflect a focus on Latino [L] culture, 2 on African culture [A], 5 on African-American [AF] culture, 3 on AsianAmerican [AS] culture, 9 on Native American [N] culture, 2 on Jewish culture [J].
Administrative Procedures approved by the Board of Trustees indicate that students enrolled in English courses are expected to study
and teachers are expected to teach no less than two (2) Core Literature titles per year, according to the Board-approved Core Literature
Reading List.
For these two selections, at least one (1) is to be chosen from the traditional titles, and no less than one (1) title is to be chosen from the
multicultural listing for that grade level. The third OPTIONAL title is by teacher’s choice, to be selected from either the traditional titles
or the multicultural titles.
In selecting the Core Literature multicultural titles, teachers are encouraged to consider the culture and ethnicity of their students and to
teach selections from that culture.