BookShark is a secular, literature-based curriculum created as an alternative to Sonlight (which is Christian). It uses living books — real novels, biographies, and narrative nonfiction , as the primary teaching materials for history, science, reading, and language arts. An Instructor's Guide provides detailed daily lesson plans that tell parents exactly what to read, discuss, and assign.

BookShark packages are organized by level (pre-K through 12th grade) and cover four-year history cycles: World Cultures, World History, American History, and Modern World History. Each package includes the Instructor's Guide plus all required books , typically 20-30 titles per year , so homeschool families don't need to hunt for individual books.

At a Glance

What to Know

The program is designed for families who value excellent literature, meaningful discussion, and a secular worldview. Science packages include hands-on experiments and real science readers rather than textbooks. The language arts component integrates reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing through the literature being studied.

At $200-400 per year for a full package (including all books), BookShark represents a significant investment. However, the books are real, high-quality titles that remain on your family's bookshelf long after the curriculum year ends. A number of families resell used packages, and younger siblings can reuse the instructor guides with fresh consumables.

BookShark is ideal for read-aloud families who want a complete, planned curriculum without religious content. The daily lesson plans reduce parent prep time while still centering education on living books rather than textbooks.