So I wrote up this article and it seems to have not saved, and disappeared. Frustrating but it is what it is, so here we go again.

I want to start off by saying that if you haven’t read my Minecraft posts, here’s a quick synopsis. You can use Minecraft as a game in itself or as a fun learning tool to benefit your child and class. They can work as individuals or as teams. There is so much you can use Minecraft for to teach and guide. Now listed below are not lesson plans for the game itself. I a, working on a bunch and have a few posted which you can find in the freebie section. Below is a list of books I highly recommend. Books are divided into architecture, workbooks and chapter books. I hope you find it as useful as we do. Matthew has been using the workbooks since ordering them and absolutely loves them. I’m seeing a huge progress. He also really loves his architecture books as he will sit with the book in front of him as we plays.

Architecture/ Building and Game Playing Books

Minecraft: Maps: An Explorer’s Guide to Minecraft by Mojang Ab

Are you ready for an adventure? Minecraft: Mapsis a visual guide to the Minecraft landscape, created by an explorer on a quest to find the most valuable loot while avoiding danger. Explore each of the fifteen major biomes through highly detailed, illustrated maps, then read the explorer’s notes about the unique features and discover an inspirational themed build idea for each.

Minecraft: Mobestiary by Mojang Ab

Minecraft: Mobestiary reveals the secrets of every mob in the game. You’ll find little-known facts about passive, neutral, hostile, utility, and boss mobs, as well as more general information about their locations, behaviors, threat levels, and drops.

Minecraft: Epic Bases by Mojang Ab (Releases 10/6/22)

Are you an expert builder? Looking for inspiration for your next epic build? Then the search is over!

Visit the legendary bases of The Twelve, a guild of expert builders, who are ready to showcase their most stunning creations, including flying airships and underwater lairs. Learn their top tips and tricks for making incredible bases in a variety of themes, and follow their expert advice to create challenging structures and complex redstone mechanisms.

Full of thematic builds and unique features, this book of exceptional bases will spark the imagination of Minecrafters young and old.

Minecraft: Guide to Redstone by Mojang Ab

Pick up the basics of the redstone components and their uses, discover how to make working circuits, and create incredibly complex builds using your new skills.

Minecraft: Guide to Exploration by Mojang Ab

The world of Minecraft is waiting to be explored. But danger lurks around every corner and survival can prove difficult for even the bravest adventurer.

With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to exploration for new Minecrafters.

Minecraft for Beginners by Mojang Ab

With its open-ended game play, massive world and dedicated fan base, Minecraft is a richly rewarding experience—once you get the hang of it. With easy-to-follow instructions, tips and tricks from the experts behind the game, Minecraft for Beginners will help you survive and thrive. You’ll learn how to find food, build a shelter, mine for materials and craft armor, swords and other equipment, plus get the inside scoop on places to go and the monsters you’ll encounter. What are you waiting for? Begin your Minecraft adventure today!

Minecraft: Guide to PVP Minigames by Mojang Ab

When it comes to making your own fun in Minecraft, the player-versus-player minigame options are endless, and the only limit is your imagination.

With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to building and playing PVP minigames in Minecraft.

Minecraft: Exploded Builds: Medieval Fortress by Mojang Ab

Learn how to design, build, and customize every part of your castle and the surrounding area, from sturdy walls and deadly traps to dank, dark dungeons and sprawling villages. Each build has an exploded view to show you exactly which blocks to use, plus extra ideas to make every part of your kingdom unique.

Guide to Minecraft Dungeons: A Handbook for Heroes by Mojang Ab

It is a dark and dangerous time. Corrupted by the Orb of Dominance, the evil Arch-Illager has gathered a loyal following of Illagers. Together they have ravaged the land, enslaving the peaceful Villagers and forcing them to do their bidding. 

The Villagers are in desperate need of a hero, and you are their only hope. Within the pages of this valuable book, you will find strategies for fighting malicious mobs, observations about the perils of each dungeon and advice about how to get your hands on rare and powerful items. You will also learn how to work as part of a team to vanquish the Arch-Illager once and for all.

Minecraft: Guide to Survival by Mojang Ab

The mysterious world of Minecraft is just waiting to be explored. But danger lurks around every corner and survival can prove difficult for even the bravest adventurer.

Learn how to find resources, craft equipment, and protect yourself. Discover which biomes to avoid when starting out, how to build a mob-proof shelter, where to look for naturally-generated structures laden with loot, and so much more.

Minecraft: Guide to the Nether & the End by Mojang Ab

Survival is difficult in the perilous Nether and End dimensions, and you’ll need to up your game if you want to make it back to the Overworld.

With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to the Nether and the End in Minecraft.

Minecraft: Guide to Creative by Mojang Ab

The world of Minecraft is so varied and limitless that incredible creations can often be daunting to think about, never mind to build.

With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to creation in Minecraft.

Minecraft: Guide to Ocean Survival by Mojang Ab

Minecraft’s oceans are teeming with colorful life and rare treasures, but new dangers lurk beneath the water and survival can prove difficult.

With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to underwater survival.

Minecraft: Guide to Enchantments & Potions by Mojang Ab

The world of Minecraft is perilous: Danger lurks around every corner, and you’ll need powerful tools and equipment if you want to survive.

With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to Minecraft sorcery.

Minecraft: Guide to Farming by Mojang Ab

In Survival mode you’re constantly in need of food and other useful items, and true survivors know the importance of setting up their own farming systems.

With insider info and tips from the experts at Mojang, this is the definitive guide to becoming self-sufficient in Minecraft.

Minecraft: Let’s Build! Theme Park Adventure by Mojang Ab

Inside you’ll find build ideas for everything from a classic carousel and a haunted mansion ride to thrilling jungle river rapids and a terrifying alternate dimensions roller coaster.

Just follow the steps for each build, and before you know it, you’ll have an entire theme park to enjoy with your friends!

Minecraft: Let’s Build! Land of Zombies by Mojang Ab

Inside you’ll find build ideas for everything from a zombie arena and a zombie-infested graveyard to an undead city and a top-secret lab where zombies are created and cured.

Just follow the steps for each build, and before you know it you’ll have an entire Land of Zombies to enjoy with your friends!

Workbooks

Math Workbook

Math for Minecrafters: Adventures in Multiplication & Division by Amanda Brack

This kid-friendly workbook features well-loved video game characters and concepts to reinforce the development of third and fourth grade math skills laid out in the national Common Core State Standards. Colorfully-illustrated puzzles and high-interest word problems use beloved items from the Overworld like diamond swords, suits of armor, zombies, and magical potions to encourage math practice in even the most reluctant of students. The curriculum-based content covered here includes lessons in:

Analyzing and comparing geometric shapes
Understanding fractions and place value
Multiplication and division up to 100
And so much more!

Math for Mindcrafters: Adventures in Addition & Subtraction by Amanda Brack

This kid-friendly workbook features well-loved video game characters and concepts to reinforce the development of first and second grade math skills laid out in the national Common Core State Standards. Colorfully-illustrated puzzles and high-interest word problems use beloved items from the Overworld like diamond swords, suits of armor, zombies, and magical potions to encourage math practice in even the most reluctant of students. The curriculum-based content covered here includes lessons in:

Geometric shapes
Telling time
Counting money
Reading charts and graphs
Adding and subtracting numbers up to 20
And so much more!

Math for Minecrafters: Grades 1-2 by Sky Pony Press

Math Fun for Minecrafters: Grades 1–2 features well-loved video game characters and concepts to develop first and second grade math skills. Colorfully-illustrated word problems, charts, math facts pages, and secret messages help kids reach the math goals set in the National Common Core standards for first and second grade.

Young gamers will enjoy Minecrafting-themed lessons in:

• Telling time
• Understanding place value
• Skip counting
• Geometric shapes
• Reading charts and graphs
• Adding and subtracting numbers up to 100, and more!

With diamond swords, suits of armor, zombies, and magical potions to guide them through each problem, even the most reluctant learner will be game for these challenges.

Math for Minecrafters: Word Problems Grades 3- 4 by Sky Pony Press

This kid-friendly workbook features well-loved video game characters and concepts to reinforce the development of third and fourth grade math skills laid out in the national Common Core State Standards. Colorfully-illustrated and high-interest word problems use beloved items from the Overworld, the Nether, and the End to turn math into an exciting adventure. Whether they?re multiplying the number of mobs they spawn or dividing items in their inventory among their treasure chests, the problems in this workbook will grab the attention of even the most reluctant student. They’ll practice all of the word problem skills they need in school, including:

Grade 3:

• Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems
• Multiplying and dividing three whole numbers
• Solve two-step word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division

Grade 4:

• Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions
• Solve word problems involving multiplication of a fraction by a whole number
• Solving for area and perimeter

Math Fun for Minecrafters: Word Problems Grades 1-2 by Sky Pony Press

This kid-friendly guide features well-loved video game characters and concepts to reinforce the development of first and second grade math skills laid out in the national Common Core State Standards.

Colorfully-illustrated and high-interest word problems use beloved items from the Overworld, the Nether, and the End to turn math into an exciting adventure. Whether they’re adding diamond swords, potions, and mooshrooms, or subtracting the number of Nether skeletons, Ghasts, and Endermen they’ve destroyed, the problems in this workbook will appeal to even the most reluctant student. They’ll practice all of the word problem skills they need in school, including:

Grade 1:

• Adding and subtracting whole numbers up to 20
• Adding three whole numbers up to 20
• Identifying the correct operation to use (addition or subtraction)
• Solving for a missing number

Grade 2:

• Adding and subtracting whole numbers up to 100
• Solving one- and two-step word problems

Math Fun for Minecrafters: Grades 3-4 by Sky Pony Press

Math Fun for Minecrafters: Grades 3–4 features well-loved video game characters and concepts to develop third and fourth grade math skills. Colorfully-illustrated word problems, charts, math facts pages, and secret messages help kids reach the math goals set in the National Common Core standards for third and fourth grade.

Young gamers will enjoy Minecraft-themed lessons in:

• Fractions
• Analyzing geometric shapes
• Calculating area and perimeter
• Multiplication and division, and more!

With diamond swords, suits of armor, zombies, and magical potions to guide them through each problem, even the most reluctant learner will be game for these challenges.

Reading/ Writing and Spelling

Reading Success for Minecrafters Grades 1-2 by Sky Pony Press

This kid-friendly workbook features well-loved video game characters and concepts to reinforce the development of first and second grade reading skills laid out in the national Common Core State Standards. Colorfully-illustrated and high-interest practice pages and reading comprehension passages use diamond swords, potions, skeletons, zombies, and creepers to add an element of excitement to reading time.

Reading Success for Minecrafters Grades 3-4 by Sky Pony Press

This kid-friendly workbook features well-loved video game characters and concepts to reinforce the development of third and fourth grade reading skills laid out in the national Common Core State Standards. Colorfully-illustrated and high-interest practice pages and reading comprehension passages use diamond swords, potions, skeletons, zombies, and creepers to add an element of excitement to reading time. 

They’ll practice all of the reading skills they need in school, including:

Grade 3:

• prefixes and suffixes
• common spelling patterns
• vocabulary development
• reading comprehension: reading for main ideas and details, identifying cause and effect, and sequencing
• reading fluency

Grade 4:

• vocabulary development
• reading comprehension: making inferences; understanding and describing characters, setting, conflict and plot; and integrating and comparing texts
• reading fluency

Handwriting for Minecrafters: Cursive by Sky Pony Press

This kid-friendly workbook features well-loved video game characters and settings to encourage kids to practice writing lowercase and capital cursive letters. Colorfully illustrated pages bring their most beloved video game to life and entice learners (even the most reluctant ones) to take part in an educational adventure. With a full page of practice for each uppercase and lowercase letter of the alphabet, plus extra pages to help them write kid-friendly Minecrafting words and sentences, they’ll find everything they need to develop their fine motor skills, their cursive skills, and their confidence in the classroom. Included within this book:

• Clear stroke formation guidelines to support learning
• Uppercase and lowercase letter practice with roomy practice space
• Minecrafting-themed word and sentence practice for added skill building
• Engaging full-color illustrations to make learning fun.

Whether you’re preparing them for the upcoming school year or providing extra skill practice, Handwriting for Minecrafters: Cursive is as fun as it is educational—and is just what your child needs to meet and exceed academic standards!

Writing for Minecrafters: Grade 1 by Sky Pony Press

Writing for Minecrafters: Grade 1 features well-loved video game characters and concepts to encourage first grade writing practice. With Steve, Alex, zombies, creepers, and villagers to inspire them, young Minecrafters will be eager to fill the pages with their own words. Colorful art and engaging prompts invite kids to expand their vocabulary, practice proper grammar and capitalization, and write full sentences and paragraphs.

Kids will get to express their creativity and writing skills with lessons in:

• vocabulary development
• adding detail with adjectives and adverbs
• past, present, and future tense structure
• grammar and sentence structure
• pre-writing strategies and idea building
• Informational, opinion, and narrative writing

Reinforce classroom learning and help them meet the National Common Core language arts standards with this kid-friendly tool. Writing for Minecrafters is the best way to get all kids excited about writing.

Writing Minecrafters: Grade 2 by Sky Pony Press

Writing for Minecrafters: Grade 2 features video game characters and concepts to encourage second grade writing practice. With Steve, Alex, zombies, creepers, and villagers to inspire them, young Minecrafters will be eager to fill the pages with their own words.

Colorful art and engaging prompts invite kids to expand their vocabulary, practice proper grammar and capitalization, and write for different purposes and audiences. Each game-themed writing activity is designed to reinforce classroom learning and help kids meet the National Common Core language arts standards. Kids will get to express their creativity and writing skills with lessons in:

• vocabulary development
• adding detail with adjectives and adverbs
• past, present, and future tense structure
• sentence and paragraph structure
• pre-writing strategies and idea building
• Informational, opinion, and narrative writing

Reinforce classroom learning and help them meet the National Common Core language arts standards with this kid-friendly tool. Writing for Minecrafters is the best way to get all kids excited about writing.

Writing Minecrafters: Grades 3 by Sky Pony Press

Writing for Minecrafters: Grade 3 features well-loved video game characters and concepts to encourage third grade writing practice. With Steve, Alex, zombies, creepers, and villagers to inspire them, young Minecrafters will be eager to fill the pages with their own words. Colorful art and engaging prompts invite kids to expand their vocabulary, practice proper grammar and capitalization, and write for different purposes and audiences. Each game-themed writing activity is designed to reinforce classroom learning and help kids meet the National Common Core language arts standards.

Kids will get to express their creativity and writing skills with lessons in:

• Vocabulary development
• Adding detail with adjectives and adverbs
• Past, present, and future tense structure
• Sentence and paragraph structure
• Pre-writing strategies and idea building
• Informational, opinion, and narrative writing

Reinforce classroom learning and help them meet the National Common Core language arts standards with this kid-friendly tool. Writing for Minecrafters is the best way to get all kids excited about writing.

Handwriting for Minecrafters: Printing

This kid-friendly workbook features well-loved video game characters and settings to encourage kids to practice forming lowercase and capital letters. Colorfully illustrated pages bring their most beloved video game to life and entice learners (even the most reluctant ones) to take part in an educational handwriting adventure.

With a full page of practice for each uppercase and lowercase letter of the alphabet, plus extra pages to help them write kid-friendly Minecrafting words and sentences, they’ll find everything they need to develop their fine motor skills, their handwriting skills, and their confidence in the classroom. This book includes:

• Clear stroke formation guidelines to support learning
• Uppercase and lowercase letter practice with roomy practice space
• Minecrafting-themed word and sentence practice for added skill building
• Engaging full-color illustrations to make learning fun.

Whether you’re preparing them for the upcoming school year or providing extra skill practice, Handwriting for Minecrafters: Printing is as fun as it is educational—and is just what your child needs to meet and exceed academic standards!

Chapter Books

Minecraft Books: Diary of a Zombie by Zack Zombie

In the first book of this hilarious Minecraft adventure series, we get to read the diary of an actual 12 year old, Minecraft Zombie.

Take a peek at what is really going on between the hollow eyes, and dead expression that we normally see when we face the dreaded Zombies of Minecraft.

Are Zombies really different from us? You’ll be surprised at what you discover. So, jump into this Minecraft adventure and find out!

Minecraft: The Island by Max Brooks

Washed up on a beach, the lone castaway looks around the shore. Where am I? Who am I? And why is everything made of blocks? But there isn’t much time to soak up the sun. It’s getting dark, and there’s a strange new world to explore!

The top priority is finding food. The next is not becoming food. Because there are others out there on the island . . .  like the horde of zombies that appears after nightfall. Crafting a way out of this mess is a challenge like no other. Who could build a home while running from exploding creepers, armed skeletons, and an unstoppable tide of hot lava? Especially with no help except for a few makeshift tools and sage advice from an unlikely friend: a cow.

In this world, the rules don’t always make sense, but courage and creativity go a long way. There are forests to explore, hidden underground tunnels to loot, and undead mobs to defeat. Only then will the secrets of the island be revealed.

The Friendly Creeper Diaries by Mark Mulle

Not all creepers want to blow out and hurt other mobs! There are friendly creepers who have their own village and stay away from humans and other mobs. What is it like living as a friendly creeper and how are they different from the other creepers

Minecraft: The Lost Journals by Mur Lafferty

Max and Alison are proof that differences don’t stand in the way of friendship. Max is always on the lookout for a new adventure—even if it means getting into trouble—while Alison prefers to follow the rules. But both of them are fascinated by the beat-up old journal Max finds and the strange gate its secretive author, the Enchanter, describes: a portal to an otherworldly realm of danger called the Nether.

After they use the journal’s instructions to craft the portal, Max and Alison squabble over whether to remain safe in the Overworld or to journey into the Nether to find the Enchanter . . . until a fateful accident makes the decision for them.

Trapped in a scary new world, Max and Alison find an ally in Freya, a fierce warrior who has been living in the Nether with her beloved wolf, Bunny Biter. With Freya’s help, and with the clues that lie in the pages of the mysterious journal, Max and Alison embark on a quest to find the Enchanter, even as the Nether pushes their skills—and their friendship—to the limit.

Minecraft: The End by Catherine M. Valente

For as long as they can remember, the twin endermen Fin and Mo have lived in the mysterious land of the End. On the outskirts of the great enderman city of Telos, they explore ancient ruins under the watchful gaze of the mighty ender dragon. They have everything they need in the end ship they call home, and know everything there is to know about their world—or so they think until the strangers from another dimension arrive.

The invaders are called humans, and they’ve come to steal artifacts and slay the ender dragon. Fin and Mo are ready to protect their home from the trespassers, but when they come face-to-face with the humans, they discover that they aren’t as prepared for battle as they’d thought. Caught off guard, the twins are trapped in the middle of a war between the endermen and the humans, with the future of their home at stake.

Minecraft: The Crash by Tracey Baptiste

Bianca has never been good at following the plan. She’s more of an act-now, deal-with-the-consequences-later kind of person. But consequences can’t be put off forever, as Bianca learns when she and her best friend, Lonnie, are in a terrible car crash.

Waking up in the hospital, almost paralyzed by her injuries, Bianca is faced with questions she’s not equipped to answer. She chooses instead to try a new virtual-reality version of Minecraft that responds to her every wish, giving her control over a world at the very moment she thought she’d lost it. As she explores this new realm, she encounters a mute, glitching avatar she believes to be Lonnie. Bianca teams up with Esme and Anton, two kids who are also playing on the hospital server, to save her friend.

But the road to recovery isn’t without its own dangers. The kids are swarmed by mobs seemingly generated by their fears and insecurities, and now Bianca must deal with the uncertainties that have been plaguing her: Is Lonnie really in the game? And can Bianca help him return to reality?

Diary of a Surfer Villager by Dr. Block

Get the first five books of the Surfer Villager unofficial Minecraft fanfiction series in one convenient package!

Diary of a Teenage Minecraft Zombie Villager by Skeleton Steve

The zombie Devdan couldn’t even remember his nameanymore, that is, until he was visited by the pet cat he had when he was alive. Now, along with Skeleton Steve’s help, Devdan sets out with his long-lost kitty to remember who he is and find his village home. But how will he find the way? And what will he do if he gets there? Will Devdan be destined to roam the Minecraft world as a zombie villager forever?

Minecraft: Stories from the Overworld by Hope Larson

With tales of witch and pillager rivals finding common ground, a heartless griefer who bit off more than they could chew, and valiant heroes new (or not!) to the Overworld, this anthology tells tales that span the world of Minecraft.

Minecraft: The Voyage by Jason Fry

Stax Stonecutter has lived a peaceful—if unremarkable—life in his small town in the Overworld. The son of great adventurers and wise builders, Stax prefers an easier life. He loves to tend to his gardens and play with his cats all day, rather than venturing out to explore the surrounding lands. It’s quiet on his estate, even lonely sometimes, but it suits Stax well enough.

His solitude is shattered when a mysterious stranger arrives with a band of merciless raiders. In one terrible night, Stax’s old life is taken from him, and he is left stranded in the middle of nowhere, angry and alone. He’s never left home, and now he knows why: everything beyond the boundaries of his little town is scary and dangerous! But as he begins his long journey back, Stax encounters fascinating travelers who show him that there’s more to the Overworld than marauding pirates and frightening mobs; there are beautiful lands to explore, fantastical contraptions to build, and new friends to meet. It may have taken losing everything he once knew, but on his adventure Stax finds something more valuable than all the diamonds in the Overworld: a whole wonderful world that’s just waiting to be explored.

The Complete Baby Zeke by Dr. Block

The individual books in this series have over 200 5-star reviews on Good Reads and over 90 5-star reviews on Amazon.com!

Now, get the popular Minecraft series, Baby Zeke: The Diary of a Chicken Jockey, in one convenient kindle “box set”. And, best of all, SAVE BIG compared to buying the books individually!

Minecraft: The Shipwreck by Mojang Ab (Comes out November 3rd, 2020)

Jake Thomas is always the new kid. His family moves so much for his dad’s work that it’s easier to keep his head down and not get attached to anyone. He’ll be gone in a few months anyway. But when they end up in Los Angeles, Dad promises this will be the last time they move. The Pacific Crest Apartments are home now . . . which means it’s time for Jake to finally make friends. 

Jake isn’t sure he should count the two kids he meets at the apartment’s community center as friends, though. Tank Vuong is a large and intimidating boy who hangs with a tough crowd, and Emily Quesada is a fashionista who’s quick with a sarcastic remark. But when he discovers an old computer lab in a forgotten corner of the community center, with a strange Minecraft server containing cryptic riddles, he realizes he’s going to need help cracking the code—because at the end of the summer, the community center will be demolished, and all hope of solving the mystery will go with it. Following the hints left by an enigmatic figure known as The Wizard, the trio journeys into the dangerous depths of the ocean, where uncanny creatures lurk and untold treasure

There are more books I didn’t add, this is just a sample of what is out there and what we are using. Hope that helps.