Yesterday's Classics

Yesterday's Classics is a small publisher that republishes classic children's books, most first published between 1880 and 1920 and many long out of print, in paperback and ebook editions. Its catalog includes history, biography, literature, and nature-study titles, and dozens of its titles are used by Charlotte Mason-inspired and classical Christian curriculum providers.

Last updated: 2026-10-03 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Literature-based book source used by Charlotte Mason and classical programs (directory classification: classical, literature-based)
Worldview	Christian-ecumenical (directory classification; the About page describes selecting books from a period when a Christian worldview and high standards of literary excellence were the norm)
Grades	Varies by title; the directory lists K-8
Formats	Paperback print editions and ebooks; the About page names Kindle and EPUB formats
Cost tier	Budget (print titles listed from $3.99 to $49.95 as of October 2026)
Parent intensity	2 (a book source; the teaching method comes from the curriculum a family pairs it with)
ESA-common	Not verified; confirm with your state program before purchase
Accredited	Not applicable (a publisher of reprints, not a school)
Established	2005, per the publisher's About page
Website	yesterdaysclassics.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Source texts were first published between 1880 and 1920; reading level varies by title
Ease of teaching	3	The publisher supplies books rather than a lesson sequence; the site lists which titles each curriculum includes
Content quality	5	The About page publishes six selection criteria, including literary quality, story, and the moral imagination
Flexibility	5	Titles are used by eight curricula the publisher lists, including Ambleside Online, Heart of Dakota, and Tapestry of Grace
Value for money	5	Print titles are listed from $3.99 and ebooks from $1.99 as of October 2026
Worldview scope	4	Titles span history, literature, nature study, and Bible; the About page describes a Christian worldview as the norm of the period the books come from
Visual/design	3	Perfect-bound paperbacks with original illustrations included, mostly in black and white
Support resources	3	Titles are organized by curriculum and, for Ambleside Online, by year; the pages we reviewed describe no lesson plans

Who the publisher is

Yesterday's Classics was formed in 2005 and is run by its founders and co-owners, Lisa and Nate Ripperton. The About page states that the founders began making many of these books available free online through the Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project in 1999, and later published a selection of those titles in print and then ebook editions. The publisher lists a mailing address in Ithaca, New York.

The About page lists the criteria a book must meet to be republished: text of high literary quality, story that engages the reader, cultivation of the moral imagination, an interest in the out of doors, heroes worthy of emulation, and stimulation of the powers of observation. It states that the publisher offers over 260 titles in paperback and that dozens of them have been adopted by curriculum providers including the Alveary, Ambleside Online, A Gentle Feast, Heart of Dakota, Wildwood Curriculum, Tapestry of Grace, The Charlotte Mason Educational Center, and Rainbow Resource Center.

The by-title catalog includes Our Island Story and This Country of Ours by H. E. Marshall, The Story of the Greeks and The Story of the Romans by Helene A. Guerber, Famous Men of Greece and Famous Men of Rome by John H. Haaren, The Fairy-Land of Science by Arabella B. Buckley, and Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls by W. H. Weston, along with a Handbook of Nature Study series, fiction, poetry, and the publisher's ebook treasuries and sets.

The core pedagogy

Yesterday's Classics presents no pedagogy of its own on the pages we reviewed. Its curricula page says that numerous homeschool programs use its titles, especially programs that follow the methodology of Charlotte Mason, and it lists eight curricula, with a collection for each of the titles it publishes that the curriculum includes. The page describes Ambleside Online as a free online curriculum organized into 13 years, with book lists for each year, and states that Yesterday's Classics publishes many of those titles.

The site's Ambleside Online collection is divided by year, from Year 0 through Years 8-12, so a family following that program can see which Yesterday's Classics editions correspond to a given year. The curricula page makes the same kind of listing for A Gentle Feast, Heart of Dakota, and Tapestry of Grace, and states that The Charlotte Mason Educational Center schedules dozens of the publisher's books each year.

How the books are used

The pages we reviewed do not publish a daily schedule or lesson plan. A family using one of the listed curricula follows that curriculum's schedule and orders the titles it names, as the curricula page describes. A family building its own reading list can browse the catalog by genre, author, or title.

What they do exceptionally well

Published selection criteria. The About page states the six standards a title must meet, which gives a family a stated basis for what is and is not in the catalog.

Curriculum cross-referencing. The curricula page and the year-by-year Ambleside Online collection let a family order the titles a given program uses without assembling the list from another source.

Price range. The print-books page lists titles from $3.99 (for example, Strayer Upton Practical Arithmetics: Book 2, Part 1) to $49.95 (Schools of Painting) as of October 2026, with Seed-Babies at $11.95. The ebooks page lists titles from $1.99 (Mother Goose) and a complete ebook set of the Handbook of Nature Study at $15.00. The About page also states that the founders first made many of these books available free online through the Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project.

Production details. The About page states that the paperbacks are perfect bound with cream interior pages and color covers, that most are 6 x 9 inches, that the illustrations from the original volumes are included except where the original image quality was too low, and that the text is set in modern, easy-to-read type. Some titles are offered in a color edition, such as the Burgess Bird Book for Children.

What they do poorly

A book source, not a sequence. The site is organized by genre, author, title, and curriculum collection. The pages we reviewed describe no scope and sequence, schedule, or comprehension questions, so a family without a curriculum will need to choose among more than 260 titles on its own.

Mostly black-and-white illustrations and paperback only. The About page states that color illustrations in the original volumes are rendered in black and white in these editions except where noted, and that hardback editions could be made available if sufficient interest warrants, which indicates they are not currently offered.

Period texts. The About page states that the books were first published between 1880 and 1920. Books from that era use the vocabulary and sentence structure of their time and may reflect attitudes of their time, so families may want to preview a title or read it aloud with the child.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Yesterday's Classics if: the family is using a curriculum the publisher lists, such as Ambleside Online, A Gentle Feast, Heart of Dakota, or Tapestry of Grace, and wants the titles that curriculum schedules; the family wants paperback or ebook editions of older children's books at the prices listed above; the family is comfortable with books first published between 1880 and 1920.

• Skip Yesterday's Classics if: the family wants a complete curriculum with daily lesson plans rather than a book source; the family prefers contemporary children's literature; the family wants hardcover editions or color illustrations throughout.

Cost honest assessment

As of October 2026 the publisher's print-books page lists titles from $3.99 to $49.95, and its ebooks page lists titles from $1.99, with individual examples at $1.99 (Mother Goose), $3.99 (A Book of Nursery Rhymes), and $4.99 (A Child's Garden of Verses) and a complete ebook set at $15.00. Treasuries and sets are sold as bundles on the treasuries and ebook sets pages. Prices on the listing pages can differ from the price shown for a particular format on a product page, so a family should confirm the format and price on each title's page before ordering.

The About page lists the Alveary, Ambleside Online, A Gentle Feast, Heart of Dakota, Wildwood Curriculum, Tapestry of Grace, The CMEC, and Rainbow Resource Center as providers that have adopted its titles. This review did not compare the publisher's prices with other publishers' editions of the same books.

ESA eligibility notes

Eligibility depends on the state program and its approved-vendor list. This review has not verified Yesterday's Classics listings on any state marketplace. Books may be treated differently from curriculum under some programs, so confirm with the program administrator whether trade books, a supplemental text, or an ebook purchase is reimbursable before ordering.

Alternatives

• Project Gutenberg, a family would choose Project Gutenberg over Yesterday's Classics when budget is the dominant constraint and digital reading is acceptable: as of October 2026 it describes itself as a library of 79,527 free eBooks with a focus on older works whose U.S. copyright has expired, with no fees or registration.
• Memoria Press Famous Men of Rome Set, a family would choose Memoria Press over a stand-alone reprint when it wants a student guide, teacher guide, and instructional videos for a book of this name: the set includes the text, Third Edition Student Guide, Third Edition Teacher Guide, digital flashcards, and streaming instructional videos, and is priced at $110.25 as of October 2026. Yesterday's Classics also lists a Famous Men of Rome title.
• Living Book Press, a family would choose Living Book Press when comparing editions of living books: the publisher describes itself as run by homeschoolers who transcribe, format, and proof each book by hand, and states that its books are used with Ambleside Online and A Gentle Feast, among other curricula.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed the Yesterday's Classics About, Contact, Curricula, Ambleside Online collection, print-books, ebooks, and by-title pages in October 2026, along with the Project Gutenberg, Memoria Press, and Living Book Press pages cited above. Prices and program details verified October 2026.