Master Books
Master Books publishes open-and-go courses in math, language arts, science and history for kindergarten to 12th grade, each with a course guide that schedules a 180-day year. For each grade it sells a Basic 4-Subject Set of its recommended courses with teacher and student materials, or the courses can be bought one at a time. Several courses describe a Charlotte Mason approach, with stories, copywork, narration and hands-on work, and lessons are kept short.
- Subjects
- All subjects: math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography
- Grades
- Kindergarten to 12th grade source ↗
- Method
- Charlotte Mason source ↗
- Format
- Books and workbooks source ↗
- Faith label
- Faith-based
- Cost a year
- $194.34 a year. Grade 3 Basic 4-Subject Set (teacher and student materials for 36 weeks of math, language arts, science and history): $194.34, list price $242.94. Read on October 29, 2026; prices change. source ↗
- Placement
- Free math and language arts placement tests ↗
What it does well
- The 3rd grade Basic 4-Subject Set costs under $200 and holds teacher and student materials for 36 weeks of the four core subjects.
- Each course guide has a daily schedule for a 180-day year, so the parent does little planning.
- Courses are also sold one at a time, so a child can work at different levels in different subjects.
- Free placement tests are offered for several of the math and language arts courses.
Watch for
- Lessons are short by design, about 20 to 30 minutes a day for 3rd grade language arts, so a parent who wants more practice will need to add it.
- Returns must be made within 30 days in unused condition and carry a 15% restocking fee; digital products cannot be refunded.
- Placement tests cover some math and language arts courses only, not science or history.
- Master Books is a publisher, not a school, so the parent keeps the records and high school transcripts.
It fits
A family that wants low-cost, open-and-go printed courses with short lessons and a Charlotte Mason flavor.
It doesn’t fit
A family that wants video or on-screen teaching, or longer, drill-heavy lessons.
Compare Master Books
- Master Books vs The Good and the Beautiful side by side
Other programs for the same subject and grades:
- Abeka Pre-K (K4) to 12th grade
- AmblesideOnline Year 0 (kindergarten) to Year 12
- Beyond the Page Age levels 4-5 to 12-14 (about pre-K to 8th grade), plus High School 1 for 9th or 10th grade
- BJU Press Homeschool K3 (preschool) to 12th grade
- BookShark Levels Pre-K to J plus high school levels, ages 4 to 18 (about pre-K to 12th grade)
- Build Your Library Level 0 (kindergarten) to Level 12 (12th grade)
- Classical Conversations Ages 4 to 18, about pre-K to 12th grade
- Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool Preschool to 8th grade, with high school on the sister site All-in-One High School
Lists it is on
- Homeschool all-in-one curricula 22
- Faith-based homeschool curricula 22
- Charlotte Mason homeschool curricula 9
- Homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 48
- Homeschool curricula for middle school 51
- Homeschool curricula for high school 38
- Print homeschool curricula 44
- Homeschool curricula for $100 to $300 a year 18
- Faith-based homeschool all-in-one curricula 14
- Faith-based Charlotte Mason homeschool curricula 7
- Faith-based homeschool curricula for pre-K and kindergarten 19
- Faith-based homeschool curricula for high school 21
What we read, and how we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
The publisher’s pages we read on October 29, 2026:
- masterbooks.com/
- masterbooks.com/about
- masterbooks.com/knowledge-base/homeschooling
- masterbooks.com/grade-3-basic-4-subject-set-2021
- masterbooks.com/grade-k-basic-4-subject-set
- masterbooks.com/language-lessons-for-a-living-education-3
- masterbooks.com/assessment-and-placement-tests
- masterbooks.com/knowledge-base/what-is-your-return-policy
Something wrong or out of date? Publishers and parents can send a correction and we will fix it. Publishers can send corrections, never money. All programs compared · Find your homeschool style