Favorite Books for Kids

Homeschooling Helpcurriculumelementary grades
Written By Laurie Spigel

Do you remember the books you loved as a kid? The lists below may jog your memory. And please send suggestions for additions.

The NYPL now has educator cards for educators and homeschooling parents. Borrow up to 100 items, put up to 50 items on hold, and get a 60-day loan period for most print materials! The card is renewable each year, in August. All you need to qualify is your homeschooling paperwork (e.g., a copy of your annual letter of compliance from the DoE). The Brooklyn Public Library also offers educator cards to homeschoolers. If you belong to a different library system, ask them about educator cards for homeschooling parents.

Some of my favorite books from childhood:

  • The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and his Boy, The Magician's Nephew, The Last Battle

  • Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll

  • Winnie the Pooh, and other titles by A. A. Milne

  • Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers

  • The Wizard of Oz, series by L. Frank Baum

  • Ronia the Robber's Daughter, by Astrid Lindgren

  • The [color] Fairy Book, (series) by Andrew Lang, available free on the web: The Blue Fairy Book, The Brown Fairy Book, The Crimson Fairy Book, The Green Fairy Book, The Grey Fairy Book, The Lilac Fairy Book, The Orange Fairy Book, The Pink Fairy Book, The Red Fairy Book, The Violet Fairy Book, The Yellow Fairy Book

  • Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Andersen (free online)

  • Half Magic, and all other titles by Edward Eager

  • The Enchanted Castle, Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, The Railway Children, The Story of the Amulet, The Story of the Treasureseekers, and The Wouldbegoods by Edith Nesbitt

  • The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

  • The Princess and the Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, At the Back of the North Wind, by George MacDonald

  • The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

  • Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare (historical fiction)

  • Johnny Tremaine, by Esther Forbes (historical fiction)

  • Ben and Me, by Robert Lawson (Benjamin Franklin from a mouse’s point of view)

  • Rootabaga Stories, by Carl Sandburg

  • A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle (the first good sci fi book for kids)

  • The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupery

  • Tales of a Thousand and One Nights (find an adaptation for children)

  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

  • The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden

  • Blueberries for Sal, and other titles by Robert McCloskey

  • Mistress Masham's Repose, and other titles by T. H. White

  • The Prince and the Pauper, Tom Sawyer, and other titles by Mark Twain

Some of my children’s favorites:

Preschool:

  • Where the Wild Things Are, and all titles by Maurice Sendak

  • Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me, and all titles by Eric Carle

  • Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown

  • Love You Forever, by Robert N. Munsch

  • Grandfather Twilight, by Barbara Helen Berger (also see When the Sun Rose, a gorgeous book for girls)

  • Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson

  • Little Bear, by Elsa Holmelund Minarik

  • Each Peach Pear Plum, (an "I Spy" book), by Allan Ahlberg, Janet Ahlberg illus.

Early readers:

  • Magic Treehouse, series by Mary Pope Osborne

  • Nate the Great, series by Marjorie Sharmat

  • Time Warp Trio, and all titles Jon Sczieska and Lane Smith

  • The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man, by Lloyd Alexander

  • Anansi the Spider: A Tale From The Ashanti, and all other myths and folktales beautifully illustrated by Gerald McDermott

Middle school:

  • The Door in the Air and Other Stories, and all titles by Margaret Mahy

  • Archer's Goon, and other titles by Diana Wynne Jones

  • The Night of Wishes, by Michael Ende (author of The Neverending Story, also great)

  • The Wizard Children of Finn, by Mary Tannen

  • Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer

Other Recommendations

Favorite children's literature on the web:

More books to check out:

*This post contains affiliate links, meaning I make a small commission (at no cost to you) when you click the links and purchase something.



Laurie Spigel
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