Having been a child myself in the early 50s, there are classic books I feel should never be neglected in a child’s reading repertoire.
Though I don’t have the space to mention them all, these were the stuff of our children’s early homeschool reading aloud experience. They are all still around and available today because they strike a chord in all who read them – parent and child alike.
They set an enriching foundation in the heart and mind of children age 2 through 7 or 8. In my opinion, reading aloud should continue even after a child has mastered reading on his or her own and beyond.
Parent – be honest – you’ve only got so much time for reading aloud with your children! The last thing you want to do is choose a dud. If you are new to this, I hope this reading list makes the choosing easier and provides many delightful reading hours for you and your child! Enjoy!

Early Reading Library:
- The Story about Ping by
- The Most Wonderful Doll in the World by Phyllis McGinley
- Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
- The Complete Adventures of Curious George: 75th Anniversary Edition by
- Pretzel by
- Make Way for Ducklings by
- Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
- Winnie-the-Pooh by
- The Cat in the Hat by
- The Story of Ferdinand by
- Good Dog, Carl by
- The Mouse and the Motorcycle by
- Little Bear by
- Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
- Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury by
- The Paddington Treasury by
- Harold and the Purple Crayon by
- Don Freeman by
- Owl at Home by
- The Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon by
- James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
- Autumn Story (Brambly Hedge) ( plus others in the series)
- Little House in the Big Woods by
- The Mitten or The Hat by Jan Brett
- The Snowy Day or Peter’s Chair by
- Goodnight Moon by
- Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book by
- Pippi Longstocking, by
- Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by
- Town Mouse, Country Mouse by
- Miss Rumphius by
- Amelia Bedelia (first in a series) by
- Plain Princess by
- Thornton Burgess Animal Stories by
- The Poky Little Puppy (Little Golden Book) by
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by
- Mr. Frumble’s Coffee Shop Disaster (A Little Golden Book) by
- Tikki Tikki Tembo by
- Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?: Dr. Seuss’s Book of Wonderful Noises by
- What Do People Do All Day? by
- Guess How Much I Love You Board Book by
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Board Book by
- Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by
- Lentil by
- The Runaway Bunny by
- Millions of Cats by
- A Beatrix Potter Treasury by
- Go, Dog Go by
- Animalia by
- The Boxcar Children, No. 1 by
- Green Eggs and Ham by
- The Ugly Duckling by
- The Important Book by
- Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by
- The Elves and the Shoemaker by
- Don Daily by
- Katy and the Big Snow or other classic books by
- Madeline by
- I Am A Bunny by
- Best Word Book Ever by
- Love You Forever by
- The Saggy Baggy Elephant (Little Golden Book) by
- The Princess and the Pea by
- The Little Engine That Could by
- How Rocket Learned to Read by
- The Story of Babar by
- Stellaluna by
- Caps for Sale by
- Doctor De Soto by
- Billy And Blaze by
- Paddle-to-the-Sea by
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by
- The Milly Molly Mandy Storybook by
- A Birthday for Frances and Bread and Jam for Frances (a series) by
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by
- The Courage of Sarah Noble by
- James Herriot’s Treasury of Stories by
- Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by
- The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by
“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”~C.S. Lewis

(FYI: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
And don’t forget the Angus books by Marjorie Flack:
Some other book lists here at Deep Roots with completely different content.

Charlotte Moore
So many of these reminded me of my days when I was a parapro in kindergarten. Such good sweet books.
BLESSINGS!!
Joy Powell
I am so excited about this list!! I love quality children’s books. Most of these books we own, but some I am excited to check out! Thanks so much for compiling this list! I could probably think of some that could bump the list to 100 books, such as the Angus books, Flicka Ricka Dicka, … 🙂 Also love the quote by C.S. Lewis!
Jacqueline
Joy, I will look them up! I have not heard of them 🙂 Thank you!
Erin
Oh yes, we love Flicka, Ricka and Dicka along with Snip Snap Snur for boys.
It made me smile to see Betsy-Tacy on the list. Our oldest daughter is named Tacy after that character. I read that series many times over when I was young.
Wonderful selection of books, thanks for sharing!
Janette
We like the Carl Sommer books Sommer Time Story series. Have you read theses?
Jacqueline
No, Janette, I haven’t! They aren’t from the Carl the Dog series are they? I’ve been away from the books for the younger child for a while, but I will check them out 🙂 Thank you for sharing them with me!! Blessings! J
Janette
No, these aren’t from the Carl the Dog series. I found these at my library and while reading them to my kids I wondered if the author was Christian because the story was similar to a parable and taught character. Here is a link to info: advancepublishing.com
Jacqueline
Thank you for that link, Janette! They sound like something I would like for grandchildren one day 😉 Blessings!
Judy Curry
I absolutely adore your book list as I have forever been a lover of literature. Your list is priceless to me; however, there are a few that I so loved as a child as well as now. Those would be the endearing, timeless stories of Hans Christian Andersen. I would have liked to have seen these included. Love what you’re doing for children as well as adults!
Jacqueline
Than k you, Judy! I love Anderson’s books, too! If I get time, I can add one or two 🙂
Blessings, J
Sarah
I love this list. 🙂 As a stay-at-home momma of 3 (soon to be 4!) children ages 5 and under, I have strived to build a library full of rich literature for my little ones. We own most of the books on this list. We also love E.B. White’s novels and The Wind in the Willows. And while not really”classics,” we’re currently reading through all of the Kate DiCamillo novels and thoroughly enjoying them.
Jacqueline
Sarah, congratulations on the new baby coming! Keep rocking and reading! Invested mothers rule the world!
God bless your family!
Jacque