75 Classic Books We Shouldn't Neglect In A Child's Reading Repertoire

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!

Print this booklist before going to the library!

Early Reading Library:

The Story about Ping by Marjorie Flack
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 H. A. Rey
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
Little Bear by Elsa Holmelund Minarik
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury by Arnold Lobel
The Paddington Treasury by Michael Bond
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
The Three Tales of My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Autumn Story (Brambly Hedge) ( plus others in the series)
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
T he Mitten or The Hat by Jan Brett
The Snowy Day or Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Rod Campbell
Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald
Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Amelia Bedelia (first in a series) by Peggy Parish
Plain Princess by Phyllis McGinley (out of print, but worth a search to find it)

Thornton Burgess Animal Stories by Thornton W. Burgess
The Poky Little Puppy (Little Golden Book) by Janette Sebring Lowrey
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Mr. Frumble’s Coffee Shop Disaster (A Little Golden Book) by Richard Scarry
Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?: Dr. Seuss’s Book of Wonderful Noises by Dr. Seuss
What Do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry
Guess How Much I Love You Board Book by Sam McBratney
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Board Book by Bill Martin Jr.
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
Lentil by Robert McCloskey

The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
A Beatrix Potter Treasury by Beatrix Potter
G o, Dog Go by P.D. Eastman
A nimalia by Graeme Base
The Boxcar Children, No. 1 by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Green Eggs and Ham by Seuss
T he Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
The Elves and the Shoemaker by Jacob Grimm

Classic Treasury of Aesop’s Fables by Don Daily
Katy and the Big Snow or other classic books by Virginia Lee Burton
M adeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
I Am A Bunny by Ole Risom
Best Word Book Ever by Richard Scarry
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
The Saggy Baggy Elephant (Little Golden Book) by K. Jackson
The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills
The Story of Babar by Jean De Brunhoff

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Doctor De Soto by William Steig
Billy And Blaze by C.W. Anderson
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
The Milly Molly Mandy Storybook by Joyce Lankester Brisley
A Birthday for Frances and Bread and Jam for Frances series by Russell Hoban
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
James Herriot’s Treasury of Stories by James Herriot
Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh

“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”~C.S. Lewis

100 Wholehearted Books to Help Fight Back the Culture

Print this booklist before going to the library!

(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.

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Comments

Charlotte Moore

October 09, 2016 at 3:03 am

So many of these reminded me of my days when I was a parapro in kindergarten. Such good sweet books.

BLESSINGS!!

Joy Powell

October 09, 2016 at 6:12 am

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
  
  October 09, 2016 at 4:56 pm
  
  Joy, I will look them up! I have not heard of them 🙂 Thank you!
  
- Erin
  
  October 09, 2016 at 8:45 pm
  
  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

January 08, 2019 at 11:19 am

We like the Carl Sommer books Sommer Time Story series. Have you read theses?

- Jacqueline
  
  January 08, 2019 at 11:23 pm
  
  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
    
    January 09, 2019 at 7:34 am
    
    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
      
      January 09, 2019 at 9:55 pm
      
      Thank you for that link, Janette! They sound like something I would like for grandchildren one day 😉 Blessings!
      
Judy Curry

January 20, 2019 at 6:20 pm

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
  
  January 20, 2019 at 11:50 pm
  
  Than k you, Judy! I love Anderson’s books, too! If I get time, I can add one or two 🙂
  Blessings, J
  
Sarah

October 02, 2020 at 8:36 pm

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
  
  October 02, 2020 at 9:26 pm
  
  Sarah, congratulations on the new baby coming! Keep rocking and reading! Invested mothers rule the world!
  God bless your family!
  Jacque
  
Patricia Petrino

April 12, 2021 at 7:18 am

Thanks for sharing this list. I read almost all of these as a child, and own almost all of them. I read to my five children until they were 11 or 12. They all enjoyed hearing stories like The Jungle Book, Treasure Island, and Little Women. Now I read to my grandchildren and my first great granddaughter. My kids also loved the Berenstein Bears books, which were funny, but contained good life lessons as well. Thanks for bringing back my childhood memories.

Kate

June 08, 2022 at 11:02 pm

An absolutely fabulous list! I already know I’ll love the ones I am not familiar with because of the quality of the ones I do know! Thank you so much for posting and God bless you and your family ❤️

- Jacqueline
  
  June 09, 2022 at 12:51 am
  
  Thank you, Kate! I have 2 more posts coming – one for boys and one for girls, so stay tuned! ~Jacque
  
Tia

July 23, 2023 at 4:43 am

Have you ever considered adding a Joan Anglund Walsh book, A Friend is Someone Who Likes you?