Children's Classics

What is a classic?

“Out of the thousands of books published for children every year, only a relative few combine timeless prose, deft characterization, and unforgettable characters to tell their tales… These books form a lasting image in young minds and hearts. Their mark is felt both immediately and for years afterward.”  -- Jane Marino and Nancy Zachary, Book Links, January 1999

“Intensity of imagination is the important thing…it is this that creates an atmosphere; that makes us feel, on opening the pages of a book, that we are in a different world, and a world full of real beings about whom, in one way or another, we care. Ultimately, the greatness of a work of imaginative art depends mostly upon two questions: how strongly we feel ourselves transported to this new world, and what sort of world it is when we get there, how great, or interesting, or beautiful.”  --  Gilbert Murray, quoted in The Horn Book Magazine, February 1947

Aesop’s Fables    by Aesop
These brief, highly structured animal tales usually disguise ironic points about human nature; each tale has a moral..   (J/ 398.2452/Aes)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland    by Lewis Carroll
“A white rabbit, a mad hatter, and a grinning Cheshire cat – they’re all here in this much-loved fantasy about a young girl’s extraordinary journey down the rabbit hole.”*

Hans Andersen’s Fairy Tales    by Hans Christian Andersen  
Includes "Thumbelina," "The Princess and the Pea," "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid," "The Emperor's New Clothes," "The Tin Soldier" and other classic stories.   (J 398 And)

Anne of Green Gables    by L.M. Montgomery, 1908
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.

“B” is for Betsy    by Carolyn Haywood, 1939
Betsy experiences an interesting first year in school and looks forward to summer vacation at her grandfather's farm.

Bambi    by Felix Salten, 1929
Describes the life of a deer in the forest as he grows into a beautiful stag.

A Bear Called Paddington    by Michael Bond, 1958
From the day Paddington was discovered on a railway platform in London, he was seldom far from imminent disaster; but it always seemed to turn into hilarious fun.

Black Beauty    by Anna Sewell, 1877
A horse in nineteenth-century England vividly recounts his experience with both good and cruel masters.

The Black Stallion    by Walter Farley, 1944
When a boy is shipwrecked on a deserted island with only a black stallion for company, he exhausts every bit of his wit and spirit to tame, then befriend the stallion.

The Book of King Arthur    by Howard Pyle
Relates how Arthur became king, won a queen, and came to establish the Round Table. First published in 1903 under the title: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights.   (J 398 Ar7Py)

The Borrowers    by Mary Norton, 1953
Tiny people live hidden in an old house, borrowing most of what they need from their human hosts.

Charlotte’s Web    by E.B. White, 1952
This beloved story about friendship tells the tale of Charlotte the spider and Fern, the farmer’s daughter, who try to save the life of their friend, Wilbur the pig.

A Child’s Garden of Verses    by Robert Louis Stevenson
Imaginative poems evoke the world and feelings of childhood. Illustrated with antique pictures by well-known illustrators.  (J/ 821.8/Ste)

The Courage of Sarah Noble    by Alice Dalgliesh, 1954
Remembering her mother's words, an eight-year-old girl finds the courage to go alone with her father to build a new home in the Connecticut wilderness and to stay with the Indians when her father goes back to bring the rest of the family.

The Cricket in Times Square    by George Selden
The adventures of a country cricket who unintentionally arrives in New York and is befriended by Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales    by the Brothers Grimm
Includes “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Snow White,” “The Bremen Town Musicians,” “The Shoemaker and the Elves,” and “The Frog Prince.”   (J/ 398.21/Gri)

Hans Brinker or, the Silver Skates    by Mary Mapes Dodge
A Dutch boy and his sister, whose father is injured and cannot remember where he hid the family's money, work to save their father's life, and to compete in a skating contest which has as first prize a pair of silver skates.

Heidi    by Johanna Spyri
A Swiss orphan is heartbroken when she must leave her beloved grandfather and their happy home in the mountains to go to school and to care for an invalid girl in the city.

Henry Huggins    by Beverly Cleary
When Henry adopts Ribsy, a dog of no particular breed, humorous adventures follow.

The Hobbit    by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1938
Bilbo Baggins, a respectable hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wizard Gandalf chooses him for an adventure from which he may never return.

Homer Price    by Robert McCloskey, 1943
Six episodes in the life of Homer Price including one in which he and his pet skunk capture four bandits, and another about a donut machine on the rampage.

The Incredible Journey: A Tale of Three Animals    by Sheila Burnford, 1961
A Siamese cat, an old bull terrier, and a young Labrador retriever travel together 250 miles through the Canadian wilderness to find their family.

Island of the Blue Dolphins    by Scott O’Dell, 1960
Describes the courage and self-reliance of an Indian girl who lived alone for eighteen years on an isolated island off the California coast.

Johnny Tremain    by Esther Forbes
“A historical novel with such vivid characterizations and plot that readers seem to find themselves back in Boston at the outset of the Revolutionary War.”*

The Jungle Book    by Rudyard Kipling
“The gripping story of Mowgli, a boy raised in the jungle by animals that are both wild and wise.”*

The Just So Stories    by Rudyard Kipling, 1902
A collection of the well-known stories, including "How the Whale Got His Throat," "The Elephant's Child," and "The Butterfly that Stamped."

Lassie Come Home    by Eric Knight, 1940
A collie undertakes a 1000-mile journey in order to once again meet her former master at the school gate.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe    by C.S. Lewis
Four English school children find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magic land of Narnia and assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch who has cursed the land with eternal winter.

Little House on the Prairie    by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura’s family travels from the big woods of Wisconsin to a new home on the prairie, where they build a house, meet neighboring Indians, build a well, and fight a prairie fire.

Little Women    by Louisa May Alcott
Chronicles the joys and sorrows of the four March sisters as they grow into young ladies in nineteenth-century New England.

Mary Poppins    by Pamela Travers, 1934
The wind brings four English children a new nanny who slides up the banister and introduces them to some delightful people and experiences.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood    by Howard Pyle
Recounts the adventures of Robin Hood, who slew a deer on a wager, became an outlaw in Sherwood Forest, and collected around him a merry band that robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.

Misty of Chincoteague    by Marguerite Henry, 1947
Two youngsters' determination to own a Chincoteague pony is greatly increased when the Phantom and her colt are among those rounded up for the yearly auction.

Mr. Popper’s Penguins    by Richard and Florence Atwater, 1938
The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions.

Old Yeller    by Fred Gipson
The story of a boy and his dog in the Texas hill country of the 1860s.

Peter Pan    by James Barrie
The adventures of Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up, who is aided in his battles with the pirate Captain Hook by a little girl named Wendy and the fairy Tinkerbell.

The Phantom Tollbooth    by Norton Juster
A journey through a land where Milo learns the importance of words and numbers, providing a cure for his boredom.

Pinocchio, The Tale of a Puppet    by Carlo Collodi
“Pinocchio’s adventures have perennial appeal for children who are thankful, each time they hear the story, that their own noses don’t grow with every lie.”*

Pippi Longstocking    by Astrid Lindgren, 1950
Escapades of a lucky little girl who lives with a horse and a monkey--but without any parents--at the edge of a Swedish village.

Rabbit Hill    by Robert Lawson, 1944
New folks are coming to live in the Big House. The animals of Rabbit Hill wonder if they will plant a garden and thus be good providers.

Rascal    by Sterling North, 1963
North recalls his carefree life in a small midwestern town at the close of World War I, and his adventures with his pet raccoon, Rascal.   (J 599.7632 Nor)

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm    by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin, 1903
Talkative Rebecca goes to live with her spinster aunts, one harsh and demanding, the other soft and sentimental, where she spends seven difficult but rewarding years.

The Secret Garden    by Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911
“A self-centered girl and a pampered invalid boy learn compassion within the walls of an abandoned garden.”*

The Story of Dr. Dolittle    by Hugh Lofting, 1948
The good doctor learns the language of animals and makes a voyage to Africa.

The Sword in the Stone    by T.H. White, 1939
Despite the boasting of grown men, only young Arthur is able to draw a sword from a stone, thereby becoming king.

Tom’s Midnight Garden    by A. Philippa Pearce, 1959
When the clock strikes 13, Tom enters the garden to talk with Hatty, a girl from long ago.

Treasure Island    by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1911
While going through the possessions of a deceased guest who owed them money, the mistress of the inn and her son find a treasure map that leads to a pirate fortune as well as great danger.

The Velveteen Rabbit   by Margery Williams Bianco
By the time the velveteen rabbit is dirty, worn out, and about to be burned, he has almost given up hope of ever finding the magic called Real.

The Wind in the Willows    by Kenneth Grahame, 1933
The adventures of a group of animals who live in the English countryside--bashful Mole, boastful Toad, practical Badger and world-wise Rat.

Winnie-the-Pooh    by A.A. Milne, 1926
The adventures of Christopher Robin and his friends in which Pooh Bear uses a balloon to get honey, Piglet meets a Heffalump, and Eeyore has a birthday.

The Wizard of Oz    by Frank L. Baum, 1900
After a cyclone transports her to the land of Oz, Dorothy must seek out the great wizard in order to return to Kansas.

A Wrinkle in Time    by Madeleine L’Engle, 1962
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

The Yearling  by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, 1906
A young boy living in the Florida backwoods is forced to decide the fate of a fawn he has lovingly raised as a pet.

*selected annotations are from Choosing Books for Children: A Commonsense Guide  by Betsy Hearne.
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