110+ of the Best Books for Kids

What were your favorite books as a child? The ones you read over and over? The ones that you think back on with the fondest of memories? The very best books you can think of?

We recently posed these questions to a group of parents, and the response was huge and full of emotion. Clearly, the books we read as kids stick with us and help make us who we are as adults.

Since we feel so strongly about our favorites, doesn’t it make sense to share those same books with our own children?

 

110+ of the Best Books for Kids

March 2nd is Read Across America Day, as well as Dr. Seuss Day. In honor of that, we’ve compiled a list of the books and authors that parents loved as children. Perhaps you’ve already read some of them with your own children, but there’s a good chance there are some on the list that will be new to you.

We encourage you to jot down a few titles you haven’t read before, head to your local library or bookstore, and share some reading time with your kids. It’s truly one of the best investments you can make in your children’s lives!

For ease of use, we’ve separated the list into two main categories: Picture Books and Chapter Books. We’ve also highlighted some of our favorite authors by including more than one of their books. They are in no particular order.

Picture Books

Author: Dr. Seuss

Titles include: 

Cat in the Hat
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish
Green Eggs and Ham
The Lorax
Yertle the Turtle
And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street

Author: Eric Carle

Titles include:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Tiny Seed
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Written by Bill Martin Jr., Illustrated by Eric Carle)
From Head to Toe

Author: Sandra Boynton

Titles include:

Barnyard Dance
Moo, Baa, La La La!
Belly Button Book
Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs!

Author: Gyo Fujikawa

Titles include:

Babies
A Child’s Book of Poems
My Favorite Thing
Jenny Learns a Lesson

Author: Robert McCloskey

Titles include:

Make Way for Ducklings
Blueberries for Sal
One Morning in Maine
Burt Dow, Deep Water Man
Lentil

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Titles include:

Jumanji
The Polar Express
Zathura
The Sweetest Fig
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

 

Author: Tomie dePaola

Titles include:

Strega Nona
The Legend of the Blue Bonnet
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato

Author: Shel Silverstein

Titles include:

The Giving Tree
Where the Sidewalk Ends
A Light in the Attic

Author: Maurice Sendak

Titles include:

Where the Wild Things Are
Chicken Soup With Rice: A Book of Months
Little Bear (Written by Else Holmelund Minarik, Illustrated by Maurice Sendak)

Author: Richard Scarry

Titles include:

Best Word Book Ever
Busy, Busy Town
What Do People Do All Day?

Author: Beatrix Potter

Titles include:

The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
The Tale of Tom Kitten

There’s nothing better than reading with your kids, but when you need a few minutes to get things done, let us read to them for you! Miss Humblebee’s Academy includes hours of educational and entertaining reading that spans many literature styles.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

Corduroy by Don Freeman

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Mr. Putter and Tabby by Cynthia Rylant & Arthur Howard

The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst and Ray Cruz

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald and Alexandra Boiger

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams and William Nicholson

Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman

IS YOUR CHILD ENTERING KINDERGARTEN THIS FALL? FIND OUT IF HE HAS THE SKILLS HE NEEDS. SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AND RECEIVE A FREE KINDERGARTEN READINESS CHECKLIST. 

Chapter Books

Author: Beverly Cleary

Titles include:

Ramona the Pest
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Henry Huggins

Author: Roald Dahl

Titles include:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Matilda
The BFG
James and the Giant Peach
Fantastic Mr. Fox

Author: Judy Blume

Titles include:

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Superfudge
Freckle Juice

Author: Louis Sachar

Titles include:

Sideways Stories From Wayside School
Wayside School is Falling Down
Holes

Author: E.B. White

Titles include:

Charlotte’s Web
The Trumpet of the Swan
Stuart Little

Author: Lois Lowry

Titles include:

Number the Stars
The Giver
Gathering Blue

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene

Magic Tree House Books by Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Trixie Belden by Julie Campbell

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

The Saddle Club by Bonnie Bryant

Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Discworld by Terry Pratchett

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Choose Your Own Adventure by R.A. Mongomery

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Redwall by Brian Jacques

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

How many of these books have you read? What would you add? Stop by our Facebook page to let us know so we can add it to our list!