Hello, everyone and welcome to the next installment of the Classics Challenge! Now, just because these books are labelled as “children’s literature”, it doesn’t mean that they couldn’t also be enjoyed by adults. In fact, I would encourage it! These are titles that can be enjoyed by readers of all ages and I encourage you to check out the list!
Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)
Ah, this is one of my favorites! My grandpa and I read this together a handful of years ago, showing that whether you’re 9 or 95, Treasure Island is worth a read. Young Jim Hawkins lives and works at a small inn run by his parents. After the death of his father, Jim and his mother are barely scraping by. When one of their guests turns out to not only be a pirate, but a pirate who is murdered for the treasure map in his possession, Jim steals the map and finds himself setting off on a grand adventure with his friends, a doctor and a squire, to find the treasure’s location. But, the other pirates still want the map and are hot on Jim’s trail. And they will do whatever is necessary to get the treasure for themselves. This book introduced the world to Long John Silver, one of the most infamous pirates in literature.
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
Another favorite of mine! Aging siblings Matthew and Marilla decide to adopt a young boy to work on their farm. But, when Matthew arrives at the train station to pick up their new charge, he’s shocked to find not the requested boy, but a red-headed young girl. As the siblings struggle to decide what to do with their new charge, an orphan named Anne, she manages to wriggle her way into their hearts so that they can’t imagine a life without her. The book follows Anne’s childhood, growing up at Green Gables, her friends, her enemies, and her many misadventures. This is a warm, charming, delightful book that has delighted readers for decades.
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Set during the Civil War, Little Women is the story of the four March sisters: hardworking Meg, tomboyish Jo, timid Beth, and precocious Amy. This book, which was loosely based on the author’s own experiences, is a tale of growing up, as the March sisters mature from children to adults. This is a tricky book to suggest here, as there’s not much more that I can say about it without giving things away. But, I will leave you with this: this beautiful story has delighted readers of all ages (both men and women) for generations. And if you enjoy it, there’s more in the series to enjoy! The fun continues in Little Men and Jo’s Boys.
Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)
I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I was growing up, I loved books about animals. Not only did I love nonfiction books about them, but I loved stories that featured them, too. And Black Beauty was certainly a book I had picked up at some point during my tenure in my grade school library. This was a beautiful, but difficult tale, as Black Beauty, our equine narrator, walks us through his life’s story. As a young horse, Black Beauty was well-loved and happy, trying to always follow his mother’s advice to do his work with a good will. But, when circumstances force his master to sell him, everything changes. As Beauty moves from owner to owner–some good and some cruel–he tries his best to live life as well as he can. But, will he ever find the love that he truly needs in order to truly live and not just survive?
The Phantom Tolbooth (Norton Juster)
This was one of my favorite books as a child, and I’ve read it too many times to count! For Milo, everything is a bore. Life just doesn’t hold any interest for him. So, when a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he decides to drive through it. After all, it’s not as though he has anything better to do. But, once he crosses the boundary, everything seems different. Milo discovers a whole host of interesting creatures, including the Humbug, a Mathemagician, and a watchdog named Tock. Soon, he finds himself on a quest to rescue two missing princesses, Rhyme and Reason. And along the way, he comes to realize that perhaps life is not quite so dull as he suspected from the start. In fact, it could even be more exciting than he could ever have imagined!
The Princess and the Goblin (George MacDonald)
Eight-year old Princess Irene lives in a beautiful castle on the mountaintop, but a colony of horrible goblins live under the mountain. And little does the kingdom know that the goblins are planning on overthrowing Irene’s father and establishing their own horrible government instead. While exploring the castle, Irene discovers a secret room and a mysterious old woman who claims to be her great-great-grandmother. No one else knows anything about her, and no one believes Irene when she tries to tell them. Soon Irene meets Curdie, a miner’s son, who has stumbled upon the goblins and their horrible plot and needs Irene’s help to save all those that they care most about. This book was apparently a childhood favorite of J.R.R. Tolkien’s which should be a good enough endorsement for everyone!
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)
Young Dorothy Gale lives in Kansas with her aunt and uncle when a tornado picks up her house and drops it down in a strange land, and right on top of a witch. The people believe that Dorothy is a hero, sent to kill the witch, but in reality, she’s just a lonely little girl who wants to go back home. With the assurance of the Good Witch of the North, Dorothy and her little dog, Toto, set off along the yellow brick road in hopes of reaching the Emerald City, where a great and powerful wizard named Oz is said to live. Only Oz has the power to send Dorothy home again. Along the way, she picks up a trio of new friends, including a scarecrow who wants a brain, a tin man who wants a heart, and a cowardly lion looking for courage.
Heidi (Johanna Spyri)
At the age of five, little orphaned Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather, a frightening, unfriendly old hermit who lives in the Alps, terrifying his neighbors with his dark demeanor. But, little Heidi is not scared at all. Rather, she’s fascinated by his long beard and bushy eyebrows. And she comes to love her life in the Alps, playing with the goats and soaking in the sunshine. But, one day Heidi and her grandfather are separated, as she’s taken to live with a new family in town. Will she ever be able to return to the life she loves in the mountains? Or must all good things come to an end?
I must have been 10 or 11. My school library was hosting a book sale and the librarian, who was a dear friend of mine, convinced me to spend my hard-earned quarter on a copy of Heidi. Now, I had never heard of this book before, but I dutifully bought and paid for it. And boy, am I glad that I did! I adored this book as a child, and since it’s been close to twenty years since I’ve read it last, I’m looking forward to an opportunity to pick it up again.
Stuart Little (E.B. White)
Stuart Little is no ordinary mouse. Born to a family of humans, he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George, and Snowbell the cat. Though he’s shy and thoughtful, he’s also a true lover of adventure. Stuart’s greatest adventure comes when his best friend, a beautiful little bird named Margalo, disappears from her nest. Determined to track her down, Stuart ventures away from home for the very first time in his life. He finds adventure aplenty. But will he find his friend?
E.B. White has written many delightful classic stories for children, so it was hard to choose just one for this list. Still, the adventures of a little mouse were too charming to pass up! If you enjoyed this book, consider checking out a few of his other works, such as Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan!
The Twenty-One Balloons (William Pene Du Bois)
Professor William Waterman Sherman intends to fly across the Pacific Ocean. But, through a twist of fate, he lands on the secret island of Krakatoa where he discovers not only a world of unimaginable wealth, but also a strange cast of eccentric inhabitants, and incredible balloon inventions. This highly inventive adventure story was the winner of the 1948 Newbery Medal, and this librarian read it when she was still a kid, participating in her local library’s children’s book discussion group. I can’t recall too much about the book, except that I enjoyed it, and that I think the cover was a light purple. This is another title from this list that I’ll be adding to the top of my list lickety split!
For Further Reading:
In case you’d like more, here are some additional titles! These may take a little more time to track them down, but are a great place to check next if you want to read something new!
- A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle)
- The House at Pooh Corner (A.A. Milne)
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
- The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
- The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
- Cautionary Tales for Children (Hilaire Belloc)
- Five Children and It (E. Nesbit)
- Captains Courageous (Rudyard Kipling)
- Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie)
- Daddy-Long-Legs (Jean Webster)
- The Call of the Wild (Jack London)
- The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde)
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis)
- James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter)
- Curious George (H.A. and Margaret Rey)
- Tikki Tikki Tembo (Arlene Mosel)
- Pollyanna (Eleanor H. Potter)
- Caps for Sale (Esphyr Slobodkina)
- The Swiss Family Robinson (Johann David Wyss)
- The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen)
- The Yearling (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings)
- The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle (Hugh Lofting)
