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Original poster

Recommend classic children's books for me to read

64 replies

starfish8 · 22/02/2016 22:09

Have a young DS (not even at school yet) and have been thinking about wanting to reconnect with some classic children's books I read/or didn't as a child myself. Will buy physical copies that can get reused by him over time, and I'd like to support him by being more familiar about the stories myself.

Can anyone add to this list....

Roald Dahl - BFG, Matilda, George's Marvellous Medicine, The Twits, The Witches - List goes on
Harry Potter - Haven't read any of these
Worst Witch - A real favourite as a child
Malory Towers - Another favourite for me when I was little - Ok, probably not one for my son!

Also, read Wonder by R J Palacio last year and really enjoyed this youth novel. Can anyone recommend any must read recent modern young fiction novels too?

Thanks!

OP posts:
buckingfrolicks · 22/02/2016 23:05

And for very young readers...

Each peach pear plum

Daisy Duck

Dinosaur Roar!

Beatrix Potter

Mog series

Morag series

Lurkedforever1 · 22/02/2016 23:05

Watership down and the other one about the lab dogs (forget the title) are the ones I wouldn't read again for anything. (And I read plenty of adult horror at primary age which didn't disturb me). I absolutely hate both those books.

Moln · 22/02/2016 23:04

Well then SoMuchToBits I second your recommendation!!!

However OP as mentioned don't get these thinking your DS will be interested in reading some, or even a few of these!!

Moln · 22/02/2016 23:02

the Chronicals of Narnia Katar. I find they (the books) get progressively more obvious in their religious connections. Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe you can easily miss it but by the last book it's quite blatant

SoMuchToBits · 22/02/2016 23:00

Yep, Moln, I mentioned Stig! Grin

Allalonenow · 22/02/2016 23:00

Treasure Island is a must!
Biggles

Katarzyna79 · 22/02/2016 22:59

aww nostalgia, I love jane austen but are they really for young kids as in wee primary kids?

my fave to this day is still roald dahl I think he was a genius. I just saw the witches on tv late night, the grand high witch still managed to freak me out a bit

anyone mentioned "the lion the witch and the wardrobe" theres a series but I cant recall the name.

Moln · 22/02/2016 22:59

Anyone said Stig of the Dump (Clive King) yet? Also another good one is The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Joan Aiken).

SoMuchToBits · 22/02/2016 22:58

A lot will depend on what he actually likes though! My ds ended up not so keen on the magic/fantasy stuff (although he read my Susan Coopers etc), but loved anything realistic, such as the Swallows and Amazons books.

He never read the Earthsea books for example, despite those being some of my favourite books! Similarly, he wouldn't have gone for 'Wonder', as it was too 'touchy-feely' for him, even though I really enjoyed it.

You will have to be guided a lot by what your child likes.

AJ279 · 22/02/2016 22:56

Enid Blyton books are magical. Still remember my mum reading them to me when I was little Smile

DrSeussRevived · 22/02/2016 22:55

Howls moving castle
The box of delighrs

BlueEnvelope · 22/02/2016 22:51

The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels · 22/02/2016 22:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RavioliOnToast · 22/02/2016 22:43

The magic faraway tree!

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/02/2016 22:43

I'm starting a list myself equiem. I started 'Over Sea Under Stone' last week but there's loads here I want to read again and I few I haven't read at all.

Might need to find my library card, too.

PigeonPie · 22/02/2016 22:42

Yes, to most of these, but also the Borrowers series.

Moln · 22/02/2016 22:40

Are you intending to read them to read them to him?

If it's the former then I would suggest you certainly read Roald Dahl (some of the smaller ones go down well with preschoolers too) and David Walliams has a similar great fun/gross/sad thing going on.

Along with

The Secret Garden, A Little Princess - both Frances Hodgson Burnett
Little Women (and subsequent books) - Louisa May Alcott
Charlotte's Web - E B White
Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
Winne-the-Pooh (all of them)
Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Watership Down -
Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson

I'm pretty sure there's more - I'll think more

Modern wise 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' is great.

Lurkedforever1 · 22/02/2016 22:36

More-
5 children and it
Children of the new forest
Railway children
Apricots at midnight
Treasure island
Judy Blume
Loads of pony stories too, but won't bore you with lists unless it's an interest.

Equiem89 · 22/02/2016 22:36

Loving this. I'm going to read all my childhood books again Smile

BeaufortBelle · 22/02/2016 22:35

Thomas the Tank Engine by the Rev W Awdry
Richard Scarry
Michael Morpurgi - all
Lemony Snicket
Michele Paviour
Flat Stanley
Dr Zeuss
Alan Ahlberg (The Big Skeleton and,The Little Skeleton)
Each, Peach, Pear Plum

What others have said. Oh, what an exciting stage xx

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/02/2016 22:31

x posts with a lot of people as I scanned the bookshelf Grin

SoMuchToBits · 22/02/2016 22:31

Oh, and Alan Garner - the Weirdstone of Brisingamen etc.

Creatureofthenight · 22/02/2016 22:31

Goodnight Mr Tom - Michelle Magorian
The Secret Garden (and A Little Princess, my favourite!) - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Newer stuff -
Anything by Frances Hardinge
His Dark Materials trilogy - Philip Pullman
The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman
Anything by Patrick Ness

SoMuchToBits · 22/02/2016 22:30

My ds also enjoyed a lot of books by Anthony Horowitz (the Diamond Brothers ones, then the Alex Rider series) when he was a bit older (9 upwards).

He also loved the Professor Branestawm books - classic, not currently very trendy, but they really made him laugh. We also enjoyed the Jeremy James books by David Henry Wilson, when he was about 8 or so.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 22/02/2016 22:30

Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
The little White Horse
Black Beauty
His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman
Carrie'S War
Journey to the River Sea - Eva Ibbotson
Stig of the Dump
Goodnight Mr Tom
Ballet Shoes
Alice in Wonderland