Reading Children's Books as an Adult

157 replies

ItalianChineseIndianMexican · 03/02/2026 12:49

I was a fairly avid reader as a child but feel I missed a lot of the children’s classics like Wind in the Willows, The Secret Garden, Black Beauty, Anne of Green Gables etc.

I’m thinking I might read them now as a (fairly mature!) adult. Has anyone else done this? It isn’t too weird is it?!

And if you have done / would do it, are there any books you’d recommend?

Thanks.

OP posts:

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 07/02/2026 09:47

LivingDeadGirlUK · 05/02/2026 07:18

I think 101 Dalmatians is my favorite children's book, its a real epic adventure compared to the Disneyfied version. Well worth a read.

I love Starlight Barking. Read it as a tween and it stayed with me so I had to go and seek out a copy as an adult. I just loved the idea of dogs being alone in the world (the plot is that all the humans fall asleep and the dogs have to save the day) - I think I prefer it to 101Ds!

purser25 · 05/08/2026 13:57

All the Noel Steatfeild books plus all the Michelle Magorian books.

Dappy777 · 05/08/2026 14:11

FizzingAda · 03/02/2026 13:57

Of course! I reread Narnia, Harry Potter, the. DArk is Rising series, I love them. I heard Ali Smith too this morning. IV' e never read Charlotte's web, but I shall now.
CS Lewis himself said he never made any distinction between adult and children's stories, and there is Tolkien's book 'on Fairy Tales'.
A good book is a good book, so enjoy!

Apparently, C. S. Lewis (who could read Ancient Greek, Latin, Italian, French, Old English and Old Norse) re-read Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin every September to get him in the mood for Autumn. He also adored Wind in the Willows and Tolkien's The Hobbit. This was a man who read War and Peace three times and could practically recite the whole of Milton's Paradise Lost from memory.

I love the fact that tolkien and Lewis, who were Oxford professors, and who used to read Dante to one another in Italian, both retained a love for children's books and for simple adventure stories. I just love the image of them in that pub in Oxford (can't think of its name), on a winter evening, pipes in their mouths, swigging beer and reading their stories about Narnia and Middle Earth out loud.

FizzingAda · 05/08/2026 15:52

The Eagle and Child, nicknamed the Bird and Baby. Would love to have eavesdropped.

Dappy777 · 05/08/2026 15:53

FizzingAda · 05/08/2026 15:52

The Eagle and Child, nicknamed the Bird and Baby. Would love to have eavesdropped.

Ah, yes.😀

Totally agree.

SydneyCarton · 06/08/2026 20:11

@Dappy777 I have heard a story that once when Tolkien was holding forth to a group of students on his latest chapter of LOTR that one was overheard saying “Not another fucking Elf…”

Philandbill · Yesterday 16:07

Strictlysober · 06/02/2026 23:29

There are a couple of sequels, taking her up to adulthood.

Show quote history

Yes, these are wonderful.
I too have read and re-read the Anne of Green Gables books as an adult, and the Laura Ingals Wilder books.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7