Books my children should read

[Provencalroseparadox]

I want to collect a list of classic kids books that I can encourage mine to read. So far I'm thinking:

Harry Potter
Phillip Pulman - His Dark Materials and Sally Lockhart
Garth Nix - Abhorsen
Narnia
Swallows & Amazon
Stig of the Dump
Alan Garner's books
Berverly Nichols trilogy
The Secret Garden
Tom's Midnight Garden
Mrs Frisby & the Rats of Nimh
Wind in the Willows
Peter Pan
Lewis Carroll
The Hobbit and LOTR

Any suggestions to add?

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield, and The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier. I read both of these countless times.

I also love Michael Morpurgo's books, no matter how emotionally manipulative they are.

Older children should read Adrian Mole - although I wonder how dated it will feel for them.

Oh yes The Silver Sword - loved that. Never read Ballet Shoes.

Just thought of I Capture the Castle and 101 Dalmatians from Dodie Smith too.

Goodnight Mr Tom, The Little Prince, Treasure Island, Lemony Snicket. But I wouldn't worry too much about getting them to read the classics - one or two, definitely, but make sure they read modern stuff too or you run the risk of them getting bored of reading.

Goodnight Mr Tom - provide tissues and hugs. I cried in class when we read that at school. The TV production breaks me every time.

Little Women? Little house on the Prairie?

My DD1 is really into David Walliams' books.

I capture the castle is good. I really liked Willard Price books when I was in primary school. Think they are quite un pc now as all about trapping animals but made me want to travel and love nature.

The Phantom Toolbooth.

Anything by Astrid Lindgren and Michael Ende!

Railway Children? Anne of Green Gables?

The Mister Monday set by Garth Nix is awesome. Neil Gaiman books are great too. CS Lewis- Narnia set too.

Emil and the Detectives
Charlotte Sometimes
Daddy Long Legs
Green Dolphin Country, plus anything else by Elizabeth Goudge

These are great. Some I've read and enjoyed, some new to me.

Are the David Walliams books good?

David Walliams' books are great, think of Roald Dahl-esq humour & engrossing narrative. Fans of Walliams are also drawn to the Tom Gates series by Liz Pichon.

Ann Fine, Flour Babies
Judy Blume, Superfudge
The Water Babies
The Worst Witch
Jacqueline Wilson, The Story of Tracy Beaker
Magic At Midnight - can't remember who wrote it?!
The Animals of Farthing Wood - again, can't remember
The Enchanted Wood, Faraway tree etc by Enid Blyton
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Alice in Wonderland - weird though
Roald Dahl's early autobiography BOY

Just a few of my favourites x

Just remembered, Magic at Midnight is by Phyllis Arkle and I think has been out of print a while. You can get on Amazon x

Carrie's War, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, The Machine Gunners, The Hobbit, The Children of Green Knowe, Mary Poppins, The Snow Queen, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Pigman, Pollyanna.

How could I forget Judy Blume!

Gobolino the Witch's Cat

I second "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" - brilliant

Also, my favourite Judy Blume was "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret?"

The Atticus Claw books are pretty good - about a car detective, quite new.

Jane

To add to the excellent suggestions already made:

Charlotte's Web
The Dark is Rising series
The Children of Green Knowe series
The Little White Horse
What Katie Did
Winnie the Pooh
Heidi
Orlando the Marmalade Cat
Black Beauty

Atticus Claw about a cat detective not a car detective obvs

Noughts and crosses or anything by Children Laureate Malorie Blackman. She's great!

For some a bit older and harder to get:

White Riders (Monica Edwards) or Wish for a Pony or any others.
Any of the Lone Pine series (Malcolm Saville)
Black riders (Violet Needham)
Autumn term (Antonia Forest)
No boats on Bannermere/Cue for treason (Geoffrey Trease)
Swallows and Amazons and all the others (Arthur Ransome)
The School at the ChaletChaket School and Jo (Elinor Brent Dyer)
Smokey House (and anything else by Elizabeth Goudge)
Some of the Three Investigator stories

...books they choose themselves? Maybe?

I very much doubt the OP is standing over their child saying 'you must read this to the exclusion of all other books'. However, asking this question is a great way to come up with a list that e.g. grandparents could buy from. Or indeed just to suggest to the kid that here's something they might like. DD1 is currently at the 'devouring all Rainbow Fairy books' stage but she can read those to herself while I read her more interesting books and if she decides she loves the worst witch and decides to read the rest of the series herself (as she has done) then I've expanded her reading just a little bit and done my job as a parent. The books listed on here are all books that people have loved themselves as children, they aren't worthy and dry books, they are the books that still make us love reading. I'm reading TLHOTP to the DDs at the moment and I'm still enjoying it as an adult as are they. I doubt they would ever have chosen to read it themselves at this stage, I know I was given it as a child to read, but that doesn't stop it being one of those 'must read' books. Conversely I never came across 'I Capture the Castle' as a teenager and only read it as an adult. I wish I'd had the chance to read it as a 14 year old and will definitely be suggesting it to the girls when they get to that age.