6 book titles to share with your children

I was informed by the Internet that today is National Book Lovers Day. This seems as though it is a special day I should mark. Because I believe that loving books starts early in life, I will celebrate the occasion by giving my list of books that I think every parent should read to their child(ren). (Considering the current demographic of my readers these days, I should probably also add grandchildren.) Am I being a bit bossy? Yes, probably. But these are really good books, are well worth the effort, and shouldn't be missed.

So, in no particular order:

1. Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Mine.

Give your child the gift of the originals and not some Disneyfied version. Though in full disclosure the old animated version Disney made was an enduring favorite of mine. Mainly, I think, because of the books opening and the story and characters literally coming to life. Still, the originals are exceptional, don't let your child miss them. 

2. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit 

Are these older, as in well over one hundred years old? Yes. Do they have complex sentence structure? Yes. Are there cultural things that you will need to explain to your child? Yes. Are they really the first fantasy novel for children? I think this is true. In the book, you meet five children who meet a psammead (a sand fairy) who grants wishes. The children work it out that he will grant them one wish a day. This is wonderful to the children... until it is not as their wishes always seem to go sideways. I found for the first part, if I paused and summarized what I had read, my children's ears attuned to the language fairly quickly and it ceased to be an issue. This book (and the two which follow) are definitely worth the effort. 

3. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom

How can you beat the idea of four children camping in an island, meeting two other children, who have adventures together? The children are imaginative and likeable and will leave your own children (and possibly yourself) longing for a sailboat and an island. I love most of the entire series, with Winter Holiday being my favorite followed closely by We Didn't Mean to go to Sea. There were a couple of later titles which I skipped because, having been written in the 1930's, there were some things that didn't transfer well. 

4. A Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

If you aren't familiar with the book, do yourself a favor and read it even if you don't have a smaller person to read it to. You will find a beautiful story of love overtaking fear, with the children in the book blooming and growing in the same way the forgotten and overgrown garden is brought back to life. A word of caution. In the very beginning chapters, be prepared to do a little bowdlerizing as there are a few terms used that are uncomfortable. Some simple editing solves the problem and the rest of the story is worth it.

5. The Borrowers by Mary Norton

I'm sure I am not the only child who fantasized about miniature people living in my house and who dearly wanted to catch a glimpse of them. I'm The Borrowers, this wish is reality and we join Arriety and her family as they live under the floor boards trying to stay hidden while Arriety desperately wants to see the wider world. The books that follow are equally as good. 

6. Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Roland

I realize that this title may seem a bit jarring on this list given my preference for older titles, but in my opinion, it is cut from the same cloth. We all loved everything about this book and it's sequel. (I'm afraid I don't recommend the third. Ms. Tolan I wrote it with her son and the charm of the first two was lost. The third was less kind and much darker and snider. No one really liked it.) The Applewhites are an eccentric and artistic family who raise eccentric and artistic children. Some of my favorite tropes are combined: quirky, large family; bad boy makes good; school story: and let's put on a show in the barn. I don't know how many times I've read this out loud and I love it just as much every single time. 

Comments

Anonymous said…
Whoops, a typo: " E. Me but" should be "E. Nesbit"
8/10/2026 9:19 AM
thecurryseven said…
Thank you! All fixed, but boy, did autocorrect not like Nesbit. It took multiple trays to get it right.
8/10/2026 9:58 AM
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