Kids Books / public-real

Some of my favorite books from my childhood

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A few years before I got pregnant I went through several boxes filled with some of my favorite children’s books, which had been sitting for many years in a closet at my parent’s house. The books were getting old and smelled musty and were hosting silverfish, so I decided to give them away. But I did write down the names of all the books before I donated them. We’ve read about 20% of them to Chickpea already (Update: Now up to 31% read!), and I’m going to record the rest here for the future when I’m looking for ideas for books to read to her.

Here are the books from my list that we’ve already read to Chickpea:

  1. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
  2. Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
  3. Betsy-Tacy and Tib by Maud Hart Lovelace
  4. Betsy and Tacy Go Downton by Maud Hart Lovelace
  5. Betsy and Tacy go Over the Big Hill by Maud Hart Lovelace
  6. Stuart Little by E.B. White (my sister read this to Chickpea)
  7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
  8. Half Magic by Edward Eager
  9. Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (Newberry Award)
  10. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  11. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (I owned two copies–I guess I really loved this one!)
  12. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
  13. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
  14. The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
  15. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
  16. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
  17. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
  18. Secret in the Barrel by Aileen Fisher
  19. Alvin’s Swap Shop by Clifford B. Hicks
  20. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
  21. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
  22. Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
  23. Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones
  24. The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones
  25. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry — age 9+?
  26. The Practical Princess and Other Liberating Fairy Tales by Jay Williams
  27. The Wise Men of Helm and their Merry Tales by Solomon Simon (DD read this to Chickpea in ??)
  28. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar (DD read this to Chickpea in ??)
  29. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll — age 9+? (read this April 2023)
  30. Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
  31. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (Newberry Award) — age 9+? (DD read this to Chickpea in April 2023)
  32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien (Newberry Award) — age 9+? (DD read this to Chickpea in May 2023)
  33. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell (Newberry Award) — age 10+? (read this May 2023)
  34. Turn Homeward, Hannalee by Patricia Beatty (read this July 2023)
  35. Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key (read this July 2023)
  36. Animal Farm (DD read this to Chickpea in July 2023)
  37. A Family Apart by Joan Lowery Nixon (I read this in Oct 2023, and Chickpea went on to read the next two books in the Orphan Train Quartet series on her own)
  38. Caught in the Act by Joan Lowery Nixon
  39. In the Face of Danger by Joan Lowery Nixon
  40. A Place to Belong by Joan Lowery Nixon
  41. Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt — online I found recs of age 11+, but Chickpea and I read it together in late Jan/Feb 2024, right after she turned 9. The reading level is around 4th grade, and she had no trouble understanding it. Would she have appreciated it more if she were a bit older? Perhaps.
  42. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Newberry Award) — age 10+, Chickpea read this in March 2024.
  43. The First Woman Doctor by Rachel Baker

And these are the other roughly 100 books on my list that we haven’t read to her yet:

First the few we already own:

  1. The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (Newberry Award) — age 8+?
  2. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder — age 9+?
  3. The Callender Papers by Cynthia Voigt (Newberry Medal) — age 9-12?
  4. Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt
  5. Jackaroo by Robin McKinley
  6. Heaven to Betsy by Maud Hart Lovelace (and the other later Betsy-Tacy books)

And the rest

  1. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary — age 5+
  2. Socks by Beverly Cleary — age 6+?
  3. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Clearly (Newberry Award)
  4. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren — age 7+
  5. Megan’s Island by Willo Davis Roberts
  6. Where the Lilies Bloom by Vera and Bill Cleaver
  7. Through the Hidden Door by Rosemary Wells
  8. Under Plum Lake by Lionel Davidson
  9. Daphne’s Book by Mary Downing Hahn
  10. Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry
  11. Mr. Blue by Margaret Embry
  12. Little Plum by Rumer Godden
  13. The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  14. The Famous Stanley Kidnappings Case by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  15. Blair’s Nightmare by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  16. Eyes in the Fishbowl by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
  17. The Wish Giver by Bill Brittain
  18. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
  19. Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O’Brien
  20. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery — age 9+?
  21. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
  22. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
  23. The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (Newberry Award)
  24. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (Newberry Award) — age 9+?
  25. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Newberry Award)
  26. Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare
  27. The Twenty-one Balloons by William Pene Dubois (Newberry Award)
  28. …And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold (Newberry Award)
  29. Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (Newberry Award)
  30. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (Newberry Award)
  31. M.C. Higgins The Great by Virginia Hamilton
  32. Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (Newberry Award)
  33. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Newberry Award) — age 9+?
  34. Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson (Newberry Award)
  35. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle — age 9+
  36. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle — age 9+
  37. Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle — age 12+
  38. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Grey (Newberry Award)
  39. Katie and Those Boys by Martha Tolles — note this one is probably pretty outdated now, would read it again myself before reading it to my kid
  40. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott — age 10+
  41. My Side of the Mountain by Jean George (Newberry Honor Book) — age 10+?
  42. Dogsong by Gary Paulsen
  43. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen — age 11+
  44. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes — age 11+
  45. The Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London
  46. Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark (Newberry Award)
  47. Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry (Newberry Award)
  48. The High King by Lloyd Alexander (Newberry Award)
  49. The Homeward Bounders by Dianna Wynne Jones
  50. Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
  51. Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones
  52. A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones
  53. Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones
  54. Tell me if the lovers are losers by Cynthia Voigt
  55. Tree by Leaf by Cynthia Voigt
  56. Izzy Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voigt
  57. Sons from Afar by Cynthia Voigt
  58. When She Hollers by Cynthia Voigt
  59. Come a Stranger by Cynthia Voigt
  60. A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt
  61. The Runner by Cynthia Voigt
  62. Alanna The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
  63. In the Hand of the Goddess (1984) by Tamora Pierce
  64. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986) by Tamora Pierce
  65. Lioness Rampant (1988) by Tamora Pierce
  66. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley — age 11+
  67. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
  68. Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
  69. The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley
  70. The White Mountains by John Christopher — age 12+
  71. Beyond the Burning Lands by John Christopher
  72. The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher
  73. When the Tripods Came by John Christopher
  74. The Anything Box by Zenna Henderson
  75. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
  76. Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman
  77. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  78. I never promised you a rose garden by Joanne Greenberg
  79. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
  80. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  81. Speaker of the Dead by Orson Scott Card
  82. Grendel by John Gardener
  83. The Island on Bird Street by Uri Orlev
  84. Seder in Herlin and other stories for girls by Gershon Kranzler
  85. The Return by Sonia Levitin
  86. The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss (Newberry Award)
  87. Upon the Head of the Goat by Aranka Siegal
  88. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
  89. The Chosen by Chaim Potok

Other books to check out:

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