18 Classic Books for Kids Every Home Needs
Read these classic books for kids with your children and keep them in your home library for your family to be surrounded by amazing children's literature. These kids books make an excellent gift idea.
As soon as I knew we were expecting our first baby, my first shopping trip was not to the big box baby store to browse bassinets.
I didn't head to a baby clothing boutique to stock up on booties and bonnets.
I beelined it straight to the local book store to pick up "baby's first book," a copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.
I knew before we got to the classic children's literature I simply couldn't wait to read with my new baby there'd be years and years of board books and picture books first.
But that didn't stop me.
I knew that the children's home library I wanted to provide for my kids was going to take years of collecting and I wasn't going to waste one single second more.
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Why Classic Books Matter
"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." - Albert Einstein
The stories we read as children shape the people we become as adults.
While there are hundreds of amazing modern books for kids sold at school book fairs and book shops, I wanted to expose my kids to the classic children's literature that continues to influence modern pop culture today.
- Mary Poppins is not just a Disney musical, it started as a book.
- Curious George isn't just a movie, it started as a book.
- Harry Potter isn't just a theme park, it started as a book.
In these older classic books, the vocabulary used goes deep and wide and will introduce your kids to hundreds and hundreds of words that will be absorbed into their growing young brains when they are most impressionable.
Why Parents Should Read Classics, Too
โWhen I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.โ - C.S. Lewis
Want to Save This for Later?
Reading these classic books with your kids is a chance for you to relive your own childhood and share your memories with your kids.
Maybe you missed out on some of these books and now get the amazing chance to enjoy them for the first time right alongside your kids.
Either way, I can't think of a better way for parents to bond with young children than reading an amazing book all cuddled up and cozy.
In fact, reading these classic books for kids may actually inspire you to revisit these amazing classics for adults to read again, too.
How to Pick the Perfect Edition
When you're building a children's library of classic books for your home, it is important to remember quality over quantity.
Even if you just have a small handful of these books, take the time to choose editions that are worthy of enjoying again and again and will look lovely on your bookshelf.
I specifically chose these particular editions of the classics to share because:
- Beautiful Illustrations: A great way to keep kids engaged with more challenging vocabulary and text is to make sure they have a lovely illustration to absorb as they listen.
- Sturdy Build: Kids need to be taught how to tenderly hold a book so that it lasts. Until that lesson is learned, look for books with sturdy covers and heavy papers whenever possible.
- Attractive Covers: While we want to teach kids not to judge a book by the cover, the truth is we often still do it even as adults. The covers of each of these classics have been redesigned for modern audiences but retain that element of old world charm.
Classic Books for Kids to Collect
Whether you want to start adding just one book at a time years before your kids are ready to read them or you just want to stock your home library in one fell swoop, these are my favorite children's books from our home library.
I bought copies of these books for every gift giving holiday from birthdays to Christmas for years.
Though my kids are older now, these books aren't going anywhere. I am saving them to give to them when they have kids of their own, or I may just keep them as a "Grandma's library" for when they come visit me!
Classic Books for Kids
A Beatrix Potter Treasury
I remember the teeny-tiny little blue Beatrix Potter books being one of the first things my parents let me check out from the library and put in my tiny kindergarten backpack.
The lovely classic illustrations of the garden creatures that populate Beatrix Potter's childrens' books have been loved by generations.
This gorgeous anthology rounds them up into one easy to store book you'll turn to again and again.
Mother Goose Treasury
The rhythms of reading these classic Mother Goose nursery rhymes are perfect for early memorization practice.
Short and simple to read, you can enjoy just a few sweet little rhymes as a quick bedtime ritual and not feel stuck finishing a whole story.
References to these nursery rhymes still appear in movies and other stories today, so this book is the perfect way to introduce the original source to kids!
The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh
The gentle tales of Winnie the Pooh with their gorgeous pastel illustrations is one of the most lovely books to share with your kids.
Both of my girls adored listening to tales from The Hundred Acre Woods and Christopher Robin and his friends.
Classic Fairy Tales
Parents who haven't read fairy tales in a long time (or ever) may be shocked to discover how dark and terrifying some of them can truly be.
Don't make the mistake of buying a classic fairy tale book without doing a little homework. The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersson both have truly scary stories that may frighten young kids.
This fairy tale anthology has these 10 amazing fairy tales for kids:
- Goldilocks & The Three Bears
- Puss In Boots
- Little Red Riding Hood
- Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
- Tom Thumb
- Hansel And Gretel
- Rumpelstiltskin
- The Frog Prince
- Cinderella
- The Three Little Pigs
It was the perfect fairy tale book for both of my girls as we started to enjoy older classic books together.
The Complete Adventures of Curious George
Somehow I missed reading Curious George when I was a kid and these amazing sweet stories became my favorite nap time story to turn to with my older daughter when she was little.
They were always just the right length and she was enamored with the playful monkey's adventures.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
While "Where the Sidewalk Ends" was the first book I bought for my babies when I was expecting, I knew they wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the humor of these classic poems until they were much older.
The sound of your child laughing when they finally understand the joke is one of the best things ever.
Witnessing her reaction -- completely gleeful, shocked, and amazed that an adult would write such hysterical things -- was absolutely priceless.
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
I didn't start reading The Chronicles of Narnia until I was a grown-up myself and curious about C.S. Lewis' masterpiece.
Though I didn't make it the entire way through the whole series, I can promise that taking the time to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is absolutely worth the time for both kids and adults.
I love this particular edition of the story because of the lovely classic illustrations included in the pages.
Roald Dahl Collection
In all my years of collecting children's literature, my greatest frustration is that the phenomenal books written by Roald Dahl are not published in sturdier, more beautifully illustrated formats.
I would love more than anything to have a gorgeously designed hardcover copy of Matilda, The BFG, The Witches, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
But until the publishing industry can grant my wish and make that happen, the next best thing is this colorful Roald Dahl paperback collection.
Mary Poppins
Just hearing the opening notes from the Overture of Mary Poppins can make tears spring to my eyes, I love the Julie Andrews musical so very much.
But it wasn't until the Disney movie Saving Mr. Banks came out that I realized Mary Poppins started as a book!
Reading this classic book with my kids and then watching the movie together after was one of my favorite read aloud experiences.
Peter Pan
The tale of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie has been made and remade into so many popular movies and theater productions.
Introduce your kids to the original source with this beautiful edition featuring old school illustrations.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
If you're looking for the perfect edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a copy of this book was a Valentine's Day present to my own little "Queen of Hearts" many years ago.
We loved the illustrations made by Rifle Paper Co. but the classic tale of Alice and the White Rabbit was so fun to read together.
The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
While I was tickled pink to read the hysterical adventures of Pippi Longstocking to my young daughters, I believe both boys and girls would love this classic childhood story.
Pippi, living on her own while her pirate dad is off at sea, continually shocks her neighbor friends with her playful antics.
This particular version of the classic book is filled with colorful illustrations that perfectly capture her whimsy.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
If you were going to design a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, wouldn't you give it a gilded emerald-green cover, too??
The Judy Garland movie is famous for scaring young kids with the flying monkey scenes.
A far better way to share the tale is through the pages of this classic book where kids can be introduced to those infamous winged creatures and just use their imaginations to fill in the blanks.
The Adventures of Pinocchio
This lovely version of Pinocchio would be the perfect addition to a children's library right next to that copy of Wizard of Oz from above!
I just love when publishers design books that look like they could belong in a full library, I just wish they would include more titles in the set!
Doctor Dolittle
I remember my sister loving Doctor Doolittle when she was younger but this is another example of a children's book I didn't get to enjoy until I read it with my own kids for the first time.
While I was homeschooling my youngest daughter, we read this version of Doctor Dolittle as our read aloud book for the semester.
I was so pleasantly surprised by many of the lessons from the book and the adventurous tale that obviously struck a chord with my daughter.
The Wind in the Willows
Before we visited Disneyland for the first time, I wanted to be sure my kids were familiar with The Wind and the Willows so they would better appreciate the famous ride at the Disney park.
I found this illustrated edition of the classic story and we read it together in the weeks leading up to our trip.
It made that first ride all the more special and we got to enjoy hours of together time with a fantastic book.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter has now been part of our national conversation for decades. Though this may make you cringe at your own age, I believe he and his friends from Hogwarts are not permanently part of the classic children's literature list.
If you want to collect a stunning edition of Harry Potter to start a young child's library, this illustrated Harry Potter book is the perfect place to start.
We have books 1 - 4 and are eagerly awaiting the rest of the series' release in this format.
Dr. Seuss's Beginner Book Collection
Would you believe it if I told you I did not have any Dr. Seuss books at home when I was a kid? I remember discovering a huge box filled with them while visiting my aunt one summer and I disappeared for an hour to read them.
My mom didn't enjoy reading them out loud and I can't exactly blame her. But they do make amazing first readers for young children and are excellent classic books to add to any child's home library.
Thank you for writing this article!! Iโve been looking for recommendations for classic, ILLUSTRATED literature to start reading aloud to my 3 1/2 year old. This post was EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thank you for all the beautiful recommendations!