Books we enjoyed as kids
And other great books

  • Picture Books (Pre-school & up)
  • Elementary (1st - 6th)
  • Intermediate (4th - 9th)
  • Advanced (9th grade & up)
  • History books for older readers
    •

    Picture Books (Pre-school & up)
      Anderson, C.W.   Billy and Blaze
      Anderson, C.W.   Blaze and the Lost Quarry
      Bemelmans, Ludwig   Madeline, Madeline's Rescue
      Benchley, Nathaniel   Sam the Minuteman
      Benchley, Nathaniel   George the Drummer Boy
      Beskow, Elsa   Pelle's New Suit
      Brenner, Barbara   Wagon Wheels
      Burton, Virginia Lee   Katie and the Big Snow
      Burton, Virginia Lee   Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
      Carle, Eric   The Very Quiet Cricket
      Carle, Eric   The Very Hungry Caterpillar
      Carle, Eric   The Grouchy Ladybug
      Carle, Eric   The Mixed-Up Chameleon
      Carle, Eric   The Very Busy Spider
      Caudill, Rebecca   A Pocketful of Cricket
      Cohen, Barbara   Molly’s Pilgrim
      Cooney, Barbara   Chanticleer and the Fox
      Cooney, Barbara   Miss Rumphius
      Curren, Polly   The Army of Two
      de Paola, Tomie   "Charlie Needs A Cloak"
      Day, Alexandra   Good Dog, Carl (wordless book)
      Duvoisin, Roger   Petunia (wordless book)
      Duvoisin, Roger   Petunia, Beware! (wordless book)
      Ets, Marie Hall   Play With Me
      Fatio, Louise / R. Duvoisin   The Happy Lion & series
      Flack, Marjorie   The Story About Ping
      Flack, Marjorie   Wait for William
      Fluornoy, Valerie   The Patchwork Quilt
      Freeman, Don   Corduroy
      Freeman, Don   Fly High Fly Low
      Fulton, Ginger Adair   When I’m a Daddy (Moody Press)
      Fulton, Ginger Adair   When I’m a Mommy (Moody Press)
      Gackenbach, Dick   Claude and Pepper
      Gag, Wanda   Millions of Cats
      Galdone, Paul   The Little Red Hen
      Graham, Margaret Bloy   Be Nice to Spiders
      Green, Norma   The Hole in the Dike
      Grossman, Bill   Donna O’Neeshuck Was Chased by Some Cows
      Gunn, Robin Jones   Mrs. Rosey-Posey and the Chocolate Cherry Treat
      Hader, Berta & Elmer   Little Appaloosa
      Hall, Donald   Ox-Cart Man
      Hallinan, P.K.   I’m Thankful Each Day
      Hallinan, P.K.   My Very Best Rainy Day
      Herriot, James   Moses the Kitten
      Herriot, James   The Market Square Dog
      Herriot, James   James Herriot’s Treasury for Children
      Hest, Amy / P.J. Lynch   When Jessie Came Across the Sea
      Hoban, Russel & Lillian   The Frances series
      Hughes, Shirley   Dogger
      Hughes, Shirley   Alfie Gets in First
      Hughes, Shirley   Alfie’s Feet
      Hornblow, Leonora & Arthur   Animals do the Strangest Things
      Hornblow, Leonora & Arthur   Birds Do the Strangest Things
      Hornblow, Leonora & Arthur   Fish Do the Strangest Things
      Hornblow, Leonora & Arthur   Insects do the Strangest Things
      Hutchins, Pat   Good Night, Owl
      Hutchins, Pat   Rosie’s Walk
      Jonas, Ann   Round Trip
      Lakin, Patricia   Dad and Me in the Morning
      Langstaff, John   Over in the Meadow
      Leaf, Munro   The Story of Ferdinand
      Lewis, Thomas P.   Hill of Fire
      Lindbergh, Reeve   The Midnight Farm
      Lobel, Arnold   Frog and Toad Are Friends (& series)
      McBratney / Jeram   Guess How Much I Love You
      McCloskey, Robert   Blueberries for Sal
      McCloskey, Robert   Lentil
      McCloskey, Robert   Make Way for Ducklings
      McCloskey, Robert   One Morning in Maine
      McCully, Emily Arnold   Mirette on the High Wire
      McGinley, P.   The Horse Who Lived Upstairs
      McGovern, Ann   Too Much Noise
      McKissack, Patricia   Flossie & the Fox
      McPhail, David   Farm Morning
      McPhail, David   Lost!
      Minarik, Else Holmelund   Little Bear
      Nordqvist, Sven   Pancake Pie
      Numeroff, Laura Joffe   If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
      Ormerod, Jan   To Baby With Love
      Parish, Peggy   Amelia Bedilia
      Parish, Peggy   Amelia Bedelia Helps Out
      Peet, Bill   Buford the Little Bighorn
      Peet, Bill   Capybopy
      Peet, Bill   Chester the Worldly Pig
      Peet, Bill   Hubert’s Hair-Raising Adventure
      Peet, Bill   Huge Harold
      Peet, Bill   Kermit the Hermit
      Peet, Bill   Merle, the High-Flying Squirrel
      Peet, Bill   The Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock
      Piper, Watty   The Little Engine that Could
      Polacco, Patricia   Thank You, Mr. Falker
      Polacco, Patricia   Thunder Cake
      Roop, Peter & Connie   Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie (biography of Abbie Burgess)
      Roop, Peter & Connie (editors)   Pilgrim Voices
      Selsam, Millicent   Plenty of Fish
      Schertle, Alice   Down the Road
      Slobadkina, Esphyr   Caps For Sale
      Seuss, Dr.   Bartholomew and the Ooblek
      Seuss, Dr.   Green Eggs and Ham
      Seuss, Dr.   Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who
      Surany, Anico   The Covered Bridge
      Swift, Hildegarde & Lynn Ward   The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
      Thurber, James   Many Moons
      Titus, Eve   Anatole
      Titus, Eve   Anatole and the Cat
      Titus, Eve   Anatole and the Thirty Thieves
      Titus, Eve   Anatole Over Paris
      Titus, Eve   Anatole and the Piano
      Thorson, Charles   Keeko (1947, Follett Publishing Company, Chicago)
      Turkle, Brinton   Thy Friend, Obadiah
      Turkle, Brinton   The Sky Dog
      Ward, Lynd   The Biggest Bear Ever
      Wilhelm, Hans   I’ll Always Love You
      Williams, Vera B.   Three Days on the River in a Red Canoe
      Wolff, Ferida   Seven Loaves of Bread
      Wright, Courtni C. / Gershom Griffin   Journey to Freedom: A Story of the Underground Railroad
      Yashima, Taro   Crow Boy
      Yolen, Jane   Owl Moon

     

    Elementary Readers (1st - 6th grade)

      Anderson, C.W.   Billy and Blaze
      Anderson, C.W.   Blaze and the Mountain Lion
      Anderson, C.W.   Blaze and the Lost Quarry
      Anderson, C.W.   Blaze and Thunderbolt
      Anderson, C.W.   A Filly for Joan
      Arnold, Elliott   Brave Jimmy Stone
      Atwater, Richard & Florence    Mr. Popper's Penguins
      Blyton, Enid    Five Fall Into Adventure & series
      Blyton, Enid    The Secret Seven mystery series
      Brown, Drollene P.   Sybil Rides for Independence
      Buff, Mary & Conrad   The Apple and the Arrow (The Legend of William Tell)
      Bulla, Clyde Robert   A Lion to Guard Us
      Bulla, Clyde Robert   Ghost Town Treasure
      Bulla, Clyde Robert   Pocahontas and the Strangers
      Bulla, Clyde Robert   Star of Wild Horse Canyon
      Butterworth, Oliver   The Enormous Egg
      Butterworth, Oliver   The Trouble with Jenny’s Ear
      Cavenah, Frances   Jenny Lind and Her Listening Cat
      Cavenah, Frances   Marta and the Nazis / Marta finds the Golden Door
      Clark, Margaret Goff   Freedom Crossing
      Cleary, Beverly    The Mouse and the Motorcycle
      Dalgliesh, Alice   The Bears on Hemlock Mountain
      Dalgliesh, Alice   The Courage of Sarah Noble
      Devine, Bob   Uncle Bob’s Animal Stories
      du Bois, William Pène   The Twenty-One Balloons
      Edmonds, Walter D.   The Matchlock Gun
      Estes, Eleanor    The Hundred Dresses
      Forbes, Esther   Johnny Tremain
      Fritz, Jean   And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
      Fritz, Jean   Around the World in a Hundred Years
      Fritz, Jean   George Washington's Breakfast
      Fritz, Jean   Stonewall
      Fritz, Jean   Where Do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus?
      Fritz, Jean   Will You Sign Here, John Hancock?
      Gardiner, John Reynolds   Stone Fox
      Gates, Doris   Blue Willow
      Grahame, Kenneth   The Wind in the Willows
      Hamori, Lazslo   Dangerous Journey
      Harnden, Ruth   Trapped in the Ice / Golly and the Gulls
      Henry, Marguerite   Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin
      Henry, Marguerite   Misty of Chincoteague
      Henry, Marguerite   Stormy, Misty’s Foal
      Henry, Marguerite   Brighty of the Grand Canyon
      Henry, Marguerite   Justin Morgan Had a Horse
      Henry, Marguerite   King of the Wind
      Hicks, Clifford B.   Alvin’s Secret Code
      Hicks, Clifford B.   Alvin’s Swap Shop
      Hicks, Clifford B.   Alvin Fernald, Master of a Thousand Disguises
      Hicks, Clifford B.   Alvin Fernald, TV Anchorman
      Hicks, Clifford B.   Alvin Fernald, Mayor for a Day
      Hicks, Clifford B.   The Wacky World of Alvin Fernald
      Kästner, Erich   Emil and the Detectives
      Kinsey-Warnock, Natalie   The Canada Geese Quilt
      Kjelgard, Jim   Big Red, Irish Red, Outlaw Red
      Kjelgard, Jim   Wild Trek
      Lawson, Robert   Rabbit Hill
      Lindgren, Astrid   The Children of Noisy Village
      Lofting, Hugh   The Story of Dr. Dolittle
      MacGregor   The Miss Pickerell Series
      McCloskey, Robert   Homer Price
      McGovern, Ann   If You Sailed on the Mayflower
      McGovern, Ann   If You Lived with the Sioux Indians
      McCloskey, Robert   Centerburg Tales
      Mills, Lauren A.   The Rag Coat
      Morey, Walt    Gentle Ben 
      Mowat, Farley   Owls in the Family
      Parish, Peggy   Key to the Treasure
      Reit, Seymour   Guns for General Washington (true story)
      Reit, Seymour   Race Against Death
      Schlein, Miriam   The Year of the Panda
      Seldan, George   The Cricket in Times Square
      Sharp, Margery   The Rescuers, Miss Bianca, The Turret
      Sidney, Margaret   Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
      Simon, Seymore   The Einstein Anderson series
      Simon, Seymore   Dozens of non-fiction science books
      Smith, Dodie   The 101 Dalmations
      Sobol, Donald J.   The Encyclopedia Brown series
      Sobol, Donald J.   Lock, Stock, and Barrel (character sketches from the American Revolution)
      Sobol, Donald J.   The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk
      Stevenson, Robert Louis   A Child's Garden of Verses
      Terbune, Albert Payson   Lad: A Dog
      Titus, Eve   Basil of Baker Street & series
      Warner, Gertrude Chandler   The Boxcar Children & the Alden family mystery series
      White, E.B.   Charlotte's Web
      Wilder, Laura Ingalls   Little House on the Prarie & series
      Williams & Abrashkin   The Danny Dunn series
      Worline, Bonnie Bess   The Children who Stayed Alone / Sod House Adventure

     

    Intermediate Readers (3rd - 9th grade):

      Alcott, Louisa May    Little Women, Little Men, etc.
      Bagnold, Enid   National Velvet
      Brick, John   Yankees on the Run
      Brink, Carol Ryrie   Caddie Woodlawn
      Brinley, Bertrand R.   The Mad Scientists’ Club
      Burnford, Sheila   The Incredible Journey
      Church, Richard   Five Boys in a Cave / The Cave
      DeAngeli, Marguerite   The Door in the Wall
      DeJong, Meindert   The House of Sixty Fathers
      DeJong, Meindert   The Wheel on the School
      Emery, Anne   A Spy in Old West Point
      Fall, Thomas   Wild Boy
      Fecher, Constance   Tom Hawke / The Link Boys
      Fleischman, Sid   By the Great Horn Spoon ! Bullwhip Griffin
      Fleischman, Sid   The Whipping Boy
      Fleming, Ian   Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
      Futrelle, Jacques   The Thinking Machine
      Gage, Wilson & Glen Rounds   Big Blue Island
      George, Jean Craighead   Julie of the Wolves
      George, Jean Craighead   My Side of the Mountain
      Gibson, Fred   Old Yeller (But we don't recommend any of Fred Gibson's other books)
      Gray, Elizabeth Janet   Adam of the Road
      Hunt, Irene   Across Five Aprils
      Juster, Norton   The Phantom Tollbooth
      Keith, Harold   Rifles for Watie
      Kingman, Lee   The Saturday Gang
      Latham, Jean Lee   Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
      Latham, Jean Lee   Drake: The Man They Called A Pirate
      Liggett, Thomas   Pigeon, Fly Home!
      Lindgren, Astrid   Bill Bergson, Master Detective
      Lindgren, Astrid   Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue
      Lindgren, Astrid   Rasmus and the Vagabond
      Lowry, Lois   Number the Stars
      MacLachlan, Patricia   Sarah, Plain and Tall
      McSwigan, Marie   Snow Treasure
      Meadowcroft, Enid LaMonte   By Secret Railway
      Meigs, Cornelia   Invincible Louisa
      Meigs, Cornelia   Wild Geese Flying
      Meyer, Franklyn E.   Me and Caleb, Me and Caleb Again
      Miers, Earl Schenk   Pirate Chase
      Milne, A.A.    Winnie the Pooh & series
      Montgomery, L.M.   Anne of Green Gables
      Moody, Ralph   Little Britches, Man of the Family, The Fields of Home, The Home Ranch, Mary Emma & Company, Shaking the Nickel Bush, The Dry Divide, A Horse of a Different Color
      Morrow, Honore   Seven Alone / On to Oregon
      Mowat, Farley   Lost in the Barrens / Two Against the North
      Nordhoff, Charles Bernard   The Pearl Lagoon
      North, Sterling   Rascal
      Norton, Mary   The Borrowers
      Peattie, Donald Culross   Lives of Destiny
      Petry, Ann   Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad
      Reiss, Johanna   The Upstairs Room
      Robertson, Keith   The Crow and the Castle
      Robertson, Keith   Henry Reed’s Journey; Henry Reed, Inc.
      Robertson, Keith   Henry Reed’s Babysitting Service
      Robertson, Keith   The Money Machine
      Robertson, Keith   The Year of the Jeep
      Robertson, Keith   Three Stuffed Owls
      Salton, Felix   Bambi
      Serraillier, Ian   Escape from Warsaw / The Silver Sword
      Sewell, Anna   Black Beauty
      Sorensen, Virginia   Miracles on Maple Hill
      Speare, Elizabeth George   The Sign of the Beaver
      Spencer, Philip   Day of Glory: The Guns at Lexington and Concord
      Spyri, Johanna   Heidi
      Stephens, C.A.   Stories from the Old Squire's Farm
      Stephens, Peter John   The Perrely Plight
      Sterling, Dorothy   Secret of the Old Post Box
      Sullivan, George   Great Escapes of World War II
      Taylor, Mildred   Mississippi Bridge
      Taylor, Mildred   Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
      Taylor, Theodore   The Cay
      Terbune, Albert Payson   Lad: A Dog
      Van Leeuwen, Jean   Bound for Oregon
      Wibberly, Leonard   John Treegate’s Musket
      Wibberly, Leonard   Sea Captain from Salem
      Wibberly, Leonard   Leopard’s Prey
      Wibberly, Leonard   Flint's Island (a sequel to Treasure Island)
      Wyss, Johann David   The Swiss Family Robinson
      Yates, Elizabeth   Amos Fortune: Free Man

     

    Advanced Reading (9th grade & up)

      Brother Andrew   God's Smuggler
      Armstrong, William H.    Sounder
      Austin, Jane   Pride and Prejudice
      The Bible   The Recovery Version or the New American Standard Bible
      Benchley, Nathaniel   Bright Candles
      Bunyan, John   Pilgrim's Progress
      Conrad, Joseph    Typhoon
      Cooper, James Fenimore   The Deerslayer
      Cooper, James Fenimore   The Last of the Mohicans
      Crane, Stephen   The Red Badge of Courage
      Curie, Eve   Madame Curie
      Dana, Richard Henry, Jr.   Two Years Before the Mast
      Defoe, Daniel   Robinson Crusoe
      DeKruif, Paul Henry   Men Against Death (nonfiction)
      DeKruif, Paul Henry   Microbe Hunters (nonfiction)
      Dickens, Charles   A Tale of Two Cities
      Dickens, Charles   David Copperfield
      Dickens, Charles   Oliver Twist
      Douglass, Frederick    Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Autobiography, 1845)
      Eckert, Allan W.   Incident at Hawk's Hill
      Forester, C.S.   The Man in the Yellow Raft
      Frank, Anne   Diary of a Young Girl
      Futrelle, Jacques   The Thinking Machine
      Gilbreth, Frank   Cheaper by the Dozen
      Hautzig, Esther Rudomin   The Endless Steppe (autobiography)
      Herriot, James   All Things Bright and Beautiful  
      Herriot, James   All Creatures Great and Small  
      Herriot, James   All Things Wise and Wonderful  
      Herriot, James   The Lord God Made Them All  
      Herriot, James   Every Living Thing
      Heyerdahl, Thor   Kon-Tiki for Young People
      Hugo, Victor   Les Miserables
      Kipling, Rudyard    Captains Courageous
      Lee, Harper   To Kill a Mockingbird
      London, Jack   Call of the Wild
      Melville, Herman   Moby-Dick
      Mowat, Farley   The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be
      Nordhoff, Charles Bernard & James Norman Hall    Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, Pitcairn's Island
      Nordhoff, Charles Bernard & James Norman Hall    The Hurricane
      Orczy, Baroness Emmuska    The Scarlet Pimpernel
      Pease, Howard   Long Wharf, Black Tanker, Thunderbold House
      Potok, Chaim   The Chosen
      Pyle, Howard   The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
      Sandburg, Carl   Lincoln: The Prairie Years
      Shakespeare, William   Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Romeo & Juliet, King Lear
      Shakespeare, William   Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew
      Stevenson, Robert Louis   Kidnapped
      Steer, Roger   George Müller: Delighted in God
      Stevenson, Robert Louis   Treasure Island
      Tarkington, Booth   Penrod
      Ten-Boom, Corey   The Hiding Place
      Twain, Mark   The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
      Twain, Mark   The Prince and the Pauper
      Verne, Jules   Around the World in Eighty Days
      Verne, Jules   Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
      Washington, Booker Taliaferro   Up From Slavery

     

    History books for older readers

      Collins & Lapierre   Freedom at midnight
      Collins & Lapierre   Is Paris burning?
      Collins & Lapierre   O Jerusalem!
      Franklin, Benjamin   The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
      Steven, Stewart   The Spymasters of Israel

    This list is © 1998 Stephen & Esther Johnsen. All rights reserved. If you have comments or suggestions about this page, please email us at .

    Click here to return to our home page.