In a previous post, I mentioned how large a role good books have played in my life. And being a bit of a packrat, I've accumulated many tomes over the decades. Even after donating roughly half of my books when we moved to Sligo Park Hills, I still had bookshelves groaning under the weight of double-stacked rows. That's why one of my requirements for building a house was a real library. It's a dream come true.
I've often been asked about my favorite books, a question that defies a succint answer. But I certainly have many best-loved books, so I thought I'd share them here. I'll post them in three lists: favorite books for children, favorite fantasy & science fiction books, and other fiction and nonfiction favorites.
Like the Movies database on this site, these lists don't try to be current. Rather, I'm focusing on books that I grew up with—ones that might even be overlooked by today's readers. I also do not mean these are books you should read—I enjoyed very few of the books I was forced to read in various English and literature classes. These are simply books I loved reading (and re-reading). I think you'll enjoy them too.
Favorites of Children's Literature
- Alexander, Lloyd
- The Chronicles of Prydain
- Blume, Judy
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
- Burroughs, Edgar Rice
- The Tarzan series (first 4 books)
- Carroll, Lewis
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There
- Christopher, John
- The Tripods trilogy
- Cooper, Susan
- The Dark Is Rising sequence
- Dahl, Roald
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Danny the Champion of the World
- James and the Giant Peach
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
- Eager, Edward
- Half Magic
- Edwards, Julie (AKA Julie Andrews)
- The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
- Farley, Walter
- The Black Stallion
- Fitzgerald, John D.
- The Great Brain series
- Futrelle, Jacques
- The Thinking Machine
- George, Jean
- My Side of the Mountain
- Gilbreth, Frank B.
- Cheaper by the Dozen
- Goscinny & Uderzo
- The Adventures of Asterix series
- Henry, Marguerite
- King of the Wind
- Hergé
- The Adventures of Tintin series
- Juster, Norton
- The Phantom Tollbooth
- Kipling, Rudyard
- The Jungle Book
- Just So Stories
- Konigsburg, E.L.
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
- Jennifer, Hecate, MacBeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth
Note: Konigsburg won the Newbery Medal and a Newbery honor in the same year for these remarkable books.
- Lawson, Robert
- Rabbit Hill
- Le Guin, Ursula K.
- The Earthsea trilogy
- L'Engle, Madeleine
- A Wrinkle in Time
- Lewis, C.S.
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Lofting, Hugh
- The Story of Doctor Dolittle
- Macaulay, David
- Cathedral
- Castle
- Merrill, Jean
- The Pushcart War
- Milne, A.A.
- Winnie-the-Pooh
- The House at Pooh Corner
- Nesbit, Edith
- Five Children and It
- The Phoenix and the Carpet
- The Story of the Amulet
- O'Brien, Robert C.
- Mrs. Frisby and Rats of NIMH
- The Silver Crown
- O'Dell, Scott
- Island of the Blue Dolphins
- Paterson, Katherine
- Bridge to Terabithia
- Pène du Bois, William
- The 21 Balloons
- Raskin, Ellen
- The Westing Game
- The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel)
- The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues
- Rockwell, Thomas
- How to Eat Fried Worms
- Rodgers, Mary
- Freaky Friday
- A Billion for Boris
- Selden, George
- The Cricket in Times Square
- The Genie of Sutton Place
- Silverstein, Shel
- Where the Sidewalk Ends
- A Light in the Attic
- Sobol, Donald
- The Encyclopedia Brown series
- Steig, William
- Abel's Island
- Stevenson, Robert Louis
- Treasure Island
- Titus, Eve
- Basil of Baker Street
- Tolkien, J.R.R.
- The Hobbit
- Travers, P.L.
- Mary Poppins
- White, E.B.
- Charlotte's Web
- The Trumpet of the Swan
- Stuart Little
- Wilder, Laura Ingalls
- Little House on the Prairie
- Farmer Boy
Comments
Submitted by Kristen on 2016 Sep 30
This is a great list! Mia and I will go through it this weekend and place holds at the library for a bunch of the ones she hasn't read yet. The ones from here that she has read have also been favorites of hers, so clearly your tastes sync up well.
Submitted by Elliot on 2016 Sep 30
Awesome sauce! Have fun—If the library's out, you're welcome to borrow my copies.
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