240 Great Children's Books for All Ages

Coming up with a list of books for children is always risky.  How do you judge each book? Do we use our personal preference as adult readers? The popularity of the books with children? The book's longevity? I could list other criteria.

It is also difficult with a list like this to allocate an age level. Some of the books in one age category can be read by children of different ages depending on their ability and maturity. For example, a book like ‘Charlotte’s Web’ can be read to and enjoyed by children of any age. As well, many picture books can be enjoyed from 1 to 99 years!

The list that follows is not meant to be comprehensive.  Rather, I’ve tried to give a flavour of the varied authors, styles and topics.  You should use the list to find other books by the same authors.  For example, I could have listed all of Bill Peet’s books. The same could be said for many other authors on this list. The books chosen for the list all:

a) have been loved by children and adults;
b) have quality language, story and illustrations (in the case of picture books); and,
c) make you want to turn the page

I've offered links to these books most of which are still in print and pretty much all that can still be found, borrowed or bought. Happy reading!

Books for Preschoolers (to be read to and with children aged 0-4 years) 

A Child of Books by Oliver Jeffers & Sam Winston

All the World illustrated by Marla Frazee, written by Liz Garton
Battles in the Bath  by Peter Pavey
Bears in the Night  by Stan and Jan Berenstein
Belinda by Pamela Allen
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.
Corduroy by Don Freeman
Do You Know What Grandad Did? By Brian Smith
Dog In, Cat Out by Gillian Rubenstein
Don’t Forget the Bacon by Pat Hutchins
Duckat by Gaelyn Gordon
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allen Ahlberg
Edward the Emu by Sheena Knowles
Edwina the Emu by Sheena Knowles
Flight illustrated by Armin Greder and written by Nadia Wheatley
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Grandpa and Thomas by Pamela Allen
Grandpa and Thomas and the Green Umbrella by Pamella Allen
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox
Looking for Crabs by Bruce Whately
Mister Magnolia by Quentin Blake 
Mother, Mother, I Want Another by Maria Polushkin Robbins
My Dad by Anthony Browne
One Hungry Spider by Jeannie Baker
One Dragon’s Dream by Peter Pavey
Peepo by Janet and Allen Ahlberg 
Something about a Bear by Jackie Morris
The Day the Crayons Quit' by Drew Daywalt
The Lion & Mouse by Jerry Pinkey
The Mitten by Alvin Tresselt
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister 
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise
The Singing Hat by Tohby Riddle
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Story of Chicken Licken by Jan Ormerod
The Trouble with Dad by Babette Cole
The Trouble with Mum by Babette Cole
The Waterhole by Graeme Base
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 
This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen

Time for Bed by Mem Fox
When I’m Feeling range of books by Trace Moroney
Willy's Stories by Anthony Browne

Books for Children Ages 4-7 (the following titles are suitable to be read to younger readers or can be read by beginning readers)

A.B. Paterson’s Mulga Bill’s Bicycle by Kilmeny & Deborah Niland
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish
Animalia by Graeme Base
Aranea: A Story About a Spider by Jenny Wagner
Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman 
Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown
Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
Complete Adventures of Blinky Bill by Dorothy Wall
Counting on Frank by Rod Clement
Cowardly Clyde by Bill Peet
Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey
Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Conner
Fantastic Mr Fox, by Roald Dahl
Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss
Granpa by John Burningham
Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr Seuss
Hubert’s Hair-raising Adventure by Bill Peet
I Was Only Nineteen by John Schumann and illustrated by Craig Smith
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
In My Back Yard by Nette Hilton & Anne Spudvilas
Irving the Magician by Tohby Riddle
John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat by Jenny Wagner
Journey written and illustrated by Aaron Becker
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Lester and Clyde by James Reece
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Locomotive by Brian Floca
Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
My Hiroshima by Junko Morimoto
My Two Blankets, illustrator Freya Blackwood, text by Irena Kobald
No Kiss for Mother by Tomi Ungerer
Oh, The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss
One Minute's Silence, illustrator Michael Camilleri, text David Metzenthen
Petunia by Roger Duvoisin
Red Sings from Treetops: A Year of Colors, by Joyce Sidman
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie by May Gibbs
Stellaluna by Janell Cannon
Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
Sunshine by Jan Ormerod
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo 
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola
The Banana Bird and the Snake Men by Percy Trezise and Dick Roughsey
The Bears’ ABC Book by Robin & Jocelyn Wild 
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
The Christmas Eve Ghost, by Shirley Hughes
The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
‘The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh’ by A. A. Milne
The Digging-est Dog by Al Perkins
The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base
The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton
The Fisherman and the Theefyspray by Jane Tanner
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
The Jolly Postman or Other People’s Letters by Janet & Allen Ahlberg
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch by Ronda & David Armitage
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay
The Napping House by Audrey Wood
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Rainbow Serpent by Dick Roughsey
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter 
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
‘The Story of Shy the Platypus’ by Leslie Rees
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Tough Boris by Mem Fox
What Made Tiddalik Laugh by Joanna Troughton
Wheel on the Chimney by Margaret Wise Brown
Where’s Julius by John Burningham
Where the Forest Meets the Sea by Jeannie Baker
Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Whistle Up the Chimney by Nan Hunt
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

Books for Children Ages 8-10 (many of these books can be read to children aged 6-8 or can be read by most children aged 9-10 years)

A Dream of Stars by Brian Caswell
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
A Little Fear by Patricia Wrightson 
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness 
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Callie’s Castle by Ruth Park
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver
Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles. America’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone 
Dirty Beasts by Roald Dahl
Grandma Cadbury’s Trucking Tales by Dianne Bates
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling 
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
James and the Giant Peach: A Children’s Story by Roald Dahl
Jodie’s Journey by Colin Thiele
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Mike by Brian Caswell
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien
My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Paw Thing by Paul Jennings
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
'Requiem for a Beast' by Matt Ottley 
Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
Rowan of Rin series by Emily Rodda
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner 
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
The 27th Annual African Hippopotamus Race by Morris Lurie
The Arrival by Shaun Tan
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
The BFG by Roald Dahl
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Eighteenth Emergency by Betsy Byars
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Pinballs by Betsy Byars
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Shrinking of Treehorn by Florence Parry Heide
The Super-Roo of Mungalongaloo by Osmar White
The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
The Village Dinosaur by Phyllis Arkle
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon written by Grace Lin
Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein

Books for children aged 10-13+

A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay
Boss of the Pool, by Robin Klein
Boy by Roald Dahl
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Cloudwish by Fiona Wood
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, by Mark Haddon
Deltora Quest series by Emily Rodda
Dragonkeeper Trilogy (Carole Wilkinson)
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by K.G. Campbell
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian 
Lord of the Rings, JR Tolkien
Merryl of the Stones by Brian Caswell
Nargun and the Stars by Patricia Wrightson
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Old Kingdom series, by Garth Nix
Playing Beattie Bow by Ruth Park
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Slave Girl: The Diary of Clotee, Virginia, USA 1859 by Patricia McKissack
Sounder, by William H. Armstrong
Strange Objects by Gary Crew
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
The Hobbit by JR Tolkein
The Fire in the Stone by Colin Thiele
The Ice is Coming by Patricia Wrightson
The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman)
The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall
The Princess Bride (William Goldman)
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
The Stone Quartet by Alan Garner
The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong
Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn 
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Wizard of Earthsea trilogy by Ursula Le Guin

Tips for Parents & Teachers as Children Start School

In Australia children are returning to school soon and some will be turning up for the first time. There will be many tears, and that's not just the parents and teachers! Yes, there will be anxious children as well. As always, it's a challenging time for everyone. Having received children on their first day at school as a teacher, having sent my own children to school in Kindergarten, and having worried over grandchildren heading off on day one, I have some experience as a worrier! So I thought I'd offer some quick Do's and Don'ts for parents and teachers.

PARENTS

DOs

#1 Assume the best of your child's teachers, not the worst. Give them a chance to get to know your child and encourage your child to show them respect.

#2 Try to help teachers understand your child by telling them things that will help (when you have a chance). This might include health issues, fears about school, special interests (help them with points of connection).

#3 Try to get to know some other parents from day one. This will help to give you a small support group, maybe someone to call to see if their child has the school note your child has lost, or to discuss the project work that is due, how the swimming carnival works, are parents expected to attend the school fete or fundraising day etc.

#4 When they get home (especially in the early weeks) let them rest, feed them, & allow them some down time before asking the 20 questions you've stored up.

#5 Pace yourself, there will be MANY years of school. Let your child grow into school, and as a parent try to learn afresh what school is like now compared with when you were at school or when you sent your first two children. 

DON'Ts

My eldest daughter on her first day of school

#1 Don't assume that your child is the only bright kid at school and tell the teacher as much on day 1. EVERY parent thinks their child is gifted. Let your child show their teacher some of the great things they can do.

#2 Don't criticize your child's teacher in front of your child. This will make it harder for your child to respect their teacher.

#3 Don't make comparisons between your child and other children, especially to your child.

#4 Don't hassle teachers from day 1 about homework, allow the year to get rolling before firing such questions at them.

#5 Try to avoid projecting your anxieties as a parent onto your child.  If they're worried about their teacher, don't fire questions at them to see if they've had some problems. If there are problems, they'll come out in the child's good timing.

#6 Don't expect the teacher to know your child as well as you do from day 1

TEACHERS

DOs

#1 Be patient with parents, especially those sending their first child to school, especially in the early weeks. This is a tough time for many.

#2 Inform them as soon as you can about your expectations on things like homework, special activities, and your approach to discipline.

#3 Let them know how they can contact you if they have questions. An email address will reduce many fears (perhaps make it a generic one if you wish to limit access) and DO try to answer them as quickly as possible but outline some simple rules.

#4 Look for good things in each child. While not all will be brilliant (even though their parents might think they are), there will be things that are worthy of praise and encouragement.

#5 Make yourself available at pick-up time to chat, answer the odd question and simply show that you're interested in connecting children with their parents.

DON'Ts

#1 Don't overwhelm parents with information early, keep guidelines to a minimum at first.

#2 Don't assume that parents have little to offer, while some may have unrealistic expectations, they will know their children well. Tap into their insights when possible.

#3 Don't ever talk about a child to the parents of a classmate.

#4 Don't expect too much of parents too early in relation to homework. Like you, they will be busy at the start of the year. A few might pester you for it, but try to maintain a balanced approach.

Other Related Posts

1. 'Starting School: Is there a best perfect age?'

2. 'Making Homework More Relevant and Useful for Learning'