Children's Classic Literature

Take a good look at this stairway of books. All are classics in the world of children's literature. Do you have a list of the favorite books you read in the years when you grew up?

What book pops up as the first one you remember reading or having read to you? The first one I remember was a book called Mr. Flibbertyjibbet. I can't tell you much about the story but I do remember loving that name and the way it tripped off the tongue. I remember curling up next to my mother while she read it to me, and other times when my daddy read it to me.

There are so many wonderful contemporary books for children today.Lots of excellent stories and I like to see kids reading them. But I also hope that they will read some of these classics for kids, too. As grown-ups, we hear references to some of these books in our everyday conversation. Things like boys wanting to never grow up (Peter Pan) and the antics of Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn whose books use their names in the title.

Lois Lowry's Number The Stars gives today's kids a good look at what life was like during WWII. The Jungle Book has entertained kids for years while subtly teaching them moral values and life lessons.

The Little House books, Nancy Drew mysteries, and The Bobbsey Twins all have special places in my reading memories. As I grew older, I read the Sue Barton, Nurse series. That girl was a nurse in every possible category in every part of the USA. The books had to inspire many girls to enter the field of nursing.

My husband says he read all the Hardy Boys books when he was growing up. And of course, those wonderful books Mark Twain wrote about boys named Tom and Huckleberry.

I loved Black Beauty and Little Women. They were good stories when I read them decades ago and they still classify as a good read.

When buying books for children, don't forget the classics. Let them read the Junie B. Jones books and others so popular today but sprinkle in a few of the classics, as well. Check out the linked titles here to take a trip down memory lane.