Celebrating Our Favorite Children’s Books
This post may contain affiliate or referral links, meaning I may earn a sales commission at no extra cost to you. Please see my full affiliate disclosure here.
Today is International Children’s Book Day! This day started back in 1967 as a way to celebrate all of the fabulous children’s books available to us and to (hopefully) instill a love of reading.
It isn’t a secret around here that I love books and so do my children. Even as an adult, many of my favorite books of all time are children’s books and I still love to discover new ones. Whether they’re filled with great illustrations or an inspiring message, children’s books tend to stick with us for a lifetime. Many of the books in our current collection are my favorites from when I was a child.
Today I am celebrating International Children’s Book Day by putting together a list of our favorite children’s books through the years. You will find books that are perfect for toddlers, teens and in between. I hope this you find something great on this list to read with your own kids.
Toddler (1-2)
Maisy (multiple books) by Lucy Cousins
The Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
Pete the Cat (multiple books) by James Dean
Press Here by Herve Tullet
The Pigeon books (multiple books) by Mo Willems
The Farmer and the Clown by Marla Frazee
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Chicka Chicka 123 by Bill Martin Jr.
The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
Llama Llama (multiple books) by Anna Dewdney
Preschooler (3-5)
The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett
13 Words by Lemony Snicket
A Perfectly Messed-Up Story by Patrick McDonnell
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
Take Away the A by Michael Escoffier
Little Elliot, Big City by Mike Curato
Gaston by Kelly DiPuccio
Maple by Lori Nichols
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen
The Dark by Lemony Snicket & Jon Klassen
That is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
Middle Grade (6-12)
Goosebumps (multiple books) by R.L. Stine
Fablehaven (series) by Brandon Mull
Gregor the Overlander (series) by Suzanne Collins
Percy Jackson (series) by Rick Riordan
The Kane Chronicles (series) by Rick Riordan
Heroes of Olympus (series) by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling
Middle School, the Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson
The Magic Tree House (multiple books) by Mary Pope Osborne
Geronimo Stilton (multiple books) by Geronimo Stilton
Ramona (multiple books) by Beverly Cleary
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Teen (13+)
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Unwind Dystology (series) by Neal Shusterman
The Giver (series) by Lois Lowry
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (series) by Michael Scott
Maze Runner (series) by James Dashner
Ender’s Game (Quintet) by Orson Scott Card
Zom-B (series) by Darren Shan
Cirque du Freak (series) by Darren Shan
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Hunger Games (trilogy) by Suzanne Collins
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Walking Dead, Rise of the Governor by Robert Kirkman & Jay Bonansinga
I’d love to add some more books to our list. What are some of your favorite kids’ books?
I really love my children reading and I’m glad I came across your list. However I really disagree with Go Ask Alice being an appropriate book for ages 6 to 12?? I truly believe that book is a good book for teenagers to read so they won’t go down that path, however I would never let my twelve-year-old read it.
Go Ask Alice is definitely meant for the higher end of that range. I think I read Go Ask Alice when I was about 11 and in 6th grade and it really depends on the kid. Then again, I read my first Stephen King novel when I was 12 or 13 so maybe I was an anomaly. 😉 I fully admit that my reading choices were more advanced than a lot of my friends and so are my son’s, so I admit that I may assign a younger age to some of choices than others would.
This is a great list! My personal favorite children’s book that I think everyone should read is called Thank You, Bear. It’s by Greg Foley, and it’s so sweet. It’s about a little bear who finds something he thinks is amazing, but everyone was telling him what was wrong with it. In the end, it was just as perfect as he had imagined it would be. It’s a board book, which is definitely great for 1-2 year olds. It warms my little heart every time I read it. 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/Thank-You-Bear-Board-Book/dp/0670785075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428515948&sr=8-1&keywords=thank+you+bear
I haven’t read that one. Thanks for the tip!