On My Bookshelf: Children's Classics

Previous On My Bookshelf Posts:
Fairytale Retellings
Historical Fiction
Science Fiction
High Fantasy

 C. S. Lewis once said, “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest.” I definitely agree with him on that. Children's stories can be read and loved by everyone.

 Here are some of my favorites.

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit

   E. Nesbit is one of the authors that got me into reading. My sister had a bunch of them on her bookshelf, and one day I decided to pick up Five Children and It. Before long I moved on to devour all of her other books.

  E. Nesbit's books are brilliant - they're funny, heartwarming, and magical. Also they are just so British!

  Five Children and It trilogy is a favorite, but I also love The House of Arden, The Enchanted Castle, and The Railway Children.

  Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

  
 Like a lot of people, Little Women was a favorite growing up. I still adore it now.  It's the loveliest story in the world, and you can't help but fall in love with all the characters. 

 Louisa May Alcott's other books are must-reads, too. Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom are great.

Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

 "One can argue over the merits of most books...one does not argue about The Wind in the Willows." - A. A. Milne.

 Wind in the Willows is one of the sweetest little books I've ever read. It's silly, it's random, and it has awesome characters. 

 The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

 

 The Princess and the Goblin is beautifully written, and it has such a mysterious (verging on creepy, really) plot. 

  "Her face was fair and pretty, with eyes like two bits of night sky, each with a star dissolved in the blue."

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

 The Secret Garden has been a favorite story of mine ever since I first listened to the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version when I little. It's such a good book. A Little Princess is wonderful, too.

       The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Little Prince makes itself out to be a simple children's story, but it's so much more than that under the surface. It's a beautiful little book.

 "Of course, an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you. But my rose, all on her own, is more important than all of you together, since she's the one I've watered."

 Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

  This one is one of my absolute favorite books. You can't help but love this story and all the characters - especially Anne.  

 The rest of the series is incredible, too, as well as Montgomery's other books. 

Do you still like reading children's books? What's your favorite children's classic?

love, 

Hannah