Classic Children's Literature

Classic children's literature is more than simply books to read. It’s stories that stay with a child, impart lessons, and change the way they view the world. Fill your library with these classic series and works for children.

  1. Summer Reading Lists
  1. The Big Snow and Other Stories: A  Treasury of Caldecott Award Winning Tales
    Berta Hader, Elmer Hader
    Dover Publications / 2015 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$13.49 Retail Price$14.99 Save 10% ($1.50)
  2. The Courage of Sarah Noble
    Alice Dalgliesh, Leonard Weisgard
    Aladdin / 1991 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$4.69 Retail Price$5.99 Save 22% ($1.30)
    5 out of 5 stars for The Courage of Sarah Noble. View reviews of this product. 4 Reviews
  3. Miss Rumphius
    Barbara Cooney
    Puffin Books / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$6.74 Retail Price$8.99 Save 25% ($2.25)
    5 out of 5 stars for Miss Rumphius. View reviews of this product. 2 Reviews
  4. Ox-Cart Man
    Donald Hall
    Puffin Books / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$6.69 Retail Price$8.99 Save 26% ($2.30)
    4 out of 5 stars for Ox-Cart Man. View reviews of this product. 1 Reviews
  1. The Hundred Dresses
    Eleanor Estes
    Houghton Mifflin Harcourt / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$7.29 Retail Price$8.99 Save 19% ($1.70)
    5 out of 5 stars for The Hundred Dresses. View reviews of this product. 1 Reviews
  2. Owls in the Family
    Farley Mowat
    Yearling / 1996 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$5.39 Retail Price$5.99 Save 10% ($0.60)
  3. Treasure Island in 20 Minutes a Day:  A Read-With-Me Book with Discussion Questions, Definitions, and More!
    Bushel & Peck Books / 2023 / Hardcover
    Our Price$13.49 Retail Price$18.99 Save 29% ($5.50)
  4. Mississippi Morning
    Ruth Vander Zee
    Eerdmans Books for Young Readers / 2017 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$7.49 Retail Price$10.00 Save 25% ($2.51)
  1. Everything Sad Is Untrue: (A True  Story)
    Daniel Nayeri
    Levine Querido / 2020 / Hardcover
    Our Price$17.09 Retail Price$18.99 Save 10% ($1.90)
  2. The Prince and the Pauper
    Mark Twain
    Dover Publications / 2000 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$5.74 Retail Price$7.00 Save 18% ($1.26)
    5 out of 5 stars for The Prince and the Pauper. View reviews of this product. 1 Reviews
  3. Around the World in Eighty Days
    Jules Verne
    Puffin Books / 2016 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$5.94 Retail Price$7.99 Save 26% ($2.05)
  4. Journey to the Center of the Earth:  Dover Thrift Editions
    Jules Verne
    Dover Publications / 2005 / Mass Paperback
    Our Price$4.99 Retail Price$6.00 Save 17% ($1.01)

Study Guides for Children's Literature

Finding the Best Books for Children

Humans have always connected through stories. And even in our busy, technology-driven lives, stories provide the chance to be fully present with our children and open up opportunities for deep conversations. Listening to read-aloud stories also increases our kids' academic success, inspires compassion, and fortifies them with the inner strength they need to face life's challenges. As homeschooler Sarah Mackenzie has found with her own six children, reading aloud long after kids are able to read to themselves can deepen relationships in a powerful way.

Founder of the immensely popular Read-Aloud Revival podcast, Sarah knows first-hand how reading can change a child's life. In The Read-Aloud Family, she offers the inspiration and age-appropriate book lists you need to start a read-aloud movement in your own home. From a toddler's wonder to a teenager's resistance, Sarah details practical strategies to make reading aloud a meaningful family ritual.

A modern classic with over 250,000 copies sold, Honey for a Child's Heart is a compelling, essential guide for parents who want to find the best books for their children ages 0-12. This updated and expanded edition includes completely updated book lists geared to your child's age and filled with nearly one thousand longtime favorites, timeless classics, and wonderful new books and audiobooks that will enrich your child's life. You'll discover the importance of being a read-aloud family and how great books can give your children a large view of the world, of truth, and of goodness. Thousands of parents have used this guide to furnish their children's inner spirit with the wonder and delight of good reading. 272 pages, softcover.

Sailing boats down the river, climbing majestic cherry trees, building cities out of blocks, reading picture books on snowy days. . . . Ready to charm a new generation of readers, this perennial classic celebrates all the timeless joys of childhood! Stevenson's poetry is complemented by breathtaking watercolor paintings by Caldecott Honor illustrator Tasha Tudor. 69 pages, hardcover from Simon & Schuster.

  1. Favorite Poems, Old and New
    Helen Ferris
    Doubleday / 1957 / Hardcover
    Our Price$20.99 Retail Price$26.99 Save 22% ($6.00)
    5 out of 5 stars for Favorite Poems, Old and New. View reviews of this product. 5 Reviews
  2. I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of  American Slavery
    Cynthia Grady
    Eerdmans Books for Young Readers / 2012 / Hardcover
    Our Price$13.49 Retail Price$19.00 Save 29% ($5.51)
  3. The 20th Century Children's Poetry  Treasury
    Jack Prelutsky
    Random House / 1999 / Hardcover
    Our Price$17.96 Retail Price$19.95 Save 10% ($1.99)
  4. Stories and Poems for Extremely  Intelligent Children of All Ages
    Harold Bloom
    Simon & Schuster / 2002 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$15.74 Retail Price$22.00 Save 28% ($6.26)
Stories from Around the World

Add engaging stories, folk tales, myths, and legends to your child's history, geography or language arts programs. Learning about other countries and cultures can increase awareness and deepen respect toward the lives and experiences of others.

Shop for stories from around the world in picture books, chapter books, and anthologies in the Stories, Folk Tales & Myths Shop.

Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales and folklore tales are found across the world from antiquity onward, in both oral and literary form. Often featuring fantastical creatures or settings, this unique genre of literature has been read to children generation after generation and makes up a unique aspect of our shared childhood experiences.

Shop fairy tale anthologies, classics such as the Arabian Nights, as well as works by the Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Anderson, Andrew Lang, and others in the Fairy Tale & Folklore Shop.

The Real Mother Goose

Nursery Rhymes, like Fairy and Folk tales, have been handed down orally from generation to generation. While they might not be as old (the first collections arrive in the mid-1700s), they still speak to years of history and years of family play with young children.

Shop Mother Goose & Nursery Rhyme anthologies, as well as picture books based on popular rhymes, in the Nursery Rhyme Shop.

Favorite Series

Favorite Authors

  1. The Penderwicks Paperback 5-Book  Boxed Set: The Penderwicks; The Penderwicks on Gardam Street; The Penderwicks at Point Mouette; The Penderwicks in Spring; The Penderwicks at Last
  2. #1: The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale  of Four Sisters,  Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
    Jeanne Birdsall
    Yearling / 2007 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$8.09 Retail Price$8.99 Save 10% ($0.90)
  3. The Penderwicks on Gardam Street #2
    Jeanne Birdsall
    Yearling / 2010 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$8.09 Retail Price$8.99 Save 10% ($0.90)
  4. The Penderwicks at Point Mouette #3
    Jeanne Birdsall
    Yearling / 2012 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$8.09 Retail Price$8.99 Save 10% ($0.90)

Discover the classic story of Anne of Green Gables in a graphic novel format. The classic story is adapted by Mariah Marsden and illustrated by Brenna Thummler, this new edition breathes new life into the (mis)adventures of Anne Shirley. Perfect for newcomers and kindred spirits alike. Recommended for ages 7 to 12 years.

  1. Redwall: The Graphic Novel
    Brian Jacques
    Penguin Random House / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$11.69 Retail Price$12.99 Save 10% ($1.30)
    3 out of 5 stars for Redwall: The Graphic Novel. View reviews of this product. 1 Reviews
  2. The Iliad, softcover
    Gareth Hinds
    Candlewick Press / 2019 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$12.99 Retail Price$17.99 Save 28% ($5.00)
    4 out of 5 stars for The Iliad, softcover. View reviews of this product. 1 Reviews
  3. The Hobbit - An illustrated edition  of the fantasy classic
    J.R.R. Tolkien
    Del Rey / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$15.99 Retail Price$22.00 Save 27% ($6.01)
  4. Raising Dragons - graphic novel  edition
    Bryan Davis
    Scrub Jay Journeys / 2015 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$10.99 Retail Price$14.99 Save 27% ($4.00)
    5 out of 5 stars for Raising Dragons - graphic novel edition. View reviews of this product. 71 Reviews

Beautiful Bindings

Here are beautiful collections of must-have classics -- some of the most beloved stories, now handsomely bound in style and design with endearing covers by acclaimed artists like Laci Fowle and Anna Bond of Rifle Paper Co. Luxurious production details like decorative interior pages in the Pretty Books Painted Editions; vibrantly designed hardcovers of Puffin in Bloom; deckle edges and French flaps for Puffin Chalk; and delicate laser-cut dustjackets, foil stamped covers, and decorative interior pages for the Seasons Collection make these editions treasured collectible gifts.

Pretty Books Painted Editions

  1. Winnie the Pooh and Other Delightful  Stories (Painted Edition)
    A.A. Milne
    Thomas Nelson / 2023 / Hardcover
    Our Price$24.99 Retail Price$34.99 Save 29% ($10.00)
  2. Anne of Green Gables (Painted  Edition)
    L.M. Montgomery
    Thomas Nelson / 2023 / Hardcover
    Our Price$24.99 Retail Price$34.99 Save 29% ($10.00)
  3. The Secret Garden (Painted Editions
    Frances Hodgson Burnett
    Thomas Nelson / 2023 / Hardcover
    Our Price$24.99 Retail Price$34.99 Save 29% ($10.00)
  4. Peter Pan (Painted Edition
    J.M. Barrie
    Thomas Nelson / 2023 / Hardcover
    Our Price$24.99 Retail Price$34.99 Save 29% ($10.00)

Penguin Threads Series

  1. The Wizard of Oz: And Other  Wonderful Books of Oz, Deluxe Classics Edition
    L. Frank Baum
    Penguin Classics / 2012 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$15.30 Retail Price$17.00 Save 10% ($1.70)
  2. The Wind in the Willows, Penguin  Classics Deluxe Edition
    Kenneth Grahame
    Penguin Classics / 2012 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$16.20 Retail Price$18.00 Save 10% ($1.80)
  3. The Secret Garden, Penguin Classics  Deluxe Edition
    Frances Hodgson Burnett
    Penguin Classics / 2012 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$17.10 Retail Price$19.00 Save 10% ($1.90)
  4. Black Beauty
    Anna Sewell
    Penguin Classics / 2011 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$16.20 Retail Price$18.00 Save 10% ($1.80)
  1. Little Women
    Louisa May Alcott
    Puffin Books / 2014 / Hardcover
    Our Price$12.99 Retail Price$17.00 Save 24% ($4.01)
  2. Anne of Green Gables
    L.M. Montgomery
    Puffin Books / 2014 / Hardcover
    Our Price$12.99 Retail Price$17.00 Save 24% ($4.01)
  3. Heidi
    Johanna Spyri
    Puffin Books / 2014 / Hardcover
    Our Price$12.99 Retail Price$17.00 Save 24% ($4.01)
  4. A Little Princess
    Frances Hodgson Burnett
    Puffin Books / 2014 / Hardcover
    Our Price$11.49 Retail Price$16.00 Save 28% ($4.51)
  1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
    Lewis Carroll
    Puffin Books / 2014 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$5.94 Retail Price$7.99 Save 26% ($2.05)
  2. Pippi Longstocking
    Astrid Lindgren
    Puffin Books / 2013 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$7.19 Retail Price$7.99 Save 10% ($0.80)
  3. A Christmas Carol
    Charles Dickens
    Puffin Books / 2014 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$7.49 Retail Price$9.99 Save 25% ($2.50)
  4. The Wizard of Oz
    L. Frank Baum, Dana Tanamachi
    Puffin Books / 2013 / Trade Paperback
    Our Price$8.09 Retail Price$8.99 Save 10% ($0.90)

Seasons Limited Editions

  1. The Hunchback of Notre Dame--Seasons  Edition, Spring
    Victor Huge
    Thomas Nelson / 2021 / Hardcover
    Our Price$31.49 Retail Price$34.99 Save 10% ($3.50)
  2. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes  (Seasons Edition-Spring)
    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    Thomas Nelson / 2021 / Hardcover
    Our Price$16.99 Retail Price$34.99 Save 51% ($18.00)
  3. The Secret Garden--Seasons Edition,  Spring
    Frances Hodgson Burnett
    Thomas Nelson / 2021 / Hardcover
    Our Price$23.49 Retail Price$34.99 Save 33% ($11.50)
  4. Anne of Green Gables (Seasons  Edition - Fall)
    L.M. Montgomery
    Thomas Nelson Fiction / 2021 / Hardcover
    Our Price$15.49 Retail Price$34.99 Save 56% ($19.50)