A Case for Classic Literature for Kids & Teens
This is a growing list of classic literature I personally recommend for children of various ages to read. Classics should be a staple in our literary pantry and homeschool curriculum; they play an important role in providing a well rounded education for our children. Classics are valuable because they offer learning experiences, sometimes through difficult perspectives, elegant writing styles, and a variety of essential values.
Some Benefits of Reading Classics
* Improves reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. Classic books of all kinds have themes, symbols, and other important elements. When your children have a chance to explore these elements themselves, they can start to build an understanding in how to analyze texts, and improve their reading comprehension and critical thinking abilities.
* Expands Vocabulary Language changes from era to era. In reading classic books, it is common to come across words and phrases that are new to your child. Their vocabulary expands, and, as a result, they become better writers, readers, and communicators. * Moral Messages Through the classics, it is possible to see how the world has changed (either for the better or worse) over time. Classics help to incorporate historical and cultural knowledge into your child's reading material. Information about how the people of past thought and acted is revealed from page to page of every book, and catching onto these themes help children to develop their own psychological world view.
* Inspiration
Many modern authors have been inspired by classic literature. The classics have a rich history of inspiring some of our favorite modern works. Even if your child never becomes an author, the classics help them to become better writers and communicators, and this expands benefit into many areas of their lives.
* Patience
Reading classics often helps to teach a child that patience and diligence comes with reward. Many classics present stories with more than one plot, and they may take longer to build characters and settings before presenting conflict and conclusion in the story. An impatient reader may find this tedious and boring, especially in modern times when instant gratification is embedded into every aspect of culture. They may want to put a classic down early-on, but when encouraged to continue with the story, they eventually discover that it is one of their favorite books. Learning to stick through a book with great detail and discover joy as a reward teaches children patience which will benefit them in many areas of life.
* Emotional Self Regulation
Let's face it! Those of us who've read classics know, they don't always have a happy ending. Sometimes classics are hilarious, and sometimes they are torturous and can leave a profound emotional impact. Working through classics can help to teach children and teens emotional self regulation as they work through the conflicts and conclusions of a great variety of stories that don't always end the way we want them to. We know we all wanted Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester to find each other again in the end, but finding him blind and maimed was a bit of a shock. No matter how much we'd like to change the ending, that's the way it is, and that's also the way life is sometimes.
Here's my initial list, but I will be adding to it over time. This is a great place to start if you are looking for something for your child or teen to read. Look at the age recommendation on them to be sure they are age appropriate for your child. Some of them are for very little children, others are for teens. You may easily find these at your local library or if you need to purchase one and would like to save money, consider using Thrift Books or Second Sale.
Little Women Louisa May Alcott, 1868
A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle, 1962
Charlotte's Web E. B. White, 1952
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Peter and Wendy James Matthew Barrie, 1911
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl, 1964
The Giving Tree Shel Silverstein, 1964
Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak, 1963
Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery, 1908
The Snowy Day Ezra Jack Keats, 1962
Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown, 1947
The Velveteen Rabbit Margery Williams, 1922
The Wonderful Wizard of OZ L. Frank Baum, 1900
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Beatrix Potter, 1901
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain, 1876
The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911
The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster, 1961
Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson, 1882
Winnie-the-Pooh A. A. Milne, 1926
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Annotated Book Lewis Carroll, 1865
The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame, 1908
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee, 1960
The Story of Doctor Dolittle Hugh Lofting, 1920
Matilda Roald Dahl, 1988
The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937
The Hiding Place
Corrie Ten Boom, 1974
Stuart Little E. B. White, 1945
A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens, 1843
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Lewis, 1950
Black Beauty Anna Sewell, 1877
Where the Red Fern Grows Wilson Rawls, 1961
Make Way for Ducklings Robert McCloskey, 1941
The Sword in the Stone T. H. White, 1938
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain, 1884
A Little Princess Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1905
The House at Pooh Corner A. A. Milne, 1928
The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943
Beezus and Ramona Beverly Cleary, 1955
Romana the Pest Beverly Cleary, 1968
Little House in the Big Woods Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1932
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Mildred D. Taylor, 1976
Heidi Johanna Spyri, 1881
Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren, 1945
The Swiss Family Robinson Johann David Wyss, 1812
Mary Poppins Pamela Lyndon Travers, 1934
Pollyanna Eleanor H. Porter, 1913
James and the Giant Peach Roald Dahl, 1961
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne, 1870
Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell, 1949
The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Series
Arthur Conan Doyle, 1892
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, 1594 - 1634
Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë, 1847
Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen, 1813
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes, 1605
Moby-Dick Herman Melville, 1851
The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger, 1951
The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde, 1890
Dracula Bram Stoker, 1897
Lord of the Flies William Golding, 1954
Animal Farm George Orwell, 1945
The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas, 1846
Emma Jane Austen, 1815
Invisible Man Ralph Ellison, 1952
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Illustrated Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886
Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury, 1953
The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850
The complete Works of J.R.R Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien 1937
Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1866
A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens, 1859
Persuasion Jane Austen, 1817
Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe, 1958
The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway, 1926
Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert, 1856
The War of the Worlds H. G. Wells, 1898
The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank, 1947
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