20 Classic Children's Books Every Child Should Read

I love books! Real books, not electronic books. There is something about the sound of a hardback book being opened. The smell and feel of the paper as you are turning the pages. Did I mention, I love books? Anytime I enter a thrift store, antique shop, or used bookstore I go to the children's books. I’ve bought vintage children’s books just because. Many times, it’s not because of a special memory, but because I was drawn to it. There is something special about classic children's books.

20 Classic Children's Books Every Child Should Read

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Classic children’s books are my favorites to search out. If they are out of print, the quicker I try to snatch them up. Over the years, I have bought many used copies of William O. Steele books for my son. These books have a special place on our bookshelves.

The Lone Hunt is still my favorite. While he is now 18 years old, I’m still on the hunt for a few hard to find books for his collection.

It’s hard to believe, books I read in the 70s are now classics. When I consider buying classic books, I buy nothing published after 1979. Call me strange, but for a book to be a classic, it should be older than me and I should have read it while in lower elementary school. Strange, I know!

When I knew I would teach kindergarten again, I wanted to buy some of my favorite children’s books from my childhood to read aloud to the class. I filled my cart at Amazon with almost 25 books but knew I’d be buying them a little at a time so I would have a new assortment to come in later on, and I could share the excitement with my students.

I didn’t place all of the following books in my cart because some are a little too old for my students, but they are still favorites of when I was growing up.