Kids’ books reading lists for parents

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Wired’s GeekDad blog recently posted a really great list of book every geek should read to their kids before they’re 10.  I’ve read a lot, but not all, of those books and now I’m looking forward to reading them with my daughter.  Since I kinda wish that list were in a checklist format, I’ve gone ahead and typed it up here:

  1. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
  2. The Wind In The Willows by Kenneth Grahame
  3. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamileo
  4. The Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park
  5. Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
  6. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
  7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
  8. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  9. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
  10. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
  11. Half Magic by Edward Eager
  12. Arabel’s Raven
  13. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
  14. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
  15. The Borrowers by Mary Norton
  16. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  17. The 13-1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers
  18. The Cartoon History of the Universe
  19. Danny Dunn series by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams
  20. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
  21. The Adventures of Harold and the Purple Crayon
  22. The Mad Scientists Club by Bertrand R. Brinley
  23. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
  24. Savvy by Ingrid Law
  25. The Shredderman series by Wendelin Van Draanen
  26. The Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
  27. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
  28. The Far Flung Adventures series by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
  29. The Mouse and His Child by Russel Hoban
  30. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien
  31. The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall
  32. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
  33. The Toys Go Out series by Emily Jenkins
  34. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
  35. The Search for Wondla by Tony DiTerlizzi
  36. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
  37. The House With a Clock In Its Walls by John Bellairs
  38. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
  39. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
  40. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
  41. The Silver Crown by Robert C. O’Brien
  42. Holes by Louis Sachar
  43. The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater
  44. Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
  45. Stuart Little by E.B. White
  46. The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
  47. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
  48. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
  49. Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage
  50. The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart
  51. A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup
  52. The House of Dies Drear by Virginia Hamilton
  53. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
  54. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
  55. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
  56. The Little Bear Treasury by Else Holmelund Minarik
  57. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle
  58. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
  59. The Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish
  60. In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
  61. Curious George books by H.A. Rey
  62. Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
  63. Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
  64. Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant
  65. The Clifford the Big Red Dog books by Normal Bridwell
  66. The Arthur series by Marc Brown
  67. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Dammit.  Just as I finished typing this I noticed someone in the comments had already done so.  Oh well.

I guess I might as well add some of the other books mentioned by the commenters:

  • Paperbag Princess by Robert N. Munsch
  • The Mouse and the Motorcycle
  • Story of Babar by Brunhoff
  • Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Buam
  • Secret Garden
  • The Swiss family Robinson
  • Island of the Blue Dolphins
  • Tripods trilogy by John Christopher
  • Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carol
  • Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander
  • The Tripod series (The White Mountains, The City of Gold and Lead, The Pool of Fire) by John Christopher
  • The Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull
  • Watership Down
  • Artemis Fowl series

Stories about Girls part 1, part 2

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/03/67-books-for-kids/?pid=1185&viewall=true

2 thoughts on “Kids’ books reading lists for parents”

  1. A quick comment about the Paper Bag Princess: I just want to point out there is a board-book version of it. The original is a little long for 2 year olds, but the board-book is not. Get ’em while they’re young! :)

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