50+ Children's Books You Need to Read!

 

This started off as a 'My Top 10 Children's Books' post, which then expanded to a 25 Awesome Children's Books list and then finally evolved into today's post - 50* Children's Books You Need to Read!
At 32 I am not ashamed to say that 95% (probably more) of the books I read fall under the children's category. As a child, I was extremely lucky to have a collection of books, be read to, learned to read at a level above the expected and just generally enjoy reading. That has followed me into adulthood with a much larger collection and a book-buying addiction though with my neurodiversity as well as mental health struggles, I much prefer to stay living in magical lands of talking creatures and having fun adventures that conclude with happy endings rather than forcing myself to trawl through books that don't make me feel good just because they are for my 'age'.

This list is for anyone out there like me. It's also for people who may not be like me and I encourage you to give children's literature a shot - there is so much to explore! You may even have your own children and be looking for stories to share with them.
Here I have listed books from recent years, dating right back to over a hundred years ago. They are by authors of a range of genders, races, religions, ages, and more. There are world-famous household names listed beside those who may not be yet but should be. 

I recommend all of these books and hope you find one you love. In no particular order, here are (well over) 50 books everyone should read!

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Leila and the Blue Fox by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

The Fire Cats of London by Anna Fargher 

Toby and the Silver Blood Witches by Sally Doherty

The Secret Garden Frances by Hodgson Burnett

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate

The Story of Greenriver by Holly Webb

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Secret of Haven Point by Lisette Auton

The Land of Roar Series by Jenny McLachlan

Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

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The Lost Whale by Hannah Gold

The Last Bear by Hannah Gold

Ruymaysa & Rumaysa: Ever After by Radiya Hafiza

A Pinch of Magic series by Michelle Harrison

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The Magic Place by Chris Wormell

The Jumbies Series by Tracey Baptiste

The Magic Misfits Series by Neil Patrick Harris

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Hoodoo by Ronald L. Smith

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The Five Children series by E Nesbit

The Bastable Children series by E Nesbit

The Railway Children by E Nesbit

Tamarind & the Star of Ishta by Jasbinder Bilan

Cora and the Nurse Dragon by H.L. Burke

The Land of Neverendings by Kate Saunders

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making series by Catherynne M. Valente

The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis

The Umbrella Mouse duology by Anna Fargher

The Oz series by L. Frank Baum

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The Doomspell series by Cliff McNish

Switching Well by Peni R. Griffin

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Nightmares series by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller 

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

The Last Dragon Chronicles series by Chris d'Lacey

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Viva Durant and The Secret of the Silver Buttons by Ashli St. Armant (Audible Original)

Frostheart series by Jamie Littler

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Orla and the Serpent's Curse by C.J. Haslam

The Bird Singers by Eve Wersocki Morris

The House with the Clock in its Walls series by John Bellairs

A Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle 

The Huntress series by Sarah Driver

The House of One Hundred Clocks by A M Howell  

Redwall series by Brian Jacques 

City of Ghosts Trilogy by V Schwab 

The Wizards of Once series by Cressida Cowell

Mary Poppins series by P L Travers 

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So now you'll get why I said 50+! haha There may be 50 but many are series and I can't separate a series. You'll usually find if you enjoy something by an author, you're likely to enjoy their other books too and I'm sure you'll be able to pinpoint some of my favorites. 

Of course 'Children's' covers a vast age group so while some of these are suitable for younger kids, many are also for older ones. Also as with many older books, some of those published decades ago may have words and terms that we'd never consider to use these days, some downright offensive, however, it was a different time and though not acceptable at all it shouldn't take away from how wonderful the stories are and instead act as a learning point.

I hope you find a book from this list that you will love. If any sound interesting, give them a search and read a little more about them! I'm also more than happy to talk about books so you can leave me a comment or get in touch via Twitter ((@UnderToWonder) any time! 

Reading is fun. Reading is good for your brain. 
Happy World Book Day!!!!