Classic Literature K-6th

Classic Literature for Children  K-6th Grade

http://www.best-childrens-books.com/childrens-literature.html

The phrase children's literature means something different to me than simply children's books. To me literature is the good stuff, the children's books that have stood the test of time.

The key question is, "According to whom?" Well, the people whose opinions I would value on the subject of children's lit would be teachers and librarians.

That's why this list has me so excited         

The National Endowment for the Humanities queried top public and private schools from across the nation, at least one in each state.
 

(That takes care of my teachers and librarians requirement.)

They asked for the extracurricular reading lists provided by each top school to their students....

They took 60 of these children's literature lists and picked out the books that appeared most often....

Then they applied the test of time

They removed from the list any book that had been published since 1960.

Voila! Classic children's literature!

These children's books - by definition - aren't "current," but I think you'll find many of them timeless. And how nice it'll be to share with your children literature that you yourself read as a child!

Of course, once kids reach a certain age, they're likely not to think their parents' choices in children's literature all that "cool." In fact, some kids will be unlikely to think anything about you is cool.

Here's a children's literature tidbit of advice I got from a friend with teenagers. She'll approach her children with a book and say, "Here's something my parents didn't want me to read when I was your age."

Smart, huh? Here's the list:

Classic children's literature - Kindergarten through Grade 6

* Recommended children's literature for K-3, either for reading by children or for reading to them.

Authors and titles that appear as links have further information available on the site.

Adamson, Joy

  • Born Free

Aesop

  • Fables*

Alcott, Louisa May

  • Little Women

Andersen, Hans Christian

Atwater, Richard and Florence

  • Mr. Popper's Penguins*

Bailey, Carolyn Sherwin

  • Miss Hickory

Barrie, J.M.

  • Peter Pan

Baum, L. Frank

  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Bemelmans, Ludwig

  • Madeline series*

(Series are great for hooking your kid into great children's literature. If your child likes one, now you can get the rest!)

Bond, Michael

  • A Bear Called Paddington

Boston, L.M.

  • The Children of Green Knowe
 

Brink, Carol Ryrie

  • Caddie Woodlawn

Brown, Margaret Wise

  • Goodnight, Moon*

Brunhoff, Jean de

  • The Story of Babar*

Burnett, Frances Hodgson

  • The Secret Garden

Burton, Virginia Lee

  • Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel*

Butterworth, Oliver

  • The Enormous Egg

Clark, Ann Nolan

  • Secret of the Andes

Cleary, Beverly

  • Henry Huggins series

Coatsworth, Elizabeth

  • The Cat Who Went to Heaven

Dalgliesh, Alice

De Angeli, Marguerite

  • The Door in the Wall

De Jong, Meindert

  • The House of Sixty Fathers
  • The Wheel on the School

Dodge, Mary Mapes

  • Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates

Du Bois, William Pene

  • The Twenty-One Balloons
 

Edmonds, Walter D.

  • The Matchlock Gun

Estes, Eleanor

  • Ginger Pye
  • Moffats series

Farley, Walter

  • The Black Stallion

Field, Rachel

  • Hitty, Her First Hundred Years

Fritz, Jean

  • The Cabin Faced West

Gilbreth, Frank B. and

  • Ernestine G. Carey
  • Cheaper By the Dozen

Gipson, Fred

  • Old Yeller

Godden, Rumer

  • The Mousewife*

Grahame, Kenneth

  • The Reluctant Dragon*
  • The Wind in the Willows

Gray, Elizabeth Janet

  • Adam of the Road

Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm

  • Grimm's Fairy Tales

Hawes, Charles

  • The Dark Frigate

Haywood, Carolyn

  • Betsy series*

Henry, Marguerite

  • King of the Wind
  • Misty of Chincoteague

Keith, Harold

  • Rifles for Watie

Kelly, Eric

  • The Trumpeter of Krakow

Kipling, Rudyard

  • Captains Courageous
  • Just So Stories for Little Children*
  • The Jungle Books

Kjelgaard, Jim

  • Big Red

Knight, Eric

  • Lassie Come Home

Krumgold, Joseph

  • ...and Now Miguel
  • Onion John

LaFarge, Oliver

  • Laughing Boy

Lamb, Charles and Mary

  • Tales from Shakespear

Latham, Jean Lee

  • Carry on, Mr. Bowditch

Lawson, Robert

  • Ben & Me
  • Rabbit Hill

Leaf, Munro

  • The Story of Ferdinand*

Lear, Edward

  • Book of Nonsense*

Lenski, Lois

  • Strawberry Girl

Lewis, C.S.

  • Chronicles of Narnia series

Lindgren, Astrid

  • Pippi Longstocking series

Lofting, Hugh

  • Doctor Doolittle series

London, Jack

  • The Call of the Wild
  • White Fang

MacDonald, Betty

MacGregor, Ellen

  • Miss Pickerell series

McCloskey, Robert

McSwigan, Marie

  • Snow Treasure

Meigs, Cornelia

  • Invincible Louisa

Milne, A.A.

  • The House at Pooh Corner*
  • Now We Are Six*
  • When We Were Very Young*
  • Winnie-the-Pooh*

Minarik, Else Holmelund

  • Little Bear

Montgomery, L.M.

  • Anne of Green Gables

Mukerji, Dhan Ghopal

  • Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon

Norton, Mary

  • The Borrowers series

O'Hara, Mary

  • My Friend Flicka

Pearce, Philippa

  • Tom's Midnight Garden

Perrault, Charles

  • Cinderella*

Potter, Beatrix

Pyle, Howard

  • The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

Rey, H.A.

  • Curious George series*

Richter, Conrad

  • The Light in the Forest

Selden, George

Seuss, Dr.

Sewell, Anna

  • Black Beauty

Sorenson, Virginia

  • Miracles on Maple Hill

Speare, Elizabeth George

  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Sperry, Armstrong

  • Call It Courage

Spyri, Johanna

  • Heidi

Steinbeck, John

  • The Red Pony

Stevenson, Robert Louis

  • A Child's Garden of Verses*
  • Kidnapped
  • Treasure Island

Travers, Pamela L.

  • Mary Poppins series

Van Loon, Hendrik

  • The Story of Mankind

White, E.B.

  • Charlotte's Web
  • Stuart Little

Wilder, Laura Ingalls

  • Little House series

Williams, Margery

  • The Velveteen Rabbit*

Wyss, Johann

  • Swiss Family Robinson

Zion, Gene

  • Harry the Dirty Dog*