Calling all young adventurers, dreamers, and storytellers!
Are you ready to embark on an extraordinary journey through the realms of imagination and knowledge? Welcome to the Children’s Classic Reading Challenge, where magic and wonder await on every page!
In this enchanting quest, we invite you to unlock the treasure trove of timeless tales that have captured the hearts of generations past and continue to captivate young minds like yours today. Picture yourself soaring through the skies with Peter Pan, solving mysteries alongside the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, or stepping into the fantastical world of Narnia with the Pevensie siblings.
As we turn the pages of these beloved classics, we will be transported to lands far beyond our wildest dreams, where talking animals share profound wisdom, brave heroes stand up against evil, and heartwarming friendships blossom in the face of adversity. Each story is a key that unlocks the door to new wonders, teaching us invaluable life lessons and nurturing our creativity along the way.
But this is more than just a reading challenge; it’s an invitation to become part of a timeless community of readers, where imaginations intertwine, and words become bridges that connect us all. Through these stories, we will build empathy, understanding, and open our hearts to the diverse tapestry of humanity.
Let the magic of words sweep you off your feet as you embark on this unforgettable journey. Join us, dear adventurers, as we take flight on the wings of literature and create memories that will last a lifetime. Together, we will explore new worlds, learn from unforgettable characters, and experience the boundless joy of reading the classics.
Are you up for the challenge? Let’s embark on this wondrous expedition, where stories come to life and the power of imagination knows no bounds. The adventure awaits, and the books beckon. Ready, set, read!
Children’s Classic Reading Challenge
Panchatantra by Vishnu Sharma (c. 800 BC)
Aesop’s Fables by Aesop (c. 600 BC)
Kathasaritsagara by Somadeva (11th century AD)
Arabian Nights by Unknown (before 8th c. AD)
Orbis Pictus by John Amos Comenius (1658)
A Token for Children by James Janeway (1672)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)
Tales of Mother Goose by Charles Perrault (1729)
Little Pretty Pocket-book by John Newbery (1744)
Little Goody Two Shoes by Oliver Goldsmith (1765)
Lessons for Children by Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1778)
The History of Sanford and Merton by Thomas Day (1783)
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Rudolf Wyss (1812)
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman (1816)
Ivanhoe by Walter Scott (1819)
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (1819)
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving (1820)
Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1823)
A Visit From St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore (1823)
Tales of Peter Parley About America by Peter Parley (1827)
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (1838)
Nicholas Nickelby by Charles Dickens (1839)
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843)
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (1844)
Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (1846)
The Children of the New Forest by Frederick Marryat (1847)
Slovenly Peter by Heinrich Hoffman (1848)
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)
The Wide, Wide World by Elizabeth Wetherell (1850)
The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin (1851)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (1853)
The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne (1857)
Tom Brown’s Schooldays by Thomas Hughes (1857)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861)
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley (1863)
A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)
Little Prudy by Rebecca Sophia Clarke (1864)
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
Max and Moritz by Wilhelm Busch (1865)
Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge (1865)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868)
Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger Jr. (1868)
Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore (1869)
Mrs. Overtheway’s Remembrances by Juliana Horatia Ewing (1869)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870)
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald (1871)
The Brownies and Other Tales by Juliana Horatia Ewing (1871)
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1871)
Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll (1871)
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (1872)
A Dog of Flanders by Ouida (1872)
What Katy did by Susan Coolidge (1873)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1876)
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (1877)
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain (1881)
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (1883)
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (1883)
Nights with Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris (1883)
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (1883)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884)
Heidi by Johanna Spyri (1884)
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard (1885)
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1886)
The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde (1888)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain (1889)
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (1889)
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (1894)
Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner (1894)
The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (1895)
Moonfleet by J. Meade Falkner (1898)
The Black Corsair by Emilio Salgari (1898)
The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame (1898)
The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit (1899)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)
The Tigers of Mompracem by Emilio Salgari (1900)
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit (1902)
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (1902)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (1902)
King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle (1902)
The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin (1903)
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1905)
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit (1906)
White Fang by Jack London (1906)
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (1908)
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1909)
Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie (1911)
Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1912)
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1912)
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (1913)
The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay (1918)
Raggedy Ann by Johnny Gruelle (1918)
The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (1920)
The Heart of a Dog by Albert Payson Terhune (1921)
Juan Bobo by Puerto Rico School Children (1921)
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (1922)
The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (1922)
The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes (1923)
Smoky the Cowhorse by Will James (1926)
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne (1926)
The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne (1928)
Bambi by Felix Salten (1928)
The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (1928)
Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley (1928)
Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kastner (1929)
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome (1930)
Babar by Jean de Brunhoff (1931)
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1932)
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers (1934)
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild (1936)
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (1936)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White (1938)
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (1939)
My Name is Aram by William Saroyan (1940)
Curious George by H.A. Rey (1941)
Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton (1942)
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (1943)
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1943)
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (1945)
Happy Dan, The Cynical Dog by Ward Greene (1945)
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (1946)
Thomas the Tank Engine by Wilbert Awdry (1946)
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (1947)
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (1948)
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson (1949)
Noddy Goes to Toyland by Enid Blyton (1949)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950)
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (1952)
The Borrowers by Mary Norton (1952)
The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy M. Boston (1954)
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary (1955)
Eloise by Kay Thompson (1955)
The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith (1956)
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion (1956)
The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier (1956)
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (1957)
Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik (1957)
Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce (1958)
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond (1958)
The Rescuers by Margery Sharp (1959)
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner (1960)
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (1961)
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (1961)
The Big Honey Hunt by Stan and Jan Berenstain (1962)
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken (1962)
Stig of the Dump by Clive King (1963)
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1963)
Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell (1963)
Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish (1963)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown (1964)
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (1964)
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (1964)
Chitty-Chitty-Bag-Bang by Ian Fleming (1964)
The Fox and the Hound by Mannix and Shoenherr (1967)
The Owl and the Service by Alan Garner (1967)
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (1967)
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (1968)
The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr (1968)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969)
Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer (1969)
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume (1970)
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr (1971)
The Lorax by Dr Seuss (1971)
Watership Down by Richard Adams (1972)
A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan Smith (1973)
The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy (1974)
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1977)
Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg (1978)
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (1978)
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (1979)
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks (1980)
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (1980)
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg (1981)
Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian (1981)
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend (1982)
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (1982)
The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith (1983)
The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop (1985)
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (1986)
Franklin by Bourgeois and Clark (1986)
The Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer (1987)
Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine (1987)
Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)
Click her for my other reading challenges.