There's an awful lot of books available for kids, but when it was time for me to shop for my little reader, the first thing I did was go to the classics section and Amazon. Why? I thought nothing would be so great as sharing the books I grew up with. There are lots of new great authors that I didn't have growing up, and some of these books show their ages as times long gone by, but the nostalgia that comes from reading one of these bedtime stories makes it well worth the investment to pad out your bookshelf - even if these are all at least 35 years old.
Amelia Bedelia [1]
An awful lot of us remember Amelia Bedelia. She's been around since 1963. The literal-minded maid is still a huge hit with kids (who are just as literally-minded), as the ratings of the recently released 50th edition can attest to.
I still remember the "well-dressed chicken."
The Cat in the Hat (and any other Dr. Seuss book) [2]
For a guy who wasn't super keen on children, he sure knew how to appeal to them with memorable rhymes and his unique illustration. They're great for teaching kids to read, too.
I'm pretty sure it's a law somewhere that all parents have to buy Dr. Seuss, because what kid in North America can grow up not knowing One Fish Two Fish and Green Eggs & Ham by heart?
Harriet the Spy [3]
A great, complex book with a strong female character for adolescents. Harriet is 11, she wants to be a spy, and makes observations about the people around her. But her friends find her spy notebook and then none of them like her anymore. There's a lot of themes going on in Harriet the Spy that make this book a ripe choice for introducing an older child to critical reading skills - and for the consequences of more complicated social behaviours.
Little House in the Big Woods [4]
This story about a little girl living in a cabin in the woods in pioneer America was one of my favourite growing up, and I managed to read several copies to shreds as a kid. It was an exotic, rich, happy and incredibly detailed story, going into the hows and whys of daily life when one had to do almost everything themselves - or do without.
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle [5]
I remember being in Grade 1 and discovering a badly-mauled copy of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle on the bottom of the school library shelves. It didn't take me long to fall in love with the woman who lived in an upside-down house, was once married to a pirate, and had the most astonishing cures for kids who hated baths, who misbehaved, or who were slow eater tiny bite takers. While many social values of the book show their age, the book's fantastically exaggerated "cures" are still highly entertaining.
The Story of Ferdinand [6]
The first thing that will capture your attention is the beautiful illustration. But it won't be long before Ferdinand, the gentle bull who refuses to go along with the life others expect of him, captures your heart as well.
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs [7]
Forget the movies. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs was one of my favourite bedtime stories, and the land of Chewandswallow (where everything you eat will fall from the sky) will likely capture your children's imagination as well.
Where The Wild Things Are [8]
This gentle adventure about the boy who is sent to bed without his supper is the perfect read for young toddlers, who love the not-so-scary monsters that live where the wild things are, and still holds strong despite being over 50 years old.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar [9]
I can't imagine this one NOT making a top 10 classic books list. The caterpillar who eats his way through the boards of this book is virtually guaranteed to be one of your child's favourites. It was one of the very first my little reader would read over and over on his own after just learning to talk, when he still called the main character "dat-er-pidder" and yelled "POP" every time it hatched.
The Little Engine That Could [10]
Self determination is one thing that books seldom go into these days, but the classic Little Engine is a great read for just this reason. If you think you can, you can go an awful long way. And the beautiful illustrations of all the good things to eat might just make your kid try to lick the page.
Anne is one of those people who usually speaks to others in memes, pop culture references, and SAT words. On those occasions she can be understood at all, she likes to entertain others with a sense of humour usually described by friends as “hilarious—once you get to know her.”