100 Books to Read With Your Child

Reading aloud with my kids is one of my new “intentional parenting” goals, and I recently found a list of 100 books to read with kids that I thought might be a good place to start.

When Jenny was little, I read aloud to her. She was (like myself) a bookaholic, and we would read together. I was never so excited as when she started reading on her own before age 3. I no longer had to sit and read entire books to her – she could read them on her own! And when her brothers came along, I let her be the one to read to them while I sat and listened.

I think my distaste for reading aloud comes from sitting in class and having to take turns reading aloud. I could never bear to read as slowly as the person reading aloud so when it came to be my turn to read, I had no idea where we were at in the book because I was several pages beyond that point.

While I’m not a big fan of reading aloud, I remember my mom doing it with us when we were kids and loving it. So when I came across this list of 100 books to read with your kids, I decided it was probably time to start being more intentional about reading with my kids.

Related: Best Books for Kids

While Jenny has already read many of the books on this list (and has read some of them to David), there are many of my childhood favorites that she has not yet experienced, and I can’t wait to introduce her to some of my favorite literary friends!

100 Books to Read With Your Kids

1. A Wrinkle in Time

2. Aesop’s Fables

3. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I’m looking forward to sharing this book with the kids and then borrowing a copy of the movie (when it comes out on DVD) to watch together!

4. Alice in Wonderland

David and Jenny were introduced to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland last year when I had the opportunity to review an interactive iBook. Jenny then checked a physical copy of the book out from the local library and read it.

5. Amelia Bedelia

Amelia Bedelia is one of our favorite characters. Jenny received several of these books as a gift a few years ago and has also cleaned off the library shelves. Recently she found a series of Amelia Bedelia in her younger years that she enjoys.

6. And Tango Makes Three

7. Anne of Green Gables

This is a series I definitely want to read with Jenny – she has started the first book on her Kindle Fire, but she got distracted and has not gone back to it. I think this series will be one of the ones we read together this winter!

8. Are You My Mother?

This book was one of David’s favorites for several months. We read it over and over and over again!

9. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

I’ll have to double-check the age-appropriateness of this book, but I know Jenny will enjoy it as much as I did when I was younger.

10. Beatrix Potter (Peter Rabbit)

I’ve never really been a Peter Rabbit fan, but Jenny read some of the stories to David last year and they seemed to like them well enough.

11. Betsy-Tacy

I just introduced Jenny to Betsy-Tacy earlier this month, and she loves the series!

12. Black Beauty

13. Bread and Jam for Frances

14. Bridge to Terabithia

15. Caps for Sale

16. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Jenny was on a big Willy Wonka kick this past summer. She read all the books, and the (original) movie became a favorite for a few months.

17. Charlotte’s Web

I asked Jenny earlier this week if she’d read Charlotte’s Web all the way through yet (I remembered her checking it out from the library last year). She couldn’t remember finishing it, but both she and David love the cartoon version of the movie as much as my brother and I did as kids. I think she picked it up again this week at the library.

18. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

19. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

I don’t know if Jenny has read this one yet, but both she and David are big fans of the DVD.

20. Coraline

21. Corduroy

I remember reading Corduroy to Jenny and David. I’m excited to be able to introduce him to Chris soon.

22. D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths

23. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

I’ve been avoiding this series. I’m not sure it’s one I want my kids reading. Thoughts?

24. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

I love this book. We had the opportunity to see a series of art pieces based on Mo Willems work last winter at a local art museum.

25. Dr. Seuss’s Beginner Book Collection

This is one of the most loved books in our entire home library. It was given to Jenny and she loved it well, but then David was obSEUSSed with it (and all things Dr. Seuss) as a preschooler, and it was read over and over and over again.

26. Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective

I had actually forgotten all about this series – I’ll have to see if our local library has it. I think David would really enjoy it!

27. Esperanza Rising

28. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

I remember really enjoying this book as a kid. I think Jenny might have read it last year – if not, we’ll have to add it to our reading queue.

29. Goodnight Moon

This is another well-loved book at our house. It’s currently on Chris’ bookshelf.

30. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site

31. Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales

32. Guess How Much I Love You

This one would be perfect for Christopher right now – it’s a great book for toddlers!

33. Harold and the Purple Crayon

34. Harriet the Spy

This was my hands down, all-time favorite book growing up. I read it over and over and over again, and I was so disappointed by the movie when it came out. I wanted to be Harriett (minus the being “mean” and getting caught part) and carried my notebook around with me. I still remember “hiding” in the staircase trying to listen to conversations happening around the corner in the living room.

35. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

I love the entire Harry Potter series, and Jenny has been asking to read the books, but as the later books deal with some more mature and darker topics, we’re going to wait until she’s a bit older before allowing her to read them.

36. Holes

37. Island of the Blue Dolphins

38. Jumanji

39. Little House on the Prairie

Jenny read the entire series of Little House on the Prairie last year and absolutely loved it. We even created some Little House Notebooking pages.

40. Little Women

I love Little Women and I think this might be the first book that Jenny and I read together this fall/winter.

41. Llama Llama Red Pajama

42. Madeline

Jenny read Madeline (and the other Madeline books) last year. She loved it when she saw pictures on Instagram of the Goodwin family visiting Paris sights  (while studying French in France) that she’d read about in the books.

43. Make Way for Ducklings

44. Maniac Magee

45. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

46. Mr. Popper’s Penguins

47. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

48. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

I introduced Jenny to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (another of my favorite literary characters) several years ago. She enjoyed the books but didn’t have quite the same love for them as I remember having. Maybe David and Christopher will enjoy them more.

49. My Side of the Mountain

50. Olivia

Oh Olivia. We read LOTS of Olivia when Jenny was a toddler/preschooler! She’s a perfect friend for the daydreaming princess in your home.

51. Owen

52. Paddle-to-the-Sea

53. Pat the Bunny

54. Peter Pan

55. Pippi Longstocking

Jenny read Pippi Longstocking last year, and I have yet to find a copy of the movie for her to watch (though I haven’t really tried very hard).

56. Press Here

57. Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

58. The Bad Beginning

59. The Borrowers

60. The Boxcar Children

I keep suggesting The Boxcar Children to Jenny when we’re browsing at the library, but she hasn’t shown interest yet. I grabbed a copy of The Turkey Heist for David last week, though, and he is loving them.

61. The Call of the Wild

62. The Complete Adventures of Curious George

Jenny and David have pretty much outgrown Curious George, but we read lots of him a few years ago. Chris is starting to show an interest now, so I think we’ll cycle back around soon.

63. The Cricket in Times Square

64. The Day the Crayons Quit

65. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

66. The Giver

I keep seeing Lois Lowry books on the shelf at the library, but as I didn’t read them growing up (or at least I don’t remember doing so), I haven’t picked any up for Jenny yet. I think I may keep this one in mind to add to our reading queue.

67. The House at Pooh Corner

I vaguely remember picking up the Pooh books several years ago to read with Jenny, but I don’t remember actually reading them. We may have to pick them up from the library again.

68. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

69. The Jungle Book

I found an abridged version of the Jungle Book in the Dollar Spot at Target this summer, and Jenny read it in less than a day and really liked it. I’ll have to pick up the unabridged version to read to all the kids.

70. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)

71. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Chronicles of Narnia is a series that I definitely want to read with my kids. Jenny and I started reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe together a few years ago, but I wasn’t intentional about doing it regularly and we fell out of the habit.

72. The Little Engine That Could

Chris recently received a copy of this classic to add to his bookshelf. I loved it as a kid and am glad my kids are getting to enjoy it, too!

73. The Little Prince

74. The Mouse and the Motorcycle

I love Beverly Cleary, and I’ve passed my love of Ramona to Jenny, but she hasn’t shown interest in this particular title. I have a feeling David will be a different story in a few years.

75. The New Way Things Work

76. The Paper Bag Princess

77. The Phantom Tollbooth

78. The Real Mother Goose

79. The Secret Garden

Another of my favorites, I bought a copy of The Secret Garden for Jenny a few years ago and she devoured it much like I did as a kid.

80. The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew)

While Jenny hasn’t met Nancy Drew yet, she has fallen in love with Mandie – I bought her the entire series of Mandie for Christmas!

81. The Snowy Day

82. The Story of Babar: The Little Elephant

83. The Story of Ferdinand

84. The Tale of Despereaux

85. The Tower Treasure (Hardy Boys)

86. The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Jenny and I did an entire unit study on The Very Hungry Caterpillar during her preK/Kindergarten year of school. It was so much fun!

87. The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963

88. The Wednesday Wars

I’d never heard of this title, but reading the description on Amazon has me intrigued. I think I might “pre-read” this book before adding it to our reading queue.

89. The Westing Game

90. The Wind in the Willows

I remember really wanting to like this book when I was about Jenny’s age, but for some reason I never made it through the entire book. I’ll have to try again with my kids.

91. The Wizard of Oz

Reading this and watching the movie with my kids will be a huge leap for me. I swore years ago that I would never visit Oz again. But, I think I might be able to handle the flying monkeys a bit better twenty-some years later.

92. Treasure Island

93. Tuck Everlasting

I think I read this when I was younger, but I don’t remember much about it. I’d like to see the movie (since Alexis Bledel is the lead actress, and I enjoyed her in Gilmore Girls), but since I have a “won’t see the movie until I’ve read the book” rule for myself, I’ll have to re-read the book first.

94. Walk Two Moons

95. Watership Down

96. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

97. Where the Red Fern Grows

98. Where the Sidewalk Ends

Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite poets, and this book is probably my favorite book of poems. I remember having to memorize and act out several of these poems in my sixth grade English class. I have a feeling I’ll be having my kids do a similar assignment soon.

99. Where the Wild Things Are

Our copy of Where the Wild Things Are is well-loved. This classic is a must for any children’s bookshelf!

100. Wonder

 

What books would you add to this list?

 

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This list was originally complied by the Amazon Book editors and can be found here.