List of children's classic books

This is a list of children's classic books published no later than 1990 and still available in the English language.[1][2][3]

Books specifically for children existed by the 17th century. Before that, books were written mainly for adults although some later became popular with children. In Europe, Gutenberg's invention of the printing press around 1440 made possible mass production of books, though the first printed books were quite expensive and remained so for a long time. Gradually, however, improvements in printing technology lowered the costs of publishing and made books more affordable to the working classes, who were also likely to buy smaller and cheaper broadsides, chapbooks, pamphlets, tracts, and early newspapers, all of which were widely available before 1800. In the 19th century, improvements in paper production, as well as the invention of cast-iron, steam-powered printing presses, enabled book publishing on a very large scale, and made books of all kinds affordable by all.

Scholarship on children's literature includes professional organizations, dedicated publications, and university courses.

Before 18th century

TitleAuthorYear publishedReferences and Brief Introduction
PanchatantraVishnu Sharmac.800 BCAncient Indian inter-related collection of animal fables in verse and prose, in a frame story format. Similar stories are found in later works including Aesop's Fables and the Sindbad tales in Arabian Nights.[4]
Aesop's FablesAesopc.600 BC[5][6]
KathasaritsagaraSomadeva11th Century ADCollection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold by a Saivite Brahmin named Somadeva. Generally believed to derive from Gunadhya's Brhat-katha, written in Paisachi dialect from the south of India.
Arabian NightsUnknownbefore 8th century AD[7][8]
Orbis PictusJohn Amos Comenius1658Earliest picture book specifically for children.[9][10]
A Token for Children. Being An Exact Account of the Conversion, Holy and Exemplary Lives, and Joyful Deaths of several Young ChildrenJames Janeway1672One of the first books specifically written for children which shaped much eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century writing for children.[11]

18th century

TitleAuthorYear publishedReferences
Robinson CrusoeDaniel Defoe1719[1][3][12]
Gulliver's TravelsJonathan Swift1726[1][13]
Tales of Mother GooseCharles Perrault1729 (English)[3][2][14]
Little Pretty Pocket-bookJohn Newbery1744[15]
Little Goody Two ShoesOliver Goldsmith1765[16]
Lessons for ChildrenAnna Laetitia Barbauld1778-9The first series of age-adapted reading primers for children printed with large text and wide margins; in print for over a century.[17]
The History of Sandford and MertonThomas Day1783-9A bestseller for over a century, it embodied Rousseau's educational ideals.[18]

19th century

TitleAuthorYear publishedReferences
The Swiss Family RobinsonJohann Rudolf Wyss1812-3[1]
The Nutcracker and the Mouse KingE. T. A. Hoffmann1816[19]
IvanhoeWalter Scott1819[20]
The Legend of Sleepy HollowWashington Irving1819[1][21]
Rip Van WinkleWashington Irving1820[1][22]
Grimm's Fairy TalesJacob and Wilhelm Grimm1823 (English)[3][23]
A Visit From St. NicholasClement Clarke Moore1823[3]
Tales of Peter Parley About AmericaPeter Parley (pseudonym)1827[3]
Oliver TwistCharles Dickens1838[1]
Nicholas NickelbyCharles Dickens1839
A Christmas CarolCharles Dickens1843[1][2]
The Three MusketeersAlexandre Dumas, père1844
Fairy TalesHans Christian Andersen1846 (English)[3]
The Children of the New ForestFrederick Marryat1847
Slovenly PeterHeinrich Hoffmann1848 (English)
David CopperfieldCharles Dickens1850[1]
The Wide, Wide WorldElizabeth Wetherell (pseudonym)1850[3]
The King of the Golden RiverJohn Ruskin1851[3]
A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens1853[1]
The Coral IslandR. M. Ballantyne1857
Tom Brown's SchooldaysThomas Hughes1857[3]
Great ExpectationsCharles Dickens1861[1][24]
The Water BabiesCharles Kingsley1863[3]
A Journey to the Center of the EarthJules Verne1864[1]
Little Prudy Rebecca Sophia Clarke 1864 [25]
Alice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis Carroll1865[1][2]
Max and MoritzWilhelm Busch1865
Hans Brinker or the Silver SkatesMary Mapes Dodge1865[1]
Little WomenLouisa May Alcott1868[1][3][2]
Ragged DickHoratio Alger, Jr.1868[3]
Lorna DooneR. D. Blackmore1869
Mrs. Overtheway's RemembrancesJuliana Horatia Ewing1869[26]
Twenty Thousand Leagues under the SeaJules Verne1870[1]
At the Back of the North WindGeorge MacDonald1871[1]
The Brownies and other TalesJuliana Horatia Ewing1871
The Princess and the GoblinGeorge MacDonald1871[3]
Through the Looking-GlassLewis Carroll1871[1][3]
Around the World in Eighty DaysJules Verne1872[1]
A Dog of FlandersOuida1872
What Katy DidSusan Coolidge1873[3]
The Adventures of Tom SawyerMark Twain1876[1][3][2][27]
Black BeautyAnna Sewell1877[1][3]
The Prince and the PauperMark Twain1881
The Adventures of PinocchioCarlo Collodi1883[1][3][2][27]
The Merry Adventures of Robin HoodHoward Pyle1883[2][27]
Nights with Uncle RemusJoel Chandler Harris1883
Treasure IslandRobert Louis Stevenson1883[1][3][2][27]
Adventures of Huckleberry FinnMark Twain1884[1][27]
HeidiJohanna Spyri1884 (English)[3]
King Solomon's MinesH. Rider Haggard1885
KidnappedRobert Louis Stevenson1886[1][2]
Little Lord FauntleroyFrances Hodgson Burnett1886[1][3]
The Happy Prince and Other TalesOscar Wilde1888
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's CourtMark Twain1889
The Blue Fairy BookAndrew Lang1889
The Jungle BookRudyard Kipling1894[1][3][2][27]
Seven Little AustraliansEthel Turner1894[3]
The Second Jungle BookRudyard Kipling1895[1]
MoonfleetJ. Meade Falkner1898
The Black CorsairEmilio Salgari1898
The Reluctant DragonKenneth Grahame1898
The Story of the Treasure SeekersE. Nesbit1899

20th century

TitleAuthorYear publishedReferences
The Wonderful Wizard of OzL. Frank Baum1900[1][3][2][27]
The Tigers of MompracemEmilio Salgari1900
Five Children and ItE. Nesbit1902[3]
Just So StoriesRudyard Kipling1902[1][3][2]
The Tale of Peter RabbitBeatrix Potter1902[3][2]
King Arthur and His KnightsHoward Pyle1902-3
The Call of the WildJack London1903[1]
Rebecca of Sunnybrook FarmKate Douglas Wiggin1903[1]
A Little PrincessFrances Hodgson Burnett1905[1][3]
The Railway ChildrenE. Nesbit1906
White FangJack London1906
Anne of Green GablesLucy Maud Montgomery1908[1][3]
The Wind in the WillowsKenneth Grahame1908[1][3][27]
The Secret GardenFrances Hodgson Burnett1909/1911[1][3][2]
Peter and WendyJ. M. Barrie1911[2] Based on the author's play Peter Pan (1904)
TarzanEdgar Rice Burroughs1912
The Lost WorldSir Arthur Conan Doyle1912
PollyannaEleanor H. Porter1913[3]
The Magic PuddingNorman Lindsay1918[28]
Raggedy AnnJohnny Gruelle1918
The Story of Doctor DolittleHugh Lofting1920[1][3][2]
The Heart of a DogAlbert Payson Terhune1921[1]
Juan BoboPuerto Rican school children1921[29]
The Velveteen RabbitMargery Williams1922[1]
The Voyages of Doctor DolittleHugh Lofting1922[1]
The Dark FrigateCharles Boardman Hawes1923[1]
Smoky the CowhorseWill James1926[1]
Winnie-the-PoohA. A. Milne1926[1][3][2]
The House at Pooh CornerA. A. Milne1928[1][3]
BambiFelix Salten1928[1]
The Trumpeter of KrakowEric P. Kelly1928[1]
Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories Joyce Lankester Brisley 1928
Emil and the DetectivesErich Kästner1929[30]
Swallows and AmazonsArthur Ransome1930–1931[3]
BabarJean de Brunhoff1931
Little House in the Big WoodsLaura Ingalls Wilder1932[1]
Mary PoppinsP. L. Travers1934
Ballet ShoesNoel Streatfeild1936
The Story of Ferdinand Munro Leaf 1936
The HobbitJ. R. R. Tolkien1937[1][3][2][27]
The Sword in the StoneT. H. White1938
Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans 1939
My Name Is AramWilliam Saroyan1940Children's immigrant experience in the US
Curious GeorgeH. A. Rey1941
Five on a Treasure IslandEnid Blyton1942
Johnny TremainEsther Forbes1943[1][2]
The Little PrinceAntoine de Saint-Exupéry1943[1][31]
Pippi LongstockingAstrid Lindgren1945[1][32]
Happy Dan, The Cynical DogWard Greene1945
The Little White HorseElizabeth Goudge1946
Thomas the Tank EngineWilbert Awdry1946
Goodnight MoonMargaret Wise Brown1947[2][33]
I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith 1948
Finn Family MoomintrollTove Jansson1949[34]
Noddy Goes To Toyland Enid Blyton 1949
The Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobeC.S. Lewis1950[1][3][2][27]
Charlotte's WebE. B. White1952[1][35][36]
The BorrowersMary Norton1952
The Children of Green KnoweLucy M. Boston1954
Beezus and Ramona Beverly Cleary 1955
Eloise Kay Thompson 1955 It was first published in 1955, but was aimed at adults. It was re-published in 1969, this time marketed to children.
The Hundred and One DalmatiansDodie Smith1956
Harry the Dirty DogGene Zion1956
The Silver Sword Ian Serraillier 1956 Known in the US as Escape From Warsaw.
The Cat in the HatDr. Seuss1957First high quality limited-vocabulary book, written for early readers
Little Bear Else Holmelund Minarik 1957
Tom's Midnight GardenPhilippa Pearce1958
A Bear Called PaddingtonMichael Bond1958
The RescuersMargery Sharp1959
The Weirdstone of BrisingamenAlan Garner1960
James and the Giant PeachRoald Dahl1961[1]
The Phantom TollboothNorton Juster1961[1]
The Big Honey Hunt Stan and Jan Berenstain 1962
A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle 1962
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase Joan Aiken 1962
Stig of the Dump Clive King 1963
Where the Wild Things AreMaurice Sendak1963
Clifford the Big Red Dog Norman Bridwell 1963
Amelia Bedelia Peggy Parish 1963
Charlie and the Chocolate FactoryRoald Dahl1964[1]
Flat Stanley Jeff Brown 1964
The Giving Tree Shel Silverstein 1964
Harriet the Spy Louise Fitzhugh 1964
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car Ian Fleming 1964
The Fox and the Hound Daniel P. Mannix and John Schoenherr 1967
The Owl Service Alan Garner 1967
A Wizard of EarthseaUrsula K. Le Guin1968With its sequels, it broke ground for epic fantasy in several ways: the first book had a non-white hero, the later books explored the role of gender in fantasy and power, and the quest structure is not good vs. evil but balance.
The Iron Man Ted Hughes 1968
The Tiger Who Came to Tea Judith Kerr 1968
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle 1969
Charlotte Sometimes Penelope Farmer 1969
Are You There, God? It's Me, MargaretJudy Blume1970Approached puberty more openly than children's books had in the past.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit Judith Kerr 1971
The Lorax Dr Seuss 1971
Watership DownRichard Adams1972
A Taste of BlackberriesDoris Buchanan Smith1973Taboo-breaking children's book (Grades 4-6) concerning a child's first grief experience. HarperCollins. 19th edition published 2005.[37][38]
The Worst Witch Jill Murphy 1974
Bridge to Terabithia Katherine Paterson 1977
Each Peach Pear Plum Janet and Allan Ahlberg 1978
The Snowman Raymond Briggs 1978
The Neverending StoryMichael Ende1979
The Indian in the Cupboard Lynne Reid Banks 1980
The Paper Bag Princess Robert Munsch 1980
JumanjiChris Van Allsburg1981
Goodnight Mister Tom Michelle Magorian 1981
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾Sue Townsend1982
War Horse Michael Morpurgo 1982
The Sheep-Pig Dick King-Smith 1983 Filmed as Babe in 1995. Known as Babe, the Gallant Pig in the US.
The Castle in the Attic Elizabeth Winthrop 1985
Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones 1986 Made famous because of the Studio Ghibli movie.
Franklin Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark 1986
The Little Polar Bear Hans de Beer 1987
Madame Doubtfire Anne Fine 1987 Published as Alias Madame Doubtfire in the US. Made famous because of the film adaptation (Mrs Doubtfire) starring Robin Williams.
Matilda Roald Dahl 1988

See also

References

  1. Nesbit, Eva Marie. "Classic novels". Cullinan & Person 2003. pp. 171–175.
  2. Silvey 1995, pp. xixvi
  3. Hunt 2001, p. xvixxii
  4. Vijay Bedekar (27 December 2008). "Seminar on 'Suhbashita, Panchatantra & Gnomic Literature in Ancient & Medieval India'". Institute for Oriental Study, Thane. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  5. Silvey 1995, p. 3
  6. Temple, Olivia; Temple, Robert K. G. (translators) (1998). Aesop, The Complete Fables. New York: Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044649-4.
  7. Silvey 1995, p. 25,86
  8. Lyons (2008). Three tales from the Arabian nights. translated by Malcolm C. Lyons, Robert Irwin, and Ursula Lyons ; with an introduction by Robert Irwin. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-1-84614-158-4.
  9. Epstein, Connie C. (1991). The Art of Writing for Children. Archon Books. p. 2. ISBN 0-208-02297-X.
  10. Comenius, John Amos (1999). Orbis Pictus : [Orbis Sensualium Pictus. A world of things obvious to the scenes drawn in pictures] ([Faks.Repr.] ed.). Kessinger. ISBN 978-0-7661-0825-7.
  11. Janeway, James (1994). A token for children : being an exact account of the conversion, holy and exemplary lives and joyful deaths of several young children in two parts. To which is added, A token for the children of New England / by Cotton Mather. Pittsburgh, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publications. ISBN 978-1-877611-76-6.
  12. Defoe, Daniel (2001). Robinson Crusoe (Modern Library paperback ed.). New York: The Modern Library. ISBN 978-0-375-75732-7.
  13. Swift, Jonathan (2002). Rivero, Albert J. (ed.). Gulliver's travels. Based on the 1726 text : contexts, criticism (1st ed.). New York: Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-95724-2.
  14. Perrault, Charles (1963). The complete fairy tales of Charles Perrault. Illustrated by Sally Holmes ; newly translated by Neil Philip and Nicoletta Simborowski ; with an introduction and notes on the story by Neil Philip. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 978-0-395-57002-9.
  15. Newbery, John, ed. (2009). A Little pretty pocket-book. Dodo Press. ISBN 978-1-4099-4974-9.
  16. Welsh, Charles (2010). Goody Two Shoes (reprint ed.). Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-1-162-75622-6.
  17. Pickering, Samuel F., Jr. John Locke and Children's Books in Eighteenth-Century England. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1981. ISBN 0-87049-290-X.
  18. Darton, F. J. Harvey. Children's Books in England: Five Centuries of Social Life. 3rd ed. Rev. Brian Alderson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1982), 146.
  19. Hoffman, E.T.A. (2003). The Nutcracker : the heirloom edition. Illustrated by Don Daily. Philadelphia: Running Press. ISBN 978-0-7624-1668-4.
  20. Scott, Sir Walter (2000). Ivanhoe (1st Tor ed.). New York: Tom Doherty Associates. ISBN 978-0-8125-6565-2.
  21. Irving, Washington (1990). The legend of Sleepy Hollow. Introduction, afterword by Charles L. Grant] (1st Tor ed.). New York: Tom Doherty Associates. ISBN 978-0-8125-0475-0.
  22. Irving, Washington (1993). Rip Van Winkle and other selected stories (1st Tor ed.). New York: TOR. ISBN 978-0-8125-2332-4.
  23. Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (2006). Owens, Lily (ed.). The complete Brothers Grimm fairy tales (Deluxe ed.). New York: Gramercy Books. ISBN 978-0-517-22925-5.
  24. Nesbit gave an incorrect date of 1863 for the publication. See, for example, Robert L. Patten (1978), Charles Dickens and His Publishers, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 288–293, ISBN 0198120761
  25. "Little Prudy". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  26. Secret Gardens: A Study of the Golden Age of Children's Literature by Humphrey Carpenter, 1985, Part II, Chapter 1: "It seemed to open the door to a new way of writing for, and about, children"
  27. Baskin, Barbara H.; Harris, Karen. "Classics". Silvey 1995, pp. 140142.
  28. Hunt 2001, p. 36
  29. Journal of American Folklore, Vol.34, p. 143; by J. Alden Mason & Aurelio M. Espinosa, ed.; 1921 Retrieved 2013-05-31.
  30. Hunt 2001, p. 361
  31. Hunt 2001, pp. 569570
  32. Hunt 2001, pp. 406407
  33. Hunt 2001, p. 97
  34. Silvey 1995, p. 350
  35. Introducing Children's Literature: From Romanticism to Postmodernism by Deborah Cogan Thacker, Routledge, 2002, page 123
  36. 100 Best Books for Children by Anita Silvey, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2004, page 131
  37. "Doris Buchanan Smith". St. James Guide to Young Adult Writers. Gale Biography In Contex. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  38. Trelease, Jim (2006). The Read-Aloud Handbook. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-14-303739-2.

Further reading

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.