8 Books You Loved as a Kid That Kids Will Love Today

The 13 Clocks, by James Thurber
This story of a brave prince who wins the hand of a beautiful princess by defeating an evil duke is tremendous fun! The gothic fairy-tale extravagance of the Duke’s cold castle with its stopped clocks and curiously creep denizens is over the top, as is the quest the prince must undertake, and it’s told with joyously whimsical language. There’s logic to it all, but it’s the sort of twisted logic that kids love. Though a similar story published today would give the princess more to say, and possibly back away from the fairy-tale extremes of evil, it holds up well; my own boys enjoyed it just as much as I did when I was young.

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
The Borrowers are a family of tiny people who live beneath the kitchen floor of a big old house. Arrietty, the only child, isn’t allowed to go with her father on his trips up into the house to “borrow” all the small things they need, though she longs for more than the safety of the family’s cramped quarters. When she sets off to explore on her own, she meets a human boy almost as lonely as she is, and the two become friends. The most magical part of the book, and indeed of the series as a whole, is the wonderful ingenuity of the Borrows in reworking human-sized things, and Arreitty’s story of wanting to push past parental boundaries and expectations is one that will never grow dated.

The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich
This story takes readers through a year in the life of Omakayas, an Ojibwe girl growing up in Michigan in the mid-19th century. It’s full of vivid descriptions of everyday life, in which everyone has their part to play in keeping the community going, that will delight kids fascinated by how people did things in the past. On a larger scale the story includes the effects of European contact, including the introduction of diseases such as smallpox, that makes for some harrowing reading. On a more personal scale, it’s a moving story of family love. It’s a great counterpart to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House Books.

Bunnicula, by Deborah and James Howe
The Monroe family has a new pet—an adorable little rabbit. But is Bunnicula as sweet as he looks? As blanched vegetables, drained of juice, began to appear around the house, Chester the cat leaps to the conclusion that Bunnicula is a vampire! Chester and Harold the dog must get to the bottom of the mystery, and keep their family safe before it is too late. Chester, a cat with a Gothic imagination that runs wild, is the brains of the pair, with Harold, who narrates the story, as his sidekick. It’s very entertaining, although the poor bunny has a rather hard time of it! And happily there are lots of sequels, continuing the fun.

Holes, by Louis Sachar
This was the winner of the Newbery award way back in 1999. Some Newbery winners aren’t strong on kid appeal, but that’s not the case for the story of Stanley Yelnats, a boy suffering from a curse that was laid on his many times over great-grandfather that has blighted all the following generations of the family. Stanley is sent to Camp Green Lake, where the boys are forced to “build character” by digging holes all day. He suspects there must be a reason for the holes, and sets out find it… and as he solves the mystery, he finds a way out of the trap of the curse. Stanley’s a great character, the setting is vividly memorable, and the mystery intriguing, and this deserves to be a classic that lasts for years to come.

The Westing Game, by Ellen Raskin
When Sunset Towers opens, sixteen carefully selected people move in. All are surprised when they find, shortly afterwards, that they are heirs to the fortune of reclusive millionaire Sam Westing. But only two will get the lion’s share of the fortune—Mr. Westing’s will divides them into teams of two, who must work together to solve the puzzle he set for them. All have secrets, some of them deadly. And one is a mistake. All sixteen are remarkable characters, in particular 13-year-old Turtle, who chafes at the expectation that she should be a “good girl” like her older sister. The mystery is just as fun today was it was back when it won the Newbery in 1979.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken
This was a classic even before most of us were born, but if you read it as a kid you’ll want your kids to experience its magic too! Orphaned Sylvia arrives at her cousin Bonnie’s stately home, Willoughby Chase, in the dead of winter, surviving a train ride beset by wolves. But Bonnie’s parents leave them to the care of a governess, Miss Slighcarp, who proves even more terrifying than the wolves howling out in the snow. She sends the girls to a horrible school for orphans where they are starved and ill-treated. Though they manage to escape, how can they defeat the cruel Miss Slighcarp? It is marvelously entertaining, and anyone who enjoys stories of plucky kids beset by dangerous adults (and wolves) will love it!

Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein
It might not occur to us parents to offer poetry books to our kids, but this funny and profound collection is still as much fun for kids as it was when it was first published in 1974! The whimsical poems address relatable concerns, alongside poems that are sheer delightful nonsense, and Silverstein’s illustrations lift the words to further flights of fancy. It’s great for reading aloud together with a little one, great for a bunch of kids to explore together, and great to revisit at any age.