Books
You can sort the list of great children's books, winnow it down by age and genre, or use Advanced Search to see many other ways to explore the Treasury of Great Children's Books.
Young ’un (1944)
Old flan Post, who couldn't tolerate home, family life, or farmin'. He turned his back on all three when fate burned down his house and killed his wife.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Herbert Best
Illustrator(s):
Unknown
Mr. Fox (1982)
Mr. Fox goes hunting with his bag … but the bag ends up hunting him.
Author(s):
Gavin Bishop
Illustrator(s):
Gavin Bishop
A Bear Called Paddington (1958)
From the day Paddington was discovered on a railway platform in London, he was seldom far from imminent disaster … but it always seemed to turn into hilarious fun.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Michael Bond
Illustrator(s):
Peggy Fortnum
The River at Green Knowe (1959)
Three children are invited to spend the summer at Green Knowe - they must be able to swim - and explore the river.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Lucy Boston
Illustrator(s):
Peter Boston
But not the Hippopotamus (1982)
Should she stay? Should she go?
Author(s):
Sandra Boynton
Illustrator(s):
Sandra Boynton
The Going to Bed Book (1982)
On Noah’s Ark, it’s time for bed.
Author(s):
Sandra Boynton
Illustrator(s):
Sandra Boynton
The Mitten (1989)
Nicki drops one of his new white mittens in the snow. The animals crawl into it to keep warm, until … someone sneezes!
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Jan Brett
Illustrator(s):
Jan Brett
Baby Island (1937)
When a ferocious storm hits their ship, young Mary and Jean become stranded on a deserted island. With them are four babies.
Author(s):
Carol Brink
Illustrator(s):
Helen Sewell
Caddie Woodlawn (1935)
Pioneer adventures of a girl growing up in northern Wisconsin.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Carol Brink
Illustrator(s):
Kate Seredy
Wuthering Heights (1847)
Heathcliff, the antihero, gets revenge on the people who kept him away from his love, Cathy Earnshaw. After over a decade, he gains Thrushcross Grange, the family home of Cathy's husband.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Emily Brontë
Illustrator(s):
None
Jane Eyre (1938)
Jane is abused as a child by her aunt and at school and develops a philosophy of radical self-centeredness. One of the first modern novels.
Author(s):
Charlotte Brontë
Illustrator(s):
Helen Sewell
Stone Soup (1947)
Three soldiers arrive at a town intending to make soup with a stone. In the end the whole town enjoys a feast with them.
Author(s):
Marcia Brown
Illustrator(s):
Marcia Brown
Five Little Firemen (1948)
“The finest fire is the fire that’s out,” sing the five little firemen. Later editions have fewer pages.
Author(s):
Margaret Brown, Edith Hurd
Illustrator(s):
Tibor Gergely
Goodnight Moon (1947)
A bunny going to bed says goodnight to his room.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Margaret Brown
Illustrator(s):
Clement Hurd
The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1971)
The Pied Piper pipes all the rats out of an ungrateful town. He then pipes all the children out as a result.
Author(s):
Robert Browning
Illustrator(s):
Walter Hodges
Prester John (1910)
A young Scot goes out to South Africa where he becomes caught up in a native rebellion. This is a later American edition.
Author(s):
John Buchan
Illustrator(s):
Henry Pitz
The Cruise of the Cachalot (1926)
This is the story of a cruise after sperm whales by a member of the crew. The scan is of an early reprinting. Read for free online at Internet Archive.
Author(s):
Frank Bullen
Illustrator(s):
Mead Schaeffer
A Little Princess Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe Now Told for the First Time (1905)
Originally a short story, then made into a play, this is a more developed story of the orphan girl left at a boarding school who is reduced to servitude, then rescued by a friend of her father’s. Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Frances Burnett
Illustrator(s):
Ethel Franklin
The Secret Garden (1956)
An Anglo-Indian orphan girl and and an English invalid find their cure in a garden.
Author(s):
Frances Burnett
Illustrator(s):
Ernest Shepard
The Incredible Journey: A Tale of Three Animals (1961)
A yellow lab, an ancient bull terrier and a Siamese cat make their way home across two hundred and fifty miles of Canadian wilderness.
Author(s):
Sheila Burnford
Illustrator(s):
Carl Burger