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.
Prince Cinders (1987)
A fairy grants a small, skinny prince a change in appearance and the chance to go to the Palace Disco.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Babette Cole
Illustrator(s):
Babette Cole
The Trouble with Uncle (1992)
Uncle, who is a pirate, doesn't fit in with the other members of the yacht club. So he starts his own club, buys a treasure map, and ends up marrying a mermaid.
Read online at Internet Archive.
Author(s):
Babette Cole
Illustrator(s):
Babette Cole
Pinocchio (1935)
The story of a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy. This edition has been shortened by the editor.
Author(s):
Carlo Collodi
Illustrator(s):
Helen Sewell
The King of Ireland’s Son (1916)
The King of Ireland's Son sets out to find the Enchanter of the Black Back-Lands and meets the Enchanter's daughter, Fedelma.
Author(s):
Pádraic Colum
Illustrator(s):
Willy Pogány
What Katy Did at School (1873)
Katy goes East to boarding school. Read for free online at Internet Archive.
Author(s):
Susan Coolidge
Illustrator(s):
Addie Ledyard
The Kellyhorns (1942)
When separated-at-birth twins Penny and Pam discover each other, they determine to put their family back together.
Author(s):
Barbara Cooney
Illustrator(s):
Barbara Cooney
A Pipkin of Pepper (2005)
A cat, a squirrel, a duck, pumpkin soup, but not salt … and pepper?
Author(s):
Helen Cooper
Illustrator(s):
Helen Cooper
Pumpkin Soup (1998)
A cat, a squirrel and a duck live deep in the woods in an old white cabin where they dine every day on pumpkin soup, until one day …
Author(s):
Helen Cooper
Illustrator(s):
Helen Cooper
Cutlass Island (1962)
To solve the mystery of the caretaker's strange actions on Cutlass island off the New England Coast, Skip and Harvey were hired to live there.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Scott Corbett
Illustrator(s):
Leondard Shortall
The Lemonade Trick (1960)
A mysterious potion mixed by Kerby with his chemistry set has a beneficial effect on the neighborhood bully but also wreaks havoc at the Sunday School pageant.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Scott Corbett
Illustrator(s):
Paul Galdone
The Diverting History of John Gilpin (1878)
This comic masterpiece by Jane Austen’s favorite poet describes what started out as a quiet expedition to the country. Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
William Cowper
Illustrator(s):
Randolph Caldecott
Scuffy the Tugboat (1946)
The little tugboat wants to sail on the big waters, until he meets the sea.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Gertrude Crampton
Illustrator(s):
Tibor Gergely
Tootle (1945)
Tootle wants to play in the meadow, but engineer Bill knows he has to stay on the track, no matter what. Later editions have fewer pages.
Author(s):
Gertrude Crampton
Illustrator(s):
Tibor Gergely
Ola (1934)
Ola is the enchanting story of a dauntless Norwegian boy who goes skiing one day and has many unusual adventures before returning home.
Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Ingri d’Aulaire, Edgar d’Aulaire
Illustrator(s):
Edgar d’Aulaire
Ola and Blakken (1933)
Ola and his family shoot a troll-cock, resulting in goods for themselves, a feast for their neighbors, and the deaths of two trolls.
Author(s):
Ingri d’Aulaire, Edgar d’Aulaire
Illustrator(s):
Edgar d’Aulaire
Robinson Crusoe (1920)
First published in 1719, this account of ‘eight and twenty years, all alone on an uninhabited island on the coast of America’ was based on the experiences of Alexander Selkirk, who was marooned on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Most recent editions have been abridged and some have had the religious themes suppressed. It gave birth to the genre of Robinsonnade. Read online at archive.org.
Author(s):
Daniel Defoe
Illustrator(s):
N. C. Wyeth
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
Each of five children lucky enough to discover an entry ticket into Mr. Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory takes advantage of the situation in his own way.
Author(s):
Roald Dahl
Illustrator(s):
Joseph Schindelman
Matilda (1988)
Matilda applies her untapped mental powers to rid the school of the evil, child-hating headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, and to restore her nice teacher, Miss Honey, to financial security.
Author(s):
Roald Dahl
Illustrator(s):
Quentin Blake
Two Years Before the Mast (1840)
His studies at Harvard interrupted by vision problems, the author embarked as a merchant seaman aboard the brig Pilgrim in 1834 on a voyage to Alta California, still under Mexican rule. After helping to cure and load a cargo of cow hides, he was transferred to the Alert and made an eastward passage of Cape Horn in the dead of winter. Read online at Hathitrust.
Author(s):
Richard Dana
Illustrator(s):
None
Adopted Jane (2002)
A young orphan girl spends the summer with two families, hoping that one will adopt her.
Author(s):
Helen Daringer
Illustrator(s):
Kate Seredy