Great Kids' Novels that Adults Should Read (or Re-read)

Just because you're a grownup doesn't mean you have to stop reading children's books. Here's a list of books that are just as entertaining and thought-provoking for adults as they are for kids. And if you read one of these when you were younger, give it another chance. It'll hit differently through adult eyes.

*This list is limited to children's novels and doesn't include Young Adult or picture books.

Updated October 31, 2023
M
McCracken County Public Library
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Tuck everlasting
Babbitt, Natalie
Paper Book
Doomed to - or blessed with - eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age...
Coraline
Gaiman, Neil.
Paper Book
New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman's modern classic, Coraline--also an Academy Award-nominated film "Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house...." When Coraline steps through a door to find another...
Harriet the spy
Fitzhugh, Louise.
Paper Book
Soon to be an Apple TV+ animated series starring Golden Globe nominee Beanie Feldstein and Emmy Award winner Jane Lynch, it's no secret that Harriet the Spy is a timeless classic that kids will love! Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down...
The Westing game
Raskin, Ellen.
Paper Book
For twenty-five years, Ellen Raskin's Newbery Medal-winning The Westing Game has been an enduring favorite and is now being reissued with a brand-new jacket by Kevin Hawkes and an introduction by Ann Durell. This highly inventive mystery involves sixteen people who are invited to...
The house with a clock in its walls
Bellairs, John
Paper Book
John Bellairs, the name in Gothic mysteries for middle graders, wrote terrifying tales full of adventure, attitude and alarm. For years, young readers have crept, crawled, and gone bump in the night with the unlikely heroes of these Gothic novels: Lewis Barnavelt, Johnny Dixon, and Anthony Monday....
Howl's moving castle
Jones, Diana Wynne.
Paper Book
This entrancing classic fantasy novel is filled with surprises at every turn. An international bestseller, this much-loved book is the source for the Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature. Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to...
Holes
Sachar, Louis
Paper Book
A darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment Stanley Yelnat's family has a history of bad luck, so he isn't too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to a boys' juvenile detention center, Camp Green Lake. There is no lake - it has been dry for over a hundred years - and it...
Danny the Champion of the World
Dahl, Roald
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG!  Danny has a life any boy would love--his home is a gypsy caravan, he's the youngest master car mechanic around, and his best friend is his dad, who never runs out of...
The secret garden
Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Paper Book
The illustrations for this series were created by Scott McKowen, who, with his wife Christina Poddubiuk, operates Punch & Judy Inc., a company specializing in design and illustration for theater and performing arts. Their projects often involve research into the visual aspects of...
Mrs. Frisby and the rats of Nimh
O'Brien, Robert C.
Paper Book
Some extraordinary rats come to the aid of a mouse family in this Newbery Medal Award-winning classic by notable children's author Robert C. O'Brien. Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is faced with a terrible problem. She must move her family to their summer...
M.C. Higgins, the great
Hamilton, Virginia
Paper Book
Discover this transcendent middle grade masterpiece about a young black boy whose quiet rural live in the Appalachian Mountains begins to change--winner of the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Mayo Cornelius Higgins sits on his...
Bud, not Buddy
Curtis, Christopher Paul.
Paper Book
Hit the road with Bud in this Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy on a journey to find his father--from Christopher Paul Curtis, recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.   It's 1936, in Flint...
The Egypt game
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley.
Paper Book
The first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she's not sure they have anything in common. One look at April's upswept hair, false eyelashes, and ragged fox-fur collar is enough to convince Melanie that April won't have an easy time fitting in with the sixth graders at Wilson School. ...
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase Wolves of Willoughby Chase Series, Book 1
Aiken, Joan.
Audiobook
Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie's parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is...
The chocolate touch
Catling, Patrick Skene.
Paper Book
From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Konigsburg, E. L.
Paper Book
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) Run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with E. L. Konigsburg's beloved classic and Newbery Medal­-winning novel From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler! When Claudia decided to run away, she...
The house at Pooh Corner
Milne, A. A.
Paper Book
One of the most beloved icons of children's literature, Winnie-the-Pooh! Return to the Hundred Acre Wood in A.A. Milne's second collection of Pooh stories, The House at Pooh Corner. Here you will rediscover all the characters you met in Winnie-the-Pooh: Christopher...
Pippi Longstocking
Lindgren, Astrid
Paper Book
The beloved story of a spunky young girl and her hilarious escapades.   Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She has crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a pet monkey named...
The Little Prince
Saint-Exupery, Antoine De
Paper Book
Now with the restored original artwork, the beloved classic story of a young prince's travels throughout space--a profound tale about loneliness and loss, and love and friendship. A pilot crashes in the Sahara Desert and encounters a strange young boy who calls himself the Little Prince....
A wrinkle in time
L'Engle, Madeleine.
Paper Book
The 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition of Madeleine L'Engle's ground-breaking science fiction and fantasy classic, now a major motion picture. Fifty years ago, Madeleine L'Engle introduced the world to A Wrinkle in Time and the wonderful and unforgettable characters...
The tale of Despereaux : being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread
DiCamillo, Kate.
Paper Book
The beloved author of Because of Winn-Dixie enlightens us with a tale of adventure, despair, love, and soup. Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called...
Where the red fern grows : the story of two dogs and a boy
Rawls, Wilson.
Paper Book
Read the beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man's best friend. This edition also includes a special note to readers from Newbery Medal winner and Printz Honor winner Clare Vanderpool. Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs. So when...
Island of the Blue Dolphins
O'Dell, Scott
Paper Book
Scott O'Dell's Newbery Medal-winning classic is a gripping tale of survival, strength, and courage. Based on the true story of a Nicoleño Indian girl living alone on an island off the coast of California, Island of the Blue Dolphins has captivated readers for generations. On San Nicolas...
Bridge to Terabithia
Paterson, Katherine.
Paper Book
The classic Newbery Award-winning title by beloved author Katherine Paterson, with brand-new bonus materials including an author's note by Katherine herself, and a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo.  Jess Aarons has been practicing all summer so he can...
The phantom tollbooth
Juster, Norton
Paper Book
With almost 5 million copies sold 60 years after its original publication, generations of readers have now journeyed with Milo to the Lands Beyond in this beloved classic. Enriched by Jules Feiffer's splendid illustrations, the wit, wisdom, and wordplay of Norton Juster's offbeat fantasy are as...
The giver
Lowry, Lois
Paper Book
The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the...

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