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
The beloved children's classic with more than more than 10 million copies sold. From Newbery Honor and E. B. White Award-winning author Natalie Babbitt, Tuck Everlasting is a spellbinding modern-day masterpiece about immortality, friendship, and growing up that's...
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
CD
It's no secret that Harriet the Spy is a timeless classic that kids will love! Every day can be an adventure if you just look carefully enough! Harriet M. Welsch is a spy. In her notebook, she writes down everything she knows about everyone, even her classmates and her best...
Howl's moving castle
Jones, Diana Wynne
Paper Book
'Quite simply the best writer of magic there is' Neil Gaiman 'Truly magical ... Guaranteed to leave you gasping' The Bookseller 'She is the best writer of magical fantasy for children' Evening Standard In this beloved modern classic,...
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
Celebrate an unforgettable classic with this gorgeously repackaged edition, featuring the timeless art of Tasha Tudor. Just in time for the movie adaptation starring Colin Firth and Julie Walters! This beautiful hardcover edition includes Tasha Tudor's iconic illustrations in full color,...
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
The Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning classic about a boy who decides to hit the road 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, Michigan....
From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Konigsburg, E. L.
Paper Book
When Claudia decided to run away, she planned very carefully She would be gone just long enough to teach her parents a lesson in Claudia appreciation.  And she would live in comfort-at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  She invited her brother Jamie to go, too, mostly because he was a miser and would...
The house at Pooh Corner
Milne, A. A.
CD
A.A. Milne's 'Winnie-the-Pooh' stories need no introduction. They have been loved by generations of children ever since Pooh, Christopher Robin, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga and Roo, and Eeyore made their first appearance.
Pippi Longstocking
Lindgren, Astrid
Paper Book
 The beloved story of a spunky young girl and her hilarious escapades. "A rollicking story."--The Horn Book 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...
The little prince
Saint-Exupřy, Antoine de
Paper Book
In the exquisite imagery of this fairy tale, the poet-writer shares with children something of the mystic's vision and wisdom of life.--New York Public Library.
A Wrinkle in time
L'Engle, Madeleine
Paper Book
NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER * TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIME * NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM DISNEY Read the ground-breaking science fiction and fantasy classic that has delighted children for over 60 years! "A Wrinkle in Time<...
Where the red fern grows
Rawls, Wilson
CD
A beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man's best friend.   Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs. So when he's finally able to save up enough money for two pups to call his own--Old Dan and Little Ann--he's ecstatic. It doesn't...
The tale of Despereaux : being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread
DiCamillo, Kate
Paper Book
A brave mouse, a covetous rat, a wishful serving girl, and a princess named Pea come together in Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Medal-winning tale.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 Roscuro,...
Island of the Blue Dolphins
O'Dell, Scott
Paper Book
Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otter play in the vast kep beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, according to history, an Indian girl spent...
Bridge to Terabithia
Paterson, Katherine
Paper Book
The 40th anniversary edition of the classic Newbery Medal-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...
The phantom tollbooth
Juster, Norton
Paper Book
"Comes up bright and new every time I read it . . . it will continue to charm and delight for a very long time yet." --Phillip Pullman, New York Times bestselling author of His Dark Materials  With almost 5 million copies sold in the 60 years since it was published, generations of...
The giver
Lowry, Lois
Paper Book
In Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community. Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic....

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