Children's Book Suggestions | Classics

Are you a parent or grandparent looking for a childhood favorite to share with kids in your life? Here are a few of our most frequently-requested classic children's books for readers in Grades 3-7.

If you're looking for picture books for younger readers, check out the Classics shelf in our Picture Book Topics section.

A note for caregivers: Some adults are surprised when they return to old favorites and discover forgotten elements that are out-of-step with their modern values. It's often helpful to revisit classic books by re-reading or doing a little research online before sharing them with your child, so you're prepared to answer questions any questions they may have and provide historical context when necessary.

Updated August 21, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Oregon City Public Library
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The wonderful Wizard of Oz
Baum, L. Frank
Paper Book
What are you looking for?Friendship! Fantasy! Adventure! Excitement! Dorothy and her friends know there's only one person who can help make their wishes come true and that's the Wizard. But as they set off to find him, the Wicked Witch is never far behind . . .Oxford Children's Classics present not...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

The secret garden
Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Paper Book
After losing her parents, young Mary Lennox is sent from India to live in her uncle's gloomy mansion on the wild English moors. She is lonely and has no one to play with, but one day she learns of a secret garden somewhere in the grounds that no one is allowed to enter. Then Mary uncovers an old key...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Alice's adventures in Wonderland
Carroll, Lewis
Paper Book
On an ordinary summer's afternoon, Alice tumbles down a hole and an extraordinary adventure begins. In a strange world with even stranger characters, she meets a rabbit with a pocket watch, joins a Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and plays croquet with the Queen! Lost in this fantasy land, Alice finds...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Charlie and the chocolate factory
Dahl, Roald.
Paper Book
'The ultimate children's story' - David Walliams Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Gold Ticket from Mr Willy Wonka! I shake you warmly by the hand! Tremendous things are in store for you! One miraculous moment changes Charlie...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

The wind in the willows
Grahame, Kenneth
Paper Book
Spring is in the air and Mole has found a wonderful new world. There's boating with Ratty, a feast with Badger and high jinx on the open road with that reckless ruffian Mr Toad of Toad Hall. the four become the firmest of friends, but after Toad's latest escapade, can they join together and beat the...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

From the mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Konigsburg, E. L.
Paper Book
The million-selling, Newbery Medal-winning classic novel, one of the most celebrated and beloved children's books of all time.

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
Lewis, C. S.
Paper Book
A full-colour paperback edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, book two in the classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. This edition is complete with full-colour cover and interior art by the original illustrator, Pauline Baynes. Four adventurous siblings--Peter,...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Winnie-the-Pooh
Milne, A. A.
Paper Book
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.

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

The Borrowers
Norton, Mary.
Paper Book
Carnegie Medal winner Age 9+ 60 pages

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Where the red fern grows
Rawls, Wilson
Ebook
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...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

The little prince
Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de
Paper Book
A pilot, stranded in the Sahara desert after a crash, comes in contact with a captivating and extraordinary stranger, who recounts his journey from planet to planet in search of what is most important in life. For over seventy years Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic tale of childhood innocence has...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Charlotte's web
White, E. B.
Paper Book
This is the story of a little girl named Fern who loved a little pig named Wilbur and of Wilbur's dear friend, Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful large grey spider. With the unlikely help of Templeton the rat, and a wonderfully clever plan of her own, Charlotte saves the life of Wilbur, who by this...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Little house in the big woods
Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Paper Book
Classic tales by Laura Ingalls Wilder about life on the frontier and America's best-loved pioneer family. Inside the little house in the Big Woods live the Ingalls family: Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura and baby Carrie. Outside the little house are the wild animals: the bears and the bees, the...

Children's Fiction (Grades 3-5)

Little women
Alcott, Louisa May
Paper Book
This Penguin Classics edition of Louisa May Alcott's inspiring tale of sisterhood, Little Women, is edited with an introduction by Elaine Showalter. The charming story of four 'little women' - Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth - and their wise and patient mother Marmee, was an instant...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

A wrinkle in time
L'Engle, Madeleine.
Paper Book
When Charles Wallace Murry goes searching through a 'wrinkle in time' for his lost father, he finds himself on an evil planet where all life is enslaved by a huge pulsating brain known as 'It'. How Charles, his sister Meg and friend Calvin find and free his father makes this a very special and...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Anne of Green Gables
Montgomery, L. M.
Paper Book
Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are in for a big surprise. They're waiting for an orphan boy to help with the work at Green Gables, but a skinny red-haired girl turns up instead. Feisty and full of spirit, Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthbert's affection with her vivid imagination and constant...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Holes
Sachar, Louis
Paper Book
'You want to run away?' Mr Sir asked him. Stanley looked back at him, unsure what he meant. 'If you want to run away, go ahead, start running. I'm not going to stop you.' Stanley didn't know what kind of game Mr Sir was playing. 'We don't need a fence. Know why? Because we've got the...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)

Roll of thunder, hear my cry
Taylor, Mildred D.
Paper Book
'We have no choice of what colour we're born or who our parents are or whether we're rich or poor. What we do have is some choice over what we make of our lives once we're here.' The Mississippi of the 1930s was a hard place for a black child to grow up in, but still Cassie didn't understand why...

Young Teen Fiction (Grades 5-7)


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