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
This edition of New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman's modern classic, Coraline--also an Academy Award-nominated film--is enriched with a foreword from the author, a reader's guide, and more. "Coraline discovered the door a little while...
Harriet the spy
Fitzhugh, Louise.
Paper Book
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...
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...
Skellig
Almond, David 1951-
Paper Book
Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage and encounters a strange being who changes his world forever.
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
In the land of Ingary, such things as spells, invisible cloaks, and seven-league boots were everyday things. The Witch of the Waste was another matter. After fifty years of quiet, it was rumored that the Witch was about to terrorize the country again. So when a moving black castle, blowing dark...
Holes
Sachar, Louis 1954-
Paper Book
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...
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
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....
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. But she soon discovers that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt. When they stumble upon a deserted storage yard, Melanie and April decide it's the perfect spot for the Egypt Game. Before long...
Five children and it
Nesbit, E. (Edith) 1858-1924
Paper Book
Be careful what you ask for. You may get it! That's the message in this delightful tale of five youngsters who discover a bizarre sand creature that grants wishes. There's a catch, of course: the wishes come undone at sunset, and worse yet, things often get out of hand!
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. (Alan Alexander) 1882-1956
Paper Book
Happy 90th birthday, to one of the world's 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...
Pippi Longstocking
Lindgren, Astrid 1907-2002
Paper Book
Astrid Lindgren's story of feisty, red-haired Pippi has been given a sparkling new translation by award-winning Tiina Nunnally and engaging pictures by acclaimed Lauren Child.
The little prince
Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de 1900-1944
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
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 : 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 1898-1989
Paper Book
A young Indian girl learns the art of survival when she is stranded on an isolated Pacific island.
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 1929-2021
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
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....
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,...

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