Children's Books

A bored child creates unhappy adults. This is indisputable fact. Fortunately, there are books for children. Yes, books. Portable, affordable, quiet books. A child absorbed in reading a good book makes everyone, including that child, happy. This is also indisputable fact.

Recently on NPR author Lesley Blume shared a list of ten classic books for children. Ms. Blume's recommendations are not only useful right now while summer vacation is still on, but also for future birthday and holiday gifts.

I've matched Blume's recommended book titles to various age groups. If you disagree with the match-ups, let me know.

Ages 4 - 8

The Devil's Storybook (Sunburst Book)
by Natalie Babbitt.

Ages 9 - 12

The Boxcar Children Books 1-4
by Gertrude Chandler Warner.

The Witches
by Roald Dahl.

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer.

The Twenty-One Balloons
by William Pene du Bois.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg.

The House With a Clock In Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt)
by John Bellairs


Ages 11 - 14

Daddy Long Legs
by Jean Webster.


Young Adult

Watership Down: A Novel
by Richard Adams.

Freaky Friday
by Mary Rodgers.