Believe it or not, I've wanted this type of video for so long---of someone talking about classics aimed at a younger audience. You read my mind! Thanks Mara!
A Wrinkle in Time...the first time I heard of mitochondria. So good. I also remember reading Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott Odell around the same age.
Heidi was actually the first novel I ever read. I remember being so proud of myself for getting through it by myself and it's like a cornerstone of my reading identity. You talking about it opened a floodgate of memories and now I really want to reread it
I totally agree with the Little Women pick! I had a _gorgeous_ illustrated edition of it as a really young kid that I reread many times. At that time, I loved it primarily for all the pretty dresses that were in that edition. Later, as I young teen, I picked up a full edition and still loved it, but that time I loved it for the sisterly and familial bonds that were are in it and the found family trope that was both so sad and happy at the same time in Jo's Boys 🥺
My copy of Tolkien's The Hobbit explicitly mentioned how he wanted to bridge the gap for younger kids to start reading the classics! And I think it does a lovely job with that! And I think Bilbo is such a great character! The little guy who always schemes, and plans, and thinks his way out of trouble! Whose really afraid but does it anyway. I just really loved that book!!
I love classic children’s literature!! My favorites are The Secret Garden, The Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women, Charlotte’s Web and The Little Prince 🥰
I'm suprised how many of those I haven't read, or even haven't heard of! I've read quite a lot of children classics when I was learning English, and didn't feel confident enough to read adult. Recently I re-read Winnie the Pooh, which is the sweetest little story (I recommend the audiobook!), and my absolute favourite would be the Moomins. It isn't as well known in US, which is a pity. Next on my list would be the Little Prince and everything by Astrid Lindgren.
I still have a fondness for what I would call children's classics, but maybe some wouldn't label them. The Bobbsey Twins, Boxcar Children, and the amazing Little House on the Prairie series. I found myself re-reading all of those books well into my adulthood.
Heidi was the first book as a kid i stayed up all night reading. Number the stars i read as a kid and has such memories for me. How she held her friends star of david in her hand so tightly it left imprint on her hand.
This year I have caught up on some children’s classics. There’s nothing like a woman in her 60s crying over Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden.
My top recommendations : + Almost anything Roald Dahl, but especially Matilda, the witches and horrible rhymes of you want to get them into poetry! There's just something about his writing that's sometimes a bit gross, or scary, or violent. But it always clicked with me as a kid, and with the classes I've read them to. They always can't wait till I read some more the next day!! I'm Dutch and some of the great classics I think anyone should read to kids are : + Winter in wartime, by Jan Terlouw. First hand experiences of a kid in the winter of famine at the end of the war. It has everything I would teach a kid about the war. It's not as good v.s. Evil as most of these books are. War is hell for everyone involved and we should do what we can to stop it is its closing message. +Jan terlouw also did "how to be a king," my favourite children's book. It's about a kid who wants to be king but has to basically do a 12 works of Hercules to get there. It has brilliant philosophical ideas and questions wrapped in really cool adventures with clever solutions. Just terrific in every way! + I like almost anything by Jaques Vrienz who was a terrific cooky teacher writing about things that his students went through. His most famous work is 8th graders don't cry. A story about a class where one of the classmates gets leukemia. It's beautiful! (he has books for all ages, thankfully most of them are very funny and lighthearted as well. ) +my final recommendation is Paul van Loon. He's like the kids Stephen King. These books can be cute and adventurous (Alfie the werewolf), to downright horror vignettes dressed up with a central story (de griezelbus/the gruesome schooltrip). The last one doesn't seem to be translated into English, but did get Chinese, Korean, French and Italian translations... Weird! It's about the most read book in primary schools xD
My son is 8 and we’re reading Charlie and the Chocolate factory by Roald Dahl and it’s just a delight so far. I’d never think to read it but I’ve always loved the movie.
I always loved Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz and The Wind in the Willows . Probably, in part, explains my love for all things Disney. 😂
I started Anne of green gables series this year (I´m 27) and I love it so much as the kid i have inside and as an adult. For spanish literature as a kid I love the Natasha series from Luis Pescetti. And of course Sherlock Holmes! I love the new series of classic rec so nice 👍
@@bookslikewhoa to many books so little time. I don't know if Pescetti is classic but it something that i really enjoy reading as a kid. And is a series that i always recommend to kids.
When I was 10 or so, our family went to Boston for vacation. I remember vividly buying a copy of Johnny Tremain for my vacation souvenir. I loved that book, and a couple of years ago reread it. I can happily say it still held up all these years later. The other book that was a childhood favorite is Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates.
Some I haven’t seen mentioned, but might have missed: -Mary Norton’s Borrower series -Peter S. Beagles’ The Last Unicorn and Tamsin (this might be more YA) -Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce -The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy -The Green Knowe books by LM Boston -Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer -The King of Ireland’s Son by Padraic Colum
i was surprised to not see a more, idk, classic classics on this list? books like mary poppins and winnie the pooh and peter pan are what got me into reading when I was a child. same with wizard of oz and alice books [although i wouldn't consider alice books to be children's per ce] and as smb who reread winnie the pooh books and alice books this year, I can definitely say they hold up excellent for a 25+ reader as myself
I hear you-- since I always do these recs by genre, it was harder to get more really old books in there since SO MANY of them are either animal books or coming of age type stories :D
Love the video! Brings to mind many beloved childhood books. I rewatched your other two How to Start with Classics videos. Thank you for the warning on Wide Sargasso Sea! I had planned to read that before Jane Eyre, but will correct my reading plan 🙂
My favorites is A tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Secret Garden. I taught fifth grade where the Revolutionary War is taught. We all tried Johnny Tremain and couldn’t bridge the vocabulary and keep the story flowing. Maybe because we have a lot of second language speakers in our classes. I was able to teach Greek Mythology and A Secret Garden. Pippi was popular too
I loved this! So nostalgic - many of these are favorites of mine. I think I would send someone who wanted to start to The Secret Garden - still a favorite, and I think very approachable. (And I love that edition of Heidi you have!)
The books that I started reading with were The Boxcar Children! I loved the original series, but the newer ones aren't as good. Some other great ones are Philip Pullman's "His Dark materials" series, Roald Dahl's children's novels, the little prince, Winnie the Pooh, chronicles of narnia, Alice in wonderland, the wizard of oz series, and Oscar Wilde's short stories. All things that were such a big part of my childhood. One series that's probably for a little older, maybe elementary school age, is Brian Jacques' Redwall series, absolutely lovely series that I adore and still read to this day.
This video made me feel so nostalgic! Beatrix Potter made me think of the Brambly Hedge series of books (from the '80s-ish, I think?). They're also more aimed toward a slightly younger age, but they're so cozy and charming, and they're also also about animals (mice, mainly). I remember I had a collection of the Seasons stories as a kid and loved it so much. Another favorite is the Moomintroll books by Tove Jansson. Really sweet stories about a collection of fantasy creatures, mostly from the 1940s or so. I think they're the type of children's lit that is aimed at kids, but is a lovely light read for an adult as well (although I fully admit to having nostalgia goggles for this series!) Shabanu and Haveli I remember being really important to me when I read them. As a kid growing up in an abusive household, these books had themes of protecting yourself in an emotionally unsafe environment by keeping pieces of your inner self safe and hidden that were incredibly helpful and formative for me. Another more recent (late '90s) classic is Holes by Louis Sachar. An all time favorite, it's one of the most satisfying books I've ever read.
I was around 10 when I read Little Women and then Little Men. What got me into mystery was The Three Investigators, these books were older than me I think they were published in the 50's or 60's, but I adored them. I will eventually read the books that Shirley Temple starred in such as Heidi, Little Princess, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. When I was younger I used to watch Shirley Temple movies with my grandma not realizing some of these were books. I knew Anne of Green Gables was a book, still haven't read it and I thought Pippi Longstocking for the longest time was just a TV show that I adored. There are so many classics out there that still hold up especially Black Beauty. I might still have my paperback of it, but it broke my heart, too, and love the drawing of the horse, so cute. 😊❤️❤️❤️
Oh I really enjoyed watching this! I didn't grow up reading books for enjoyment. First half of my childhood was just trying to learn English as an immigrant, then once I achieved this reading became an academic practice for me, and I sucked at academics! 🤣 This gives me nostalgic yearning.... I think I'm going to add some of these on my Summer TBR. Thank you! 💕
In a live stream, you mentioned you had a negative experience with Baum's Oz series. I finished off his original series two evenings ago, and I'm still raving about it. There are so many amazing things about this children's series that make me want to recommend it; namely, the main characters in each book. They offer something whimsical about them that makes you end up loving them, especially the Patchwork Doll. Then I started the continuation books written by Ruth Plumly Thomson, and it's so uncanny how she kept the nature of the original books in the ones she penned. It's almost like Baum's soul went right into her! The great thing about the series, as there are so many books in the official series, is that you could start anywhere and you would be perfectly fine. I know for a fact that Baum likes to incorporate brief mentions of what happened in prior books, but he does it in a way where you don't feel guilty about starting in book seven (for instance). Thompson did do this in The Royal Book of Oz, but I can't say her artistry in doing that is well-done, as I want to read more before I can make that conclusion. Read Oz, if you want a great introduction to classics!
*personalised childrens books* - themed for the child's liking make for nice books to give to children while young, and you'd have a high chance of piquing their interest
Number the Stars reminds me of Anne Frank’s Diary, written during WWII by a Dutch Jewish girl, documenting her life in hiding and subsequent discovery by germans. I had to read that in school, I remember it being heartbreaking.
YES, I probably should have thrown the Anne Frank in there-- I was thinking about non-fiction and decided to just keep it fiction, but it's definitely a classic
I remember reading Black Beauty when I was 9 years old. It was then that I started my love affair with reading. What a beautiful book. I have never read Heidi, but will pick it up now that you’ve recommended it!
I recently read The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, which was considered for children, but there is quite brutal content in it, so nowadays it is more for adults I think. I loved it so much, it’s so underrated. I would recommend finding an audiobook to listen along whilst reading it, because the dialogue in this book is actually 16th century language (Shakespeare language), which is can be hard to follow. This is also an example of a classic historical fiction as it was written in the 1880.
Charlotte’s Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Watership Down were some of my favs ❤️ Also, I read The Chrysalids in school and totally didn’t get it...recently reread it and was like, whoa!
oooo Mara!! Another thing I have in common with you is Black Beauty being an important book in our reading life (the first of course our love for Ilona Andrews :P )!!! I actually feel Black Beauty was probably THE book that started my love for reading!
Roald Dahl books are a great place to start with kids, very entertaining but also can deal with some heavier and darker themes. Een kids who don't think they like reading enjoy them.
I read Heidi and The Little Princess over and over as a child. I just loved them. I also loved the Little House books, but they haven't aged as well in some areas.
They really haven't. Although, they could open some avenues of conversation (like, around the treatment of Native Americans then, and the lasting repercussions today). They are still a part of my heart, as books that were among those that made me a Reader.
Yes, Black Beauty! People rarely take me seriously when I say this, but the chapter about the old war horse in Black Beauty is such a masterwork of how to tell an anti-war story for all ages. I blame all the not-even-remotely-similar-to-the-book adaptations that are out there (basically all of them except for the '94 version) for misleading people about what kind of story Black Beauty actually tells.
It TOTALLY is!! It's got such a strong moral core that doesn't have a strong religious element-- which I think is unusual for the time period, but was very formative to me as a child
I feel in Italy hardly anyone has read Heidi but mostly everyone has seen the Japanese anime adaptation (direction by Miyazaki, jfy) because it's been periodically aired for like 35 years ahah
It's so interesting because I'm realizing how much my taste in books has been pretty persistent. I kind of hated some of these as a kid because I found them disturbing or unsettling (especially Black Beauty and Johnny Tremaine, but also beloved books like Island of the Blue Dolphins and Where the Red Fern Grows) but I loved Narnia, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, A Wrinkle in Time, The Westing Game, and The Giver. But also Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Borrowers, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Wizard of Oz. And surprise! I still love books about magic, adventure, and dystopian ideas. But I still don't like books about grief, animals, or survival stories.
Hellooo!! Loved the video! Have Black Beauty a sad ending?? Because if the horse is not loved at the end I will no read it (too painful, for me). I guess it's spoiler, but I need to know! E.
Great recommendations. Jack London's White Fang and other books were my favourite animal stories. I much prefered Emily of New Moon to Anne of Green Gables. L.M. Montgomery also wrote Sara series about a storyteller and Marigold which is an awesome story from an imaginative child's point of view. I also loved The Secret Garden as a child. Some other fantasy recommendations are Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, Wizard of Oz and sequels, Neverending Story by Michael Ende and The Little Prince by Antoine Exupery (sp?). For younger children/MG, Moomins by Tove Jansson and Astrid Lindgren's Ronia the Robber's daughter and Brothers Lionheart are great.
I wonder whether my difficulty with grasping fiction with strong social subtext, like Jane Austen's works, is from me being kinda autistic or something. Social rules are nothing but made belief fudging BS to me. Yet they are ever so prevalent in adult classics. Just gotta read children classics, I suppose.
Oof... I tried rereading Heidi and Little Women this year and the heavy-handed religiosity and straight up preaching became too much for me. I get that there are reasons and discussion that could be had about the WHY of it all, but I'm also at a point where I'd rather just enjoy the movie and skip the sermon. So yeah, those two books have taken a swan dive off my personal list of "favorite children's classics". I personally find them problematic and feel that these issues will eventually turn the tide of public opinion against the unabridged versions - which is interesting because probably one of the reasons they've survived the years with "classic" status is because they have religious themes and teachings. 🤔🤷♀️
Fair enough! I'm pretty used to those messages being woven into older books, so it doesn't usually impede my personal enjoyment, but a very understandable perspective
oooo Mara!! Another thing I have in common with you is Black Beauty being an important book in our reading life (the first of course our love for Ilona Andrews :P )!!! I actually feel Black Beauty was probably THE book that started my love for reading!
Charlotte's Web. E.B. White's descriptions are so good, you can almost smell that farm and I appreciate how the story can make anyone of any age cry.
Yes. Currently reading this to my daughter.
Aw, YES, Charlotte! I love the cartoon just as much
The Secret Garden has my whole ass heart
My faves that I always give as shower gifts are Anne of Green Gables and Wind in the Willows
Heidi and Heidi's Children were some of my first classics as a kid, and I adored them. I don't see them getting talked about much online.
Your horse drawing!!🥰 Books, what a wonderful way to visit with the younger you.
Believe it or not, I've wanted this type of video for so long---of someone talking about classics aimed at a younger audience. You read my mind! Thanks Mara!
Glad this hit the spot!
A Wrinkle in Time...the first time I heard of mitochondria. So good. I also remember reading Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott Odell around the same age.
2 of my favorites! So many great books!
thanks for including I Capture the Castle
Read The Wind in the Willows to very young kids. It’s really fun to read aloud!
My favorite classic childrens literature book is The Railway Series.
Heidi was actually the first novel I ever read. I remember being so proud of myself for getting through it by myself and it's like a cornerstone of my reading identity. You talking about it opened a floodgate of memories and now I really want to reread it
Me too
I totally agree with the Little Women pick! I had a _gorgeous_ illustrated edition of it as a really young kid that I reread many times. At that time, I loved it primarily for all the pretty dresses that were in that edition. Later, as I young teen, I picked up a full edition and still loved it, but that time I loved it for the sisterly and familial bonds that were are in it and the found family trope that was both so sad and happy at the same time in Jo's Boys 🥺
My copy of Tolkien's The Hobbit explicitly mentioned how he wanted to bridge the gap for younger kids to start reading the classics! And I think it does a lovely job with that!
And I think Bilbo is such a great character! The little guy who always schemes, and plans, and thinks his way out of trouble! Whose really afraid but does it anyway. I just really loved that book!!
Funnily enough, I loved The Hobbit as an adult but did not enjoy it as a kid! I didn't get why Bilbo was so uptight about his house... I get it now :D
@@bookslikewhoa when I got really excited about a new kitchen appliance... I understood too! xD
I loved Johnny Tremain as a kid. Maybe time for a reread.
My favorites were Little Women and Anne of Green Gables
I love classic children’s literature!! My favorites are The Secret Garden, The Chronicles of Narnia, Little Women, Charlotte’s Web and The Little Prince 🥰
The Magic Faraway Tree Series by Enid Blyton is the reason I became a reader. Absolutely beautiful.
I love classic children's literature!
I'm suprised how many of those I haven't read, or even haven't heard of! I've read quite a lot of children classics when I was learning English, and didn't feel confident enough to read adult.
Recently I re-read Winnie the Pooh, which is the sweetest little story (I recommend the audiobook!), and my absolute favourite would be the Moomins. It isn't as well known in US, which is a pity.
Next on my list would be the Little Prince and everything by Astrid Lindgren.
I still have a fondness for what I would call children's classics, but maybe some wouldn't label them. The Bobbsey Twins, Boxcar Children, and the amazing Little House on the Prairie series. I found myself re-reading all of those books well into my adulthood.
Heidi was the first book as a kid i stayed up all night reading. Number the stars i read as a kid and has such memories for me. How she held her friends star of david in her hand so tightly it left imprint on her hand.
This year I have caught up on some children’s classics. There’s nothing like a woman in her 60s crying over Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden.
I mean, if you can read those without crying, it may mean you're dead inside :D
Ugh Anne of Green Gables is just so good.
🫶👋
My top recommendations :
+ Almost anything Roald Dahl, but especially Matilda, the witches and horrible rhymes of you want to get them into poetry!
There's just something about his writing that's sometimes a bit gross, or scary, or violent. But it always clicked with me as a kid, and with the classes I've read them to. They always can't wait till I read some more the next day!!
I'm Dutch and some of the great classics I think anyone should read to kids are :
+ Winter in wartime, by Jan Terlouw. First hand experiences of a kid in the winter of famine at the end of the war. It has everything I would teach a kid about the war. It's not as good v.s. Evil as most of these books are. War is hell for everyone involved and we should do what we can to stop it is its closing message.
+Jan terlouw also did "how to be a king," my favourite children's book. It's about a kid who wants to be king but has to basically do a 12 works of Hercules to get there. It has brilliant philosophical ideas and questions wrapped in really cool adventures with clever solutions. Just terrific in every way!
+ I like almost anything by Jaques Vrienz who was a terrific cooky teacher writing about things that his students went through. His most famous work is 8th graders don't cry. A story about a class where one of the classmates gets leukemia. It's beautiful! (he has books for all ages, thankfully most of them are very funny and lighthearted as well. )
+my final recommendation is Paul van Loon. He's like the kids Stephen King. These books can be cute and adventurous (Alfie the werewolf), to downright horror vignettes dressed up with a central story (de griezelbus/the gruesome schooltrip). The last one doesn't seem to be translated into English, but did get Chinese, Korean, French and Italian translations... Weird! It's about the most read book in primary schools xD
My son is 8 and we’re reading Charlie and the Chocolate factory by Roald Dahl and it’s just a delight so far. I’d never think to read it but I’ve always loved the movie.
Oh that's so great to hear! Hope he enjoys them just as much as I did when I was his age!
I always loved Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz and The Wind in the Willows . Probably, in part, explains my love for all things Disney. 😂
I started Anne of green gables series this year (I´m 27) and I love it so much as the kid i have inside and as an adult. For spanish literature as a kid I love the Natasha series from Luis Pescetti. And of course Sherlock Holmes!
I love the new series of classic rec so nice 👍
Ooo, never heard of the Luis Pescetti books... it's humbling to realize how many amazing books I've never even heard of before! :)
@@bookslikewhoa to many books so little time. I don't know if Pescetti is classic but it something that i really enjoy reading as a kid. And is a series that i always recommend to kids.
When I was 10 or so, our family went to Boston for vacation. I remember vividly buying a copy of Johnny Tremain for my vacation souvenir. I loved that book, and a couple of years ago reread it. I can happily say it still held up all these years later. The other book that was a childhood favorite is Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates.
Some I haven’t seen mentioned, but might have missed:
-Mary Norton’s Borrower series
-Peter S. Beagles’ The Last Unicorn and Tamsin (this might be more YA)
-Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
-The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy
-The Green Knowe books by LM Boston
-Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
-The King of Ireland’s Son by Padraic Colum
Yes! The borrowers is really good
i was surprised to not see a more, idk, classic classics on this list? books like mary poppins and winnie the pooh and peter pan are what got me into reading when I was a child. same with wizard of oz and alice books [although i wouldn't consider alice books to be children's per ce]
and as smb who reread winnie the pooh books and alice books this year, I can definitely say they hold up excellent for a 25+ reader as myself
I hear you-- since I always do these recs by genre, it was harder to get more really old books in there since SO MANY of them are either animal books or coming of age type stories :D
Love the video! Brings to mind many beloved childhood books. I rewatched your other two How to Start with Classics videos. Thank you for the warning on Wide Sargasso Sea! I had planned to read that before Jane Eyre, but will correct my reading plan 🙂
My all time favs are Fantastic Mr. Fox and anything Pippy Longstocking.
Thank you for this video. These books bring back fond memories.
Glad you enjoyed it!
My favorites is A tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Secret Garden. I taught fifth grade where the Revolutionary War is taught. We all tried Johnny Tremain and couldn’t bridge the vocabulary and keep the story flowing. Maybe because we have a lot of second language speakers in our classes. I was able to teach Greek Mythology and A Secret Garden. Pippi was popular too
the secret garden and the little princess
The Railway Children is a firm favourite! Have you ever read it?
I have not! So many great kids' classics out there :)
I loved this! So nostalgic - many of these are favorites of mine. I think I would send someone who wanted to start to The Secret Garden - still a favorite, and I think very approachable. (And I love that edition of Heidi you have!)
I just read Nevertell by Katharine Orton . It was very sweet. I would recommend it.
Nice video on the classics for kids. I wish I would have had access to all of these when I was growing up.
There are lot of good recommendations in the chat!
Another coming of age children's series I enjoyed was What Katy Did (The Katy Books series).
The books that I started reading with were The Boxcar Children! I loved the original series, but the newer ones aren't as good. Some other great ones are Philip Pullman's "His Dark materials" series, Roald Dahl's children's novels, the little prince, Winnie the Pooh, chronicles of narnia, Alice in wonderland, the wizard of oz series, and Oscar Wilde's short stories. All things that were such a big part of my childhood. One series that's probably for a little older, maybe elementary school age, is Brian Jacques' Redwall series, absolutely lovely series that I adore and still read to this day.
Omg 😮 some of my favourite classic books 📚 love them and this video please stay safe love from Australia
This video made me feel so nostalgic! Beatrix Potter made me think of the Brambly Hedge series of books (from the '80s-ish, I think?). They're also more aimed toward a slightly younger age, but they're so cozy and charming, and they're also also about animals (mice, mainly). I remember I had a collection of the Seasons stories as a kid and loved it so much.
Another favorite is the Moomintroll books by Tove Jansson. Really sweet stories about a collection of fantasy creatures, mostly from the 1940s or so. I think they're the type of children's lit that is aimed at kids, but is a lovely light read for an adult as well (although I fully admit to having nostalgia goggles for this series!)
Shabanu and Haveli I remember being really important to me when I read them. As a kid growing up in an abusive household, these books had themes of protecting yourself in an emotionally unsafe environment by keeping pieces of your inner self safe and hidden that were incredibly helpful and formative for me.
Another more recent (late '90s) classic is Holes by Louis Sachar. An all time favorite, it's one of the most satisfying books I've ever read.
I was around 10 when I read Little Women and then Little Men. What got me into mystery was The Three Investigators, these books were older than me I think they were published in the 50's or 60's, but I adored them.
I will eventually read the books that Shirley Temple starred in such as Heidi, Little Princess, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. When I was younger I used to watch Shirley Temple movies with my grandma not realizing some of these were books.
I knew Anne of Green Gables was a book, still haven't read it and I thought Pippi Longstocking for the longest time was just a TV show that I adored.
There are so many classics out there that still hold up especially Black Beauty. I might still have my paperback of it, but it broke my heart, too, and love the drawing of the horse, so cute. 😊❤️❤️❤️
Oh I really enjoyed watching this! I didn't grow up reading books for enjoyment. First half of my childhood was just trying to learn English as an immigrant, then once I achieved this reading became an academic practice for me, and I sucked at academics! 🤣 This gives me nostalgic yearning.... I think I'm going to add some of these on my Summer TBR. Thank you! 💕
Enjoy diving back into your childhood! It's a great strategy for summer reading :)
I strongly suspect that Beatrix Potter would love that you drew all over her books.
The first novel I read (at the age of 4) was Sans famille, by Hector Malot. I haven't reread it, but perhaps I should.
In a live stream, you mentioned you had a negative experience with Baum's Oz series. I finished off his original series two evenings ago, and I'm still raving about it. There are so many amazing things about this children's series that make me want to recommend it; namely, the main characters in each book. They offer something whimsical about them that makes you end up loving them, especially the Patchwork Doll.
Then I started the continuation books written by Ruth Plumly Thomson, and it's so uncanny how she kept the nature of the original books in the ones she penned. It's almost like Baum's soul went right into her! The great thing about the series, as there are so many books in the official series, is that you could start anywhere and you would be perfectly fine. I know for a fact that Baum likes to incorporate brief mentions of what happened in prior books, but he does it in a way where you don't feel guilty about starting in book seven (for instance). Thompson did do this in The Royal Book of Oz, but I can't say her artistry in doing that is well-done, as I want to read more before I can make that conclusion.
Read Oz, if you want a great introduction to classics!
I'm so glad you've enjoyed your Oz journey! They aren't my favs, but they are definitely classics for a reason :)
*personalised childrens books* - themed for the child's liking make for nice books to give to children while young, and you'd have a high chance of piquing their interest
Number the Stars reminds me of Anne Frank’s Diary, written during WWII by a Dutch Jewish girl, documenting her life in hiding and subsequent discovery by germans. I had to read that in school, I remember it being heartbreaking.
YES, I probably should have thrown the Anne Frank in there-- I was thinking about non-fiction and decided to just keep it fiction, but it's definitely a classic
Omg, those Heidi, Anne and Little Women covers... Books to cherish ❤️
The Puffin in Bloom series is gorgeous!!
I remember reading Black Beauty when I was 9 years old. It was then that I started my love affair with reading. What a beautiful book. I have never read Heidi, but will pick it up now that you’ve recommended it!
I recently read The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, which was considered for children, but there is quite brutal content in it, so nowadays it is more for adults I think. I loved it so much, it’s so underrated. I would recommend finding an audiobook to listen along whilst reading it, because the dialogue in this book is actually 16th century language (Shakespeare language), which is can be hard to follow. This is also an example of a classic historical fiction as it was written in the 1880.
Oh yeah, I always forget that was technically for kids!
My daughter loves Historical Fiction books. Are there any other classics like Johnny Tremain?
Charlotte’s Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Watership Down were some of my favs ❤️ Also, I read The Chrysalids in school and totally didn’t get it...recently reread it and was like, whoa!
oooo Mara!! Another thing I have in common with you is Black Beauty being an important book in our reading life (the first of course our love for Ilona Andrews :P )!!! I actually feel Black Beauty was probably THE book that started my love for reading!
It's such a lovely book!
@@bookslikewhoa it is! Makes me smile cry every time I re-read!
Roald Dahl books are a great place to start with kids, very entertaining but also can deal with some heavier and darker themes. Een kids who don't think they like reading enjoy them.
I read Heidi and The Little Princess over and over as a child. I just loved them. I also loved the Little House books, but they haven't aged as well in some areas.
They really haven't. Although, they could open some avenues of conversation (like, around the treatment of Native Americans then, and the lasting repercussions today). They are still a part of my heart, as books that were among those that made me a Reader.
Yeah, I enjoyed the Little House series, but didn't include it for that very reason :/
Hi, have you read Emily of New Moon? If so, would you recommend it more than Anne of Green Gables?? 😄
I would! I do love Anne (all 8 of the books in the series), but Emily was the darker, angsty-er trilogy that stole my heart as a young teen.
Alas, I haven't read that one!
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basel E. Frankweiler.
Lassie Come-Home ❤
Yes, Black Beauty! People rarely take me seriously when I say this, but the chapter about the old war horse in Black Beauty is such a masterwork of how to tell an anti-war story for all ages. I blame all the not-even-remotely-similar-to-the-book adaptations that are out there (basically all of them except for the '94 version) for misleading people about what kind of story Black Beauty actually tells.
It TOTALLY is!! It's got such a strong moral core that doesn't have a strong religious element-- which I think is unusual for the time period, but was very formative to me as a child
I feel in Italy hardly anyone has read Heidi but mostly everyone has seen the Japanese anime adaptation (direction by Miyazaki, jfy) because it's been periodically aired for like 35 years ahah
Hi! I love your channel❣
Thank you!
Omg I'm early!! Hi Mara!! ❤️
It's so interesting because I'm realizing how much my taste in books has been pretty persistent. I kind of hated some of these as a kid because I found them disturbing or unsettling (especially Black Beauty and Johnny Tremaine, but also beloved books like Island of the Blue Dolphins and Where the Red Fern Grows) but I loved Narnia, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, A Wrinkle in Time, The Westing Game, and The Giver. But also Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Borrowers, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Wizard of Oz. And surprise! I still love books about magic, adventure, and dystopian ideas. But I still don't like books about grief, animals, or survival stories.
Yeah, if you're not into sad orphans or animals, the traditional children's classics aren't going to have a ton for you :D :D
Hellooo!! Loved the video!
Have Black Beauty a sad ending?? Because if the horse is not loved at the end I will no read it (too painful, for me). I guess it's spoiler, but I need to know!
E.
SPOILERS --
no, it is a mostly happy ending, though it is a very sad journey to get there. Expect tears!
Any children's classics within puffin classics are a recommendation
Loved this video thank you so much
Solid list, although I'd probably add Alice in Wonderland, Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree books and The Outsiders
Great additions! There are so many wonderful children's books out there
@@bookslikewhoa You can't make me choose!
Great recommendations. Jack London's White Fang and other books were my favourite animal stories. I much prefered Emily of New Moon to Anne of Green Gables. L.M. Montgomery also wrote Sara series about a storyteller and Marigold which is an awesome story from an imaginative child's point of view. I also loved The Secret Garden as a child.
Some other fantasy recommendations are Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, Wizard of Oz and sequels, Neverending Story by Michael Ende and The Little Prince by Antoine Exupery (sp?).
For younger children/MG, Moomins by Tove Jansson and Astrid Lindgren's Ronia the Robber's daughter and Brothers Lionheart are great.
Alice’s adventures in wonderland>>>
Childrens classics rule.
If you didn't have Black Beauty on here I was gonna revoke your friendship license. Bless.
I wonder whether my difficulty with grasping fiction with strong social subtext, like Jane Austen's works, is from me being kinda autistic or something. Social rules are nothing but made belief fudging BS to me. Yet they are ever so prevalent in adult classics. Just gotta read children classics, I suppose.
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anne frank\
Oof... I tried rereading Heidi and Little Women this year and the heavy-handed religiosity and straight up preaching became too much for me. I get that there are reasons and discussion that could be had about the WHY of it all, but I'm also at a point where I'd rather just enjoy the movie and skip the sermon. So yeah, those two books have taken a swan dive off my personal list of "favorite children's classics". I personally find them problematic and feel that these issues will eventually turn the tide of public opinion against the unabridged versions - which is interesting because probably one of the reasons they've survived the years with "classic" status is because they have religious themes and teachings. 🤔🤷♀️
Fair enough! I'm pretty used to those messages being woven into older books, so it doesn't usually impede my personal enjoyment, but a very understandable perspective
oooo Mara!! Another thing I have in common with you is Black Beauty being an important book in our reading life (the first of course our love for Ilona Andrews :P )!!! I actually feel Black Beauty was probably THE book that started my love for reading!