10 Amazing Books That Every Child Should Read or Have Read to Them

• Charlotte´s Web
  This classic tale of a doomed pig and his spider friend is one that no child should miss. Wilbur, the pig is such a lovable character and his attempts to live up to the wonderful words that Charlotte, the spider, writes about him in an effort to save him from the slaughterhouse, are truly adorable.

• Miss Osborne the Mop
  by Wilson Gage My mother introduced this book to me as one of her childhood favorites. She read it aloud to us and the story captured our attention. It is full of magic and adventure as a group of cousins discover that one of them has magical powers to create anything she desires from common, everyday objects, simply by thinking about it. But the magic goes hideously wrong when they create a cleaning lady out of an old mop . . . who turns out to be more like a strict teacher they know!

• Where the Red Fern Grows
  by Wilson Rawls This is more for older children, as it is a coming of age story. A young boy trains up two coon hounds and takes them out hunting, which sounds normal enough, but his struggles to deal with bullies and poverty, as well as the accidental death of one of his enemies, is riveting.

• Pippi Longstocking
  by Astrid Lindgren What child wouldn´t love to live on their own, with a horse and a monkey? That´s what Pippi does, after her father heads off to the South Seas. This frightfully undisciplined child with the stickout red pigtails quickly befriends her neighbors, a brother and sister, and leads them on a series of wildly funny adventures. There are a whole string of books in the Pippi Longstocking series, including Pippi in the South Seas and more.

• The Borrowers
  by Mary Norton, Beth Krush, and Joe Krush This story of some very small beings is a classic. The Borrowers are miniature people who live in the house of real people. They "borrow" items like matchboxes and stools to make their furniture and have all manner of fun little conversions. The cat is their dread enemy and "human beans" are considered terribly dangerous. Then, one day, Arriety, the youngest of the Borrowers, dares to let herself be seen by a boy. The friendship that ensues is quite forbidden and eventually leads to a terrible climax. This is just the first in a series of books, including The Borrowers Afield, The Borrowers Adrift, The Borrowers Avenged and The Borrowers Aloft.

• Little Men
  by Louisa May Alcott Little Men is the charming tale of an orphanage almost entirely populated by boys. Some of them are young and naive, others are hardened and difficult. Their adventures are recounted in this highly recommended book that is ideal for boys and girls to read.

• The Mouse and the Motorcycle
  by Beverly Cleary I LOVED this book as a child! Ralph is a little mouse who lives in a hotel. When he chances upon a human boy one day, who has toy cars and a motorcycle, he learns that he can actually make the vehicles run by making the noise with his mouth! Needless to say, this leads to some wild adventures, with a daredevil mouse racing his new motorcycle up and down the halls at midnight! There are two other books in this trilogy, which are equally delightful, Ralph S. Mouse and Runaway Ralph. I recommend reading all three.

• The Giver
  by Lois Lowry This is a fairly serious story of a boy who lives in a very strange world of black and white, where everyone is happy . . . but at what cost? When young Jonah turns 12, he discovers the secret behind his perfect world as he is trained to become the next Receiver of Memories. The memories he receives are ones that no one in his world is fit to view, memories of color and cold, both fascinating and painful at the same time. It is a truly wonderful adventure.

• Island of the Blue Dolphins
  by Scott O´Dell This is the hauntingly beautiful story of a young native American girl who stays behind on her island to stay with her brother when their tribe is being evacuated. When her brother dies, Karana ends up living alone on the island for nearly 2 decades. It is based on a true story, which makes it that much more interesting.

• Hatchet
  by Gary Paulsen Another survival story. When 13 year old Brian is in a small plane that crashes, he has to survive alone in the woods. He learns to curb his impatience and calm himself, thinking things through before acting. In the wilderness, acting without thinking can get you killed, as he quickly learns. Brian loses everything in the lake where the plane goes down, except a hatchet that his mother gave him as a gift, hence the name. This is more for older kids, but it is pretty interesting, even for 10 year olds and up.

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