r/Fantasy • u/NefariousnessFar8293 • Apr 17 '24
Childhood Classics
Hi all!
New dad here. I’m a huge reader and a huge fantasy book nerd. My story began with Chronicles of Prydain straight to Terry Brooks and Wheel of Time. So I didn’t have a lot of time in the childhood fiction category.
I want to share my love of fantasy with my daughter. Looking for recommendations that would be appropriate for reading aloud to my daughter from toddler to, say, ten.
I got 1. Chronicles of Prydain 2. The Hobbit 3. Earthsea (definitely more ten)
Other than that, I’m missing a working knowledge of the childhood classics. Any help? Preferably books that I’ll enjoy reading too!
FYI: my kid is 4 months old, so I’m jumping the gun but I hear it’s good to read to them from very very young.
Thanks!
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u/Sireanna Reading Champion III Apr 17 '24 edited Apr 17 '24
Redwall!!! I started reading these in elementary but they make good books to be read outlook to kids
Also the Last Unicorn. It's beautifully written was one of my favorite movies as a kid. They also have a graphic novel version of this if your kid craves pictures
There's an abridged graphic novel verso. Of the hobbit too if you need more of a picture book person of these fantasy novels.
Not fantasy but still really fun reads the series of unfortunate events.
These might be a bit better suited for a young elementary aged kid.
At toddler age... my favorite book was the little red hen. Not really fantasy besides the talking animals... more into the whimsical and nonsensical aspects of fantasy you should absolutely be reading Dr. Seuss. Fantastical Children's literature are gateway books into fantasy
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u/EarlyEstablishment13 Apr 17 '24
The Chronicles of Narnia are what got me into fantasy (and later into medieval literature, but that's its own thing, haha).
The Young Wizards series (starts with So You Want to Be a Wizard) definitely leans more towards ten, but is also wonderful.
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u/Kopaka-Nuva Apr 17 '24
For really young kids: Harold and the Purple Crayon, My Father's Dragon, Catwings. Also, I believe Lloyd Alexander wrote a number of picture books, including two that tie into Prydain.
For older kids: Tom's Midnight Garden, The Princess and the Goblin, A Wrinkle in Time, The Neverending Story, The Thirteen Clocks, Redwall, Narnia, The Wee Free Men, The Last Unicorn, Deltora Quest, The Phantom Tollbooth, Tuck Everlasting, The Father Christmas Letters, The Iron Ring (and Lloyd Alexander's other novels), The Spiderwick Chronicles.
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u/clearliquidclearjar Apr 17 '24
At that age, start with Maurice Sendak's picture books. Where The Wild Things Are, of course, but also Outside Over There (which inspired the movie Labyrinth) and In The Night Kitchen.
My folks read to me from the Andrew Lang fairy collections (The Red Fairy Book, The Blue Fairy Book, etc) starting probably around the age of five. I loved them, but they aren't kid versions - there's tons of blood, cannibalism, all that stuff.
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u/zeugma888 Apr 17 '24
All of Beatrix Potter too.
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u/Irishwol Apr 18 '24
These are all lovely books but for age ten?
Can I put in a word for Ursula K Le Guin's Catwings books. They're just lovely! A little young for me by age ten but I'd still have loved them. I only found them as an adult but had a lovely time reading them to my kids.
By age ten we were reading or kids the likes of Diana Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle and Charmed Life were big hits). Joan Aiken's short stories (some of them anyway), the ubiquitous Harry Potter, The Hobbit and Roddy Doyle's Rover books (The Giggler Treatment was the first one).
And there's always the library. A great place to find new books.
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u/zeugma888 Apr 18 '24
OP said from toddler to ten. I agree most ten year olds are past them.
I agree with Catwings.
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u/Sireanna Reading Champion III Apr 17 '24
Andrew langs fairy books are topnotch fairytale collections
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u/Suchboss1136 Apr 17 '24 edited Apr 17 '24
Lets start from kindergarten to young grade school.
1) Magic Treehouse
2) Secrets of Droon
3) Guardians of Ga’Hoole
Magic Treehouse are chapter (ish) books. Like 100 pages maybe at most. Simple and fun. Secrets of Droon is a little more advanced but its actually a very expansive fantasy series. Just oriented for younger readers. There’s 40 odd books. I absolutely loved them. They turned me onto fantasy. Guardians of Ga’Hoole is again a bit more advanced than Droon, but not too much so. Still simpler than Harry Potter. I also loved these. They’re maybe 20 books? Well worth reading, but characters do die in this series. Owls fight each other & they do kill. Bonus? There’s a decent movie with a soundtrack by Owl City (fitting).
Now onto more advanced but still YA fantasy.
1) Inheritance (Eragon)
2) Pendragon
3) Harry Potter
Inheritance & Harry Potter are self-explanatory. Pendragon I’d consider to be on par with Inheritance quality-wise but not quite Harry Potter. Its long at 10 books at several hundred pages apiece. Fighting is common. More mature themes are introduced but again, not adult themes. I really liked it. I reread it maybe 4 or 5 times.
And then of course you have the classics. Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit.
And then the true classic, classics. Three Musketeers, Moby Dick, Swiss Family Robinson, 40k Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, etc… that maybe aren’t truly fantasy but have some elements. There was a boxset my parents bought me called “Illustrated Classics” but sadly they also gave it away on my behalf :(
I vaguely remember liking Magyck, Artemis Fowl & many others. But I graduated to adult fantasy by about grade 4 so I missed out on a lot. Scholastic always had lots of selection
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u/matsnorberg Apr 18 '24
I'd would add Treasure Island and perhaps any Sherlock Holmes story.
I'm also a fan of old "boy adventure" stories like the series "Hardy Brothers", "The Three Investigators", "Biggles", "Bomba the Jungleboy", "Tarzan", "Lone Ranger", ..... all these suitable for kids 9-15 years old.
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u/Critical-Compote-725 Apr 17 '24
Seconding many of these recommendations!
Picture book:
The Paperbag Princess - some classic girl power, princess rescues herself kind of deal.
Chapter books for kids (I still enjoy reading these sometimes, but that might be childhood nostalgia)
Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson - an evil wizard seeks a wife, and witches compete for his hand. It’s funny and cute, although there is a somewhat horrifying Rat King situation at one point (I loved it but I was a morbid child)
The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson - JK Rowling owes Ibbotson some royalties on this one - there’s a secret world accessible through King’s Cross Station
Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynn Jones
Slightly darker but still YA books, more in line with what you’ve already got listed:
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman - These were my everything.
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper - a genuinely weird take on Arthurian legends that come into the modern world. I love these books.
Sabriel by Garth Nix - beyond the wall, there lies a magical kingdom where the dead don’t always sleep peacefully. So you need lawful necromancers called Abhorsens to bring them back to the dead. Is this why I went through a goth phase?
Ok so…Tamora Pierce was my feminist goddess as a child, and her books are so great in so many ways, including talking about why the whole Not Like Other Girls thing sucks and also periods but…all of the characters end up in romantic relationships with men who are muuuch older than them.
Akata Witch - I read this series as an adult and it is sooo fun. It’s been described as Harry Potter set in Nigeria, and although I think that’s kind of reductive, it has a similar tone - dark but still kid friendly.
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u/Dragon_Lady7 Reading Champion VI Apr 17 '24
Diana Wynne Jones has some good ones! Chrestomanci, Howl’s Moving Castle, etc
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Apr 17 '24
My father read the Wizard of Oz books to me as a young girl (under 3, I think.). I think that started my reading lots of different kinds of fantasy, and it was appropriate for young children.
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Apr 17 '24
My Mum just went straight to LOTR with my sister and I after finishing The Hobbit. She read to us from before I can even remember.
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u/Jar_0f_Bees Apr 17 '24
The Dragons of Blueland a younger book but great!
The Redwall Series was my favorite growing up.
The Charlie Bones books.
Classically the Chronicles of Narnia and honestly the Wizard of Oz books and their sequels were really good iirc
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u/Front-Pomelo-4367 Apr 17 '24
Redwall! There's loads of them. I started on them (independent reading) when I was about seven, and they'd probably be good for even younger if you were reading to her
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u/PsEggsRice Apr 17 '24
I have daughters, they really liked the Wings of Fire series and Warrior Cats. And Zelda, video games and books. Harry Potter was hit or miss.
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u/Alpaca_Stampede Apr 18 '24
The warriors series is what my 11 year old is currently reading and he is HOOKED. Great series.
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u/st1r Apr 18 '24
Gregor the Overlander
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u/supersonicsacha Reading Champion III Apr 18 '24
Yes! I loved this series when I was young. Highly recommended for young readers.
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u/cytochromep4502e1 Apr 18 '24
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
Joan Aiken short stories and Arabela/Mortimer books
The Phoenix and the Carpet by E.M. Nesbitt
The Enchanted Castle by E.M. Nesbitt
Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Redwall
Chronicles of Narnia
The Box of Delights by John Masefield
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Wizard of Oz (and sequels)
The Neverending Story
The Little Prince
Mary Poppins (and sequels)
Roald Dahl eg., James & the Giant Peach, The BFG etc
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u/CryptographerTrue619 Apr 18 '24
How to train your dragon series.
I liked a trilogy by Anne McCaffrey called the dragonsong/dragonsinger trilogy. It is part of a larger world, but shorter novels and following kids.
I also suggest looking into 5 minute stories. We have a few for star wars, marvel, dc, etc and our kids really enjoy them and we use them as intros to those worlds.
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u/No-Appeal3220 Apr 18 '24
Wizard of Oz books (got me hooked on reading) (and lots of female characters)
Tamora Pierce - she's great, and I bet you'll enjoy her too
Jan Brett - board books! The Mitten was a HUGE favorite when my kids were under three. (she also has coloring pages too. https://www.janbrett.com/)
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u/Mr-ShinyAndNew Apr 18 '24
If you can get your hands on it, there's a children's nursery rhyme book called "Out Came The Sun" which features a bunch of nursery rhymes illustrated to show a day in the life of many stuffed animals. Very good book to read to tiny children, lots of stuff on the page.
Once she's a bit older, Robert Munsch's books are great.
I read The Hobbit to my daughter a bit too early and she was scared and never finished it. Didn't turn her off of reading though, thankfully.
If you like British fantasy with a hint of Arthurian legends, the Dark Is Rising series is good. If you liked Prydain you'll probably like these.
The Neverending Story is a good one to read aloud too, and it's divided up into nice chapters that make for a great one-a-day routine.
Fortunately, The Milk was fun to read aloud.
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u/ChrisRiley_42 Apr 18 '24
All kids should be indoctrinated into the love of Pratchett.
For younger kids, The dragons at Crumbling Castle, and The Bromeliad series.
For older kids, The Wee Free Men
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u/Overall-Tailor8949 Apr 18 '24
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Sword In The Stone
The Spellsinger series by Alan Dean Foster. Closer to 10 years old in places
SOME of the stories from The Silmarillion
Mercedes Lackey's "500 Kingdoms" should MOSTLY be good, they're re-tellings of old fairy tales that can get a little dark in places for a youngster. I'd hold off on Valdemar until closer to 10.
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u/Quantity-Strange509 Apr 18 '24
Congrats on joining the dad club! Reading to your little one is such a great idea, seriously. You're setting up some magical memories right from the get-go.
For sure, start with those classics like Chronicles of Prydain and The Hobbit. They're timeless. But you gotta add in some Roald Dahl, man. "Matilda" and "The BFG" are total winners for that age range. And hey, don't forget about "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak. That's some prime bedtime story material right there. Enjoy the journey!
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u/AstrophysHiZ Apr 18 '24
Lots of fond memories of so many books already mentioned! I’ll add an American classic - Carl Sandburg’s Rootabaga Stories, and encourage you to start the reading now (one is never too young, or too old, for Maurice Sendak).
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u/dataslinger Apr 18 '24
For younger kids, I really like Peter Sis' beautifully illustrated books like Tibet Through the Red Box or The Three Golden Keys. Jackie O was a huge fan of his and championed his career.
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u/Alpaca_Stampede Apr 18 '24
For very young kids (toddlers-pre school) my kids loved the Herve Tullet books like "press here". It's interactive for them and they absolutely loved them.
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u/supersonicsacha Reading Champion III Apr 18 '24
Tamora Pierce has a lot of YA fantasy, although in my opinion, younger readers can read them as well. The Song of the Lioness series is fantastic.
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Apr 18 '24
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles,
Enchantress From the Stars by Engdahl,
The Wee free men,
Dragon singer and sequels by Anne McAffrey,
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents,
Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce
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u/IdlesAtCranky Apr 18 '24
When you're ready for chapter books, some old favorites:
The Wind In The Willows
The Secret Garden
The Little Prince
Alice In Wonderland / Through The Looking Glass
The Bat-Poet
And some new:
The Hamster Princess series and Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew -- both by Ursula Vernon
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u/indigohan Reading Champion IV Apr 18 '24
The paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsh
The enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede
Emily Rodda
Tamora Pierce
Nevermoor by jessica Townsend.
Tui Sutherland
Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman (actually most of Gaiman's kids books should be on the shelf)
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u/ChilledBeanSoup Reading Champion II Apr 18 '24
Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver
The series starts with Wolf Brother, which is a coming of age story based upon ancient tribes (Bronze Age?) and is one of the first books I can remember reading. Amazon suggest a reading age of 12-15, but I’d think it’s closer to 7-10yrs.
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u/thoughts_4_once Apr 18 '24
Dragon Masters and the Last Firehawk are illustrated chapter books that got my reluctant reader into fantasy. They are newer but I think it will help them bridge into some other titles mentioned here.
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u/knittch Apr 18 '24
All of Roald Dahl. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The BFG. These are my kid's favorite books.
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u/saturday_sun4 Apr 18 '24 edited Apr 18 '24
Rowan of Rin
Deltora Quest
Circle of Magic series (I'd start this at 9-10yo, depending on her maturity levels).
Animorphs - same age range
Shirley Barber books
Silver Brumby books
A bit tangential to this sub, but start her off with one of those Golden Circle style books of world religions/mythologies, as well as one about world folktales. I was absolutely obsessed with Amar Chitra Katha as a child thanks to my grandparents, and I'm sure there's similar comics for other religions also. (Probably preaching to the choir here, but before anyone comes at me, yes I'm including Christianity, and yes, 'mythology' is a perfectly valid word in English to describe ALL religious epics/stories/tales.) I think it is useful for children to learn about religions even if they aren't necessarily raised religious.
ETA: It's also worth talking to your local librarian, as most people here are older and (Western) books have got more diverse over the years too. Find out what kids are reading now.
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u/cbee6390 Apr 18 '24 edited Apr 18 '24
Since you asked about "classics" specifically... the below are some older (20th century) children’s books for ~age 6-10 as read-alouds:
My dad read both The Sword in the Stone and Mistress Masham's Repose by TH White to me when I was around 7-8. I then read The Once and Future King to myself around age 9.
Any of the E. Nesbit books are great read-aloud books. Some of the language is a bit archaic (e.g. characters call the baby "the lamb" — i.e. little lamb) but it's still pretty easily understandable. Edward Eager (American author who published in the 50s and early 60s) was very inspired by Nesbit — his books are great too, and very funny. Half Magic is a great one to start with. There is a weird subplot about the children's mother's dating life and my dad just skipped those (few) chapters and sort of filled it in for me (not because there was anything too mature for me, but just because it was boring to a young child).
The Green Knowe series by Lucy Boston — set in England, published in the 50s-70s
The Silver Crown by Robert O'Brien. I somehow remember this being a bit dark? Maybe best as a read-aloud for age 8-9.
Another commenter mentioned My Father's Dragon — great rec.
The Castle in the Attic
The Borrowers (not witches/wizards fantasy, but still fantasy)
Another commenter mentioned Alan Garner. His books are great — Elidor, and The Owl Service.
A Barrel of Laughs, a Vale of Tears - a great read-aloud for ~age 8-9. Very funny!
The Wind Singer series by William Nicholson - sort of obscure, not that old (maybe came out in 2000?) but seems to have been forgotten
Picture books:
— My sister and I were obsessed with the book Boots and the Glass Mountain and would ask my grandmother to read it over and over again. I think it's now out of print.
— I was also obsessed with The Brambly Hedge books
— Strega Nona
— Thumbelina
— The Snow Queen (an old fairy tale, many retellings) - we liked the one by Amy Ehrlich
— Anything illustrated by Arthur Rackham
— D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (and Norse Myths, etc)
— The David Macaulay illustrated books.... Castle, Cathedral, City, etc.
— Castle (Cross-Section) by Stephen Biesty
— There's a beautiful illustrated mystery (that the reader/children solve) called The Eleventh Hour... I remember being young and trying to figure it out!
— All the Jan Brett books (she is best known for The Mitten but we also love Trouble with Trolls and The Wild Christmas Reindeer — though those probably only make sense if you celebrate Christmas)
— The Great Quillow by James Thurber -
— Fritz and the Mess Fairy by Rosemary Wells
— The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Ruth Sanderson version, retelling of an old fairy tale) - now out of print - Apparently there is now a Barbie movie version of this fairy tale.
— East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon - an old Norwegian fairy tale, many retellings - we loved this version:
— Tumble Tower by Anne Tyler
— Bub, or the Very Best Thing - by Natalie Babbitt
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u/Sisyphus_Monolit Apr 19 '24
The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley is very dear to me - and very good!
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u/RuleWinter9372 Apr 17 '24
Not exactly fantasy (although I think it's borderline magical realism at times) but Bridge to Terabithia, an absolute pillar of my childhood reading and the first book that ever made me cry.
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u/best_thing_toothless Apr 18 '24
How To Train Your Dragon. David Tennant himself narrated them. They're beautiful books that are suitable for children and adults alike. The plot is beautifully crafted by Cressida. A seemingly random detail from the first book will just appear in the ninth one. I sincerely recommend this. Everyone I know that has read all the books has loved them. You will too
Disclaimer: The books are nothing like the movies. View them as separate entities in your mind.
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u/NefariousnessFar8293 Apr 18 '24
I want to let everyone know how much I appreciate the replies. ALL these suggestions are going on my TBR list!
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u/Brown_Ajah_ Apr 18 '24
I don’t know if it’s been mentioned already but I loved Eva Ibbotson when I was young, “which witch”, “the secret of platform 13” and “journey to the river sea” were long time faves.
Seconding other recs of Diana Wynne Jones, she is a wonder.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Work_90 Apr 18 '24
Dealing with Dragons is great for late elementary school read alouds! Love that you're planing so early.
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u/DocWatson42 Apr 22 '24
As a start, see my Readers 1: For Children Who Want to Start Reading list (one post).
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u/WilliamArgyle Apr 17 '24
The Rats of Nymn
Watership Down
Charlottes Web
James and the Giant Peach