Classics
Suggestions from Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
Some of these books are considered modern classics– recent publications of such quality that it is felt they deserve a place among the renowned and distinguished works of children’s literature. Please ask the librarian for assistance in choosing a classic that’s right for you. All books can be found in juvenile fiction unless otherwise noted.
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Aesop’s Fables / Aesop / j 398.9
Ages 9+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
Short stories that teach a lesson.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase / Joan Aiken
Ages 10+
Adventure with wicked wolves, evil governesses and two brave girls.
Little Women / Louisa May Alcott
Ages 10+ / Ages 8 and up for reading aloud
The lives of the four March sisters.
The Prydain Series / Lloyd Alexander
Ages 10+
A pig-keeper sets out to save his country.
Fairy Tales / Hans Christian Andersen
Ages 10+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
“Thumbelina” and other stories by the nineteenth century Danish author.
Sounder / William Armstrong
Ages 12+
Poignant story of an African-American sharecropper, his
determined son, and their devoted dog.
Mr. Popper’s Penguins / Richard Atwater
Ages 7+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A shy painter receives a mysterious package in the mail.
National Velvet / Enid Bagnold
Ages 10+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
A fourteen year old girl is determined to ride her horse in the Grand National Steeplechase.
Peter Pan / J. M. Barrie
Ages 10+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
The adventures of a boy who wouldn’t grow up.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz / L. Frank Baum
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A cyclone takes Dorothy and Toto to Oz where she makes new friends on her trip to the Emerald City.
Tuck Everlasting / Natalie Babbitt
Ages 10+
A girl finds the secret to eternal life.
The Velveteen Rabbit / Margery Williams Bianco
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A toy rabbit longs to be called Real.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret / Judy Blume
Ages 9+
A girl talks over her problems with her own private God.
The Children of Green Knowe / Lucy Marie Boston
Ages 9+
A lonely boy meets the children who lived in his home long ago.
Caddie Woodlawn / Carol Ryrie Brink
Ages 9+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A Wisconsin girl’s frontier adventures.
Jane Eyre / Charlotte Bronte
Ages 12+
A governess takes a position in an estate owned by the mysterious Mr. Rochester.
Wuthering Heights / Emily Bronte
Ages 12+
In nineteenth century Yorkshire, the love of Heathcliff and Catherine haunts both them and those around them.
The Secret Garden / Frances Hodgson Burnett
Ages 9+ / Ages 6 and up for reading aloud
Three children work together to make a garden bloom.
The Incredible Journey / Sheila Burnford
Ages 9+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
Three animals travel over 250 miles to return to their family.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Lewis Carroll
Ages 9+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A little girl falls down a rabbit hole to a nonsensical world.
The White Mountains / John Christopher
Ages 10+
Will Parker and his companions try to escape from the ruling Tripods.
Ramona The Pest / Beverly Cleary
Ages 7+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
The funny adventures of a little girl.
Where the Lilies Bloom / Vera Cleaver
Ages 12+
Fourteen year old Mary Call tries to keep her family together after her father’s death.
Pinocchio / Carlo Collodi
Ages 10+
Adventures of a talking wooden puppet.
The Dark is Rising Series / Susan Cooper
Ages 10+
Will Stanton must keep the world safe from evil.
The Red Badge of Courage / Stephen Crane
Ages 12 +
A young Union soldier in the Civil War.
James and the Giant Peach / Roald Dahl
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
Huge friendly insects befriend a lonely boy.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory / Roald Dahl
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A boy wins a ticket to tour a magical chocolate factory.
The Door in the Wall / Marguerite DeAngeli
Ages 10+
In fourteenth century England, a crippled boy proves his courage.
Robinson Crusoe / Daniel Defoe
Ages 12 +
A shipwreck survivor lives for 30 years on a desert island.
A Christmas Carol / Charles Dickens / j XMAS DICKENS
Ages 9+ / Ages 6 and up for reading aloud
Ebenezer Scrooge learns a lesson about life on Christmas Eve.
Oliver Twist / Charles Dickens
Ages 12 +
An orphan boy runs away to nineteenth century London.
A Tale of Two Cities / Charles Dickens
Ages 12 +
A young Englishman’s life during the French Revolution.
Hans Brinker; Or the Silver Skates / Mary Mapes Dodge
Ages 9+
A Dutch boy tries to win the competition for the silver skates.
Tales of Sherlock Holmes / Sir Arthur Conan Doyle / j M DOYLE
Ages 10+
Mysteries.
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Three Musketeers
/ Alexandre Dumas
Ages 12+
Swashbuckling French historical adventures.
The Moffats / Eleanor Estes
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
The adventures of four Connecticut children.
The Black Stallion / Walter Farley
Ages 10+
A shipwrecked boy and a horse whose lives become intertwined.
Harriet the Spy / Louise Fitzhugh
Ages 9+
Funny story of a girl who spies on everyone.
Johnny Tremain / Esther Forbes
Ages 10+
A young boy during the Revolutionary War.
Diary of a Young Girl / Anne Frank / j 92 F FRANK Fra
Ages 12+
Diary of a young Jewish girl during World War II.
Old Yeller / Frederick Benjamin Gipson
Ages 10+
A fourteen year old boy loves a stray dog.
The Wind in the Willows / Kenneth Grahame
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
Adventures of four animal friends in the English countryside.
Grimm’s Fairy Tales / Jakob Grimm / j 398.2 GERMANY Gri
Ages 10+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and others.
Across Five Aprils / Irene Hunt
Ages 10+
A young boy is left to take care of the family farm during the Civil War.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow / Washington Irving
Ages 10+
A superstitious schoolmaster and a headless horseman cross paths.
Rip Van Winkle / Washington Irving
Ages 10+
After 20 years asleep, a man awakens to a changed world.
The Phantom Tollbooth / Norton Juster
Ages 9+
Milo takes a fantastical journey where he learns the importance of numbers and letters.
Just So Stories / Rudyard Kipling
Ages 10+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
How things came to be, such as the camel’s hump.
The Jungle Book / Rudyard Kipling
Ages 10+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
The jungle adventures of Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves.
Big Red / Jim Kjelgaard
Ages 9+
The friendship between a championship Irish Setter and a trapper’s son.
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler / E. L. Konigsburg
Ages 9+
A brother and sister run away to live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Lassie Come Home / Eric Knight
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
A collie takes a 1000 mile journey so she can be reunited with her former owner.
Ben and Me / Robert Lawson
Ages 7+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
Amos the mouse tells how he was responsible for Benjamin Franklin’s inventions and discoveries.
Rabbit Hill / Robert Lawson
Ages 7+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
The animals of Rabbit Hill are curious about the new owners of the Big House.
The Complete Nonsense Book / Edward Lear / j 821 Lea
Ages 10+
Limericks, silly verse, and nonsense alphabets.
A Wrinkle in Time / Madeleine L’Engle
Ages 10+
Three children travel through time to find their scientist father.
The Tales of Uncle Remus / Julius Lester / j 398.2 USA Afro-American Les
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
Afro-American folktales about the adventures of Brer Rabbit and his friends and enemies.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe / C. S. Lewis
Ages 8+ / Ages 6 and up for reading aloud
Four English children visit the magical land of Narnia.
Stories from the Arabian Nights / Naomi Lewis / j 398.2 ARABIA Lew
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
Tales told by Scheherazade to amuse the Sultan.
Pippi Longstocking / Astrid Lindgren
Ages 9+
Adventures of a Swedish girl, her monkey, and her horse.
The Story of Doctor Dolittle / Hugh Lofting
Ages 9+
A kind doctor understands the language of animals.
The Call of the Wild / Jack London
Ages 10+
A tame dog becomes the leader of a wolf pack in the Klondike.
Number the Stars / Lois Lowry
Ages 9+
A girl helps a Jewish family escape Nazi-occupied Denmark.
The Giver / Lois Lowry
Ages 12+
Jonas learns forbidden truths after becoming the receiver of memories.
Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction / David Macaulay / j 726.6 Mac
Ages 10+
The building of a thirteenth century castle and town.
Sarah, Plain and Tall / Patricia MacLachlan
Ages 9+
Caleb and Anna want their father’s mail order bride to stay.
Homer Price / Robert McCloskey
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
Hilarious adventures of an inventive boy.
At the Back of the North Wind / George MacDonald
Ages 10+
A London boy’s adventures with the lady North Wind.
The Princess and the Goblin / George MacDonald
Ages 10+
A princess is protected by her friend from the goblins who live beneath the castle.
Moby Dick / Herman Melville
Ages 12+
Captain Ahab searches for the great white whale that crippled him.
Now We Are Six
When We Were Very Young
/ A. A. Milne / j 821 Mil
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
Poetry collections.
Winne the Pooh / A. Milne
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
The adventures of Christopher Robin and his animal friends.
Anne of Green Gables Series / L. M. Montgomery
Ages 9+
The adventures of a lively, imaginative girl on a Prince Edward Island farm.
The Railway Children / Edith Nesbit
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
After their father is sent to prison, three children move to the
country with their mother where they live near a railway.
The Borrowers / Mary Norton
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
Miniature people live in old houses and borrow what they need from the humans who live their too.
Rascal / Sterling North / j 599.7632 Nor
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
The author’s adventures with his pet raccoon in the days after World War I.
Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH / Robert O’Brien
Ages 9+
A mother mouse seeks help from the super intelligent lab rats of the National Institute of Mental Health.
Island of the Blue Dolphins / Scott O’Dell
Ages 10+
An Indian girl spends eighteen years alone on an island.
The Bridge to Terabithia / Katherine Paterson
Ages 10+
The special friendship of two Virginia children is marked by a tragedy.
Hatchet / Gary Paulsen
Ages 10+
A boy is lost in the wilderness with only a hatchet to aid him.
Tom’s Midnight Garden / Philippa Pearce / j M PEARCE
Ages 10+
A mystery girl visits Tom as the clock strikes thirteen.
Tales of Edgar Allan Poe / Edgar Allan Poe / j M POE
Ages 12+
Stories of mystery and suspense.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood / Howard Pyle / j 398.27 Pyl
Ages 12+ / Ages 6 and up for reading aloud
The legendary adventures of a generous outlaw and his friends.
The Story of King Arthur and His Knights / Howard Pyle / j 398.25 Pyl
Ages 12 + / Ages 6 and up for reading aloud
Medieval adventures of kings and knights, chivalry and magic.
The Yearling / Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Ages 12+
A young Florida boy raises a fawn as a pet.
Where the Red Fern Grows / Wilson Rawls
Ages 12+
A boy in the Ozarks teaches two dogs to be champion hunters.
The Light in the Forest / Conrad Richter
Ages 12 +
A white boy raised by a Leni Lenape Indian tribe is forced to
return to a white world he doesn’t know or trust.
Harry Potter Series / J. K. Rowling
Ages 9+ / Ages 6 and up for reading aloud
A young boy destined for greatness attends Hogwart’s School for Wizards and Witches.
The King of the Golden River / John Ruskin
Ages 10+
A boy is rewarded for his kindness, while his evil brothers are not.
Missing May / Cynthia Rylant
Ages 9+
A girl and her uncle seek solace and strength after the death of her beloved aunt.
Holes / Louis Sachar
Ages 10+
Stanley Yelnats finds his past and his future at a correctional camp where he digs holes.
The Little Prince / Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Ages 9+ / Ages 6 and up for reading aloud
A prince from another planet tells a lost aviator about his quest to find what is important in life.
Rootabaga Stories / Carl Sandburg
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
Humorous American short stories.
The Cricket in Times Square / George Selden
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A displaced cricket is befriended by a cat and mouse.
Black Beauty / Anna Sewell
Ages 10+
A horse remembers his life.
Five Little Peppers / Margaret Sidney
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
The joys and sorrows of a fatherless family.
Heidi / Johanna Spyri
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
A mountain girl is taken from her beloved grandfather to live in the city where she is companion to a sickly child.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond / Elizabeth George Speare
Ages 10+
After Kit befriends an old woman thought to be a witch, the colonial Connecticut villagers label her a witch too.
Kidnapped / Robert Louis Stevenson
Ages 12+
A boy escapes from his villainous kidnapping uncle and
becomes involved in the Scottish struggle against English rule.
Treasure Island / Robert Louis Stevenson
Ages 12+
A treasure map leads an innkeeper’s son to a pirate treasure.
Dracula / Bram Stoker
Ages 12+
From his Transylvanian castle to the city of London, a vampire haunts an English couple.
Gulliver’s Travels / Jonathan Swift
Ages 12+
The fantastic voyages of a kind ship’s surgeon.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry / Mildred Taylor
Ages 10+
Moving story of a southern black family’s struggle against prejudice and discrimination.
Many Moons / James Thurber
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A court jester fulfills Princess Lenore’s wish for the moon.
The Hobbit / J. R. R. Tolkien
Ages 10+ / ages 6 and up for reading aloud
The adventures of a shy, yet brave, hobbit.
The Lord of the Rings Series / J. R. R. Tolkien
Ages 12+
Hobbits and elves become involved in a struggle for a powerful ring in a epic battle between good and evil.
Mary Poppins / Pamela L. Travers
Ages 9+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
Jane and Michael have magical adventures with their unusual nanny.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
/ Mark Twain
Ages 12 +
Two books about friends growing up on the Mississippi whose lives are filled with fun and adventure.
The Prince and the Pauper / Mark Twain
Ages 12 +
A young king and a poor boy exchange places.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea / Jules Verne
Ages 12+
Three people sail above and under the ocean as prisoners aboard Captain Nemo’s submarine.
Homecoming / Cynthia Voigt
Ages 10+
Abandoned by their mother, Dicey and her siblings journey to find a home.
The Boxcar Children Series / Gertrude Warner / j M WARNER
Ages 7+ / Ages 5 and up for reading aloud
Four orphaned children solve mysteries.
War of the Worlds / H. G. Wells
Ages 12+
Martians invade Earth.
Charlotte’s Web / E. B. White
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A pig is befriended by a kind spider.
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm / Kate Douglas Wiggin
Ages 9+
Ten year old Rebecca goes to live with her two aunts on Sunnybrook Farm.
The Happy Prince / Oscar Wilde
Ages 9+
A beautiful statue and a little swallow help the poor.
Little House on the Prairie Series / Laura Ingalls Wilder
Ages 8+ / Ages 4 and up for reading aloud
A family’s life and adventures on the Midwestern prairie in the late 1800s.
The Swiss Family Robinson / Johann David Wyss
Ages 12+
A shipwrecked family’s life on a deserted island.
Look for these and other great books in
The Children’s Library
Mt. Lebanon Public Library
16 Castle Shannon Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15228
412/531-1913 3/02
www.mtlebanonlibrary.org
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