# Companion Thread: Name your all-time three favorite children’s book, in order. No more than three, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348 "2025-12-03T01:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/61 "2025-12-08T15:17:47Z")
I can’t choose! I was always reading when I was a kid. All of the Marguerite Henry books All of the Beverly Cleary books The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/62 "2025-12-08T15:36:07Z")
TIL this about [Caps for Sale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caps_for_Sale)_:_ “A direct sequel bringing back the monkeys, _More Caps for Sale_, was published in 2015, credited jointly to Slobodkina and her long-time personal assistant Ann Marie Mulhearn Sayer. This was followed by _Caps for Sale and the Mindful Monkeys_ in 2017. The illustrations for the latter two books were created by scanning and editing images from Slobodkina’s original artwork.” ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/63 "2025-12-08T15:40:06Z")
1. _[Swallows and Amazons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swallows_and_Amazons)_, by Arthur Ransome 2. _[Tunnel in the Sky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_in_the_Sky)_, by Robert A Heinlein 3. _[Star Rangers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Rangers_(novel))_ (aka_The Last Planet_), by Andre Norton ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/64 "2025-12-08T16:22:47Z")
Millions of Cats - Wanda Gag The Good Master - Kate Seredy The Black Stallion - Walter Farley. (tied with National Velvet - Enid Bagnold) ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/65 "2025-12-08T16:42:15Z")
**Illustrated Golden Bough** **The Water-babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-baby** Got my prepubescent hormones stirring 😳 **Tom Swift** ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/66 "2025-12-08T22:22:35Z")
Quick top of head - thinking as a parent, not the ones I loved most as a kid The Tenth Good Thing about Barney. Best book to broach death concepts ever. One Fish Two Fish …. Wrinkle in Time ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/67 "2025-12-08T22:42:41Z")
As a kid, these three: 1. Gift Bear for the King 2. The Face of Abraham Candle 3. The Search for Delicious As a parent: 1. Little Beaver and the Echo 2. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie 3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/68 "2025-12-08T22:46:15Z")
Very hazy memory of something about fog. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/69 "2025-12-09T03:05:51Z")
**Little House on the Prairie** **Holes** — Louis Sachar **Alice in Wonderland** (My favorite as a kid was Tom Sawyer, but I haven’t revisited it in half a century, so can’t choose it with a clear conscience.) ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/70 "2025-12-09T04:31:51Z")
The _Choose Your Own Adventure_ series _Harriet the Spy_ by Louis Fitzguh _The Great Brain_ series _Mrs Frisby and The Rats of NIMH_ I really enjoyed reading the “men’s action” book series published by Harlequin as a pre-teen but they are not “children’s” book. The series included _The Executioner_, _Phoenix Force_, and _Able Team_. (It is interesting to note The Executioner’s back story is the same as Marvel Comic’s Punisher and the creator admitted The Punisher is based on him.) ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2025, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/71 "2025-12-09T05:05:21Z")
Im thinking of books that I liked so much, I either bought or borrowed as an adult to read again **The Magic Pudding** **The Phantom Tollbooth** **Moominpappa at Sea** (or any moomin story) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/72 "2025-12-12T18:16:47Z")
Ten days into this thread, can I offer a fourth book? A whimsical re-purposing and classifying of English words, with wonderful prints by Ben Shahn. I loved this as a kid in the 70s, but I think it was first published circa 1960. > **[Ounce Dice Trice (New York Review Children's Collection): Reid, Alastair, Shahn,...](https://www.amazon.com/Ounce-Trice-Review-Childrens-Collection/dp/1590173201)** > > Ounce Dice Trice (New York Review Children's Collection) \[Reid, Alastair, Shahn, Ben\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Ounce Dice Trice (New York Review Children's Collection) ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/73 "2025-12-12T21:58:42Z")
I always wanted the Great Brain to be outsmarted (bonus points if it had been by a girl). He struck me as a future robber baron. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/74 "2025-12-12T23:24:22Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > _The Great Brain_ series Oh man! Excuse me, I have to go do some more Christmas shopping. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/75 "2025-12-12T23:29:34Z")
1. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder 2. The Hero from Otherwhere by Jay Williams (half of the team that wrote the Danny Dunn series) 3. All the Three Investigators series (barely edging out Trixie Belden–it’s really a tie, I loved them both) Honorable mention: The Great Brain series, The Black Stallion series ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/76 "2025-12-12T23:32:14Z")
The Wind in the Willows A Wrinkle in Time Chicken Soup with Rice ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/77 "2025-12-13T00:05:44Z")
Ah yeeah 4th book - adored the story > **[Paddle-to-the-Sea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddle-to-the-Sea)** > > Paddle-to-the-Sea is a 1941 children's book, written and illustrated by American author/artist Holling C. Holling and published by Houghton Mifflin. It was recognized as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1942. > The film Paddle to the Sea, based on this book but omitting many details, was produced by the National Film Board of Canada in 1966, directed by Bill Mason. It was nominated for an Oscar. > A water park based on the book was opened in 2016 in the town of Nipigon, where the fictional journey begins.... ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2025, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/78 "2025-12-13T00:28:06Z")
Missed the edit window - deserves more = fantastic book. > **[Paddle-to-the-Sea, by Holling Clancy Holling](https://ameliesbookshelf.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/paddle-to-the-sea-by-holling-clancy-holling/)** > > I’ve lived in the mountains, and I’ve lived on the ocean, but I’m a Great Lakes girl at heart. I’m writing this post from my childhood bedroom almost a stone’s throw f… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/79 "2025-12-17T18:54:22Z")
Easy-peasy: _ **The Little Mailman of Bayberry Lane** _, _ **Cinnabar, the One O’Clock Fox** _, and _ **Ten Beaver Road** _, which is really more of a YA book, since I read it in fourth or fifth grade. (In that vein, I must also mention _ **The Mad Scientists’ Club** _ and _ **Project: Genius!** _) ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348/80 "2025-12-18T10:09:48Z")
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome The Narnia series - C S Lewis The Eagle of the Ninth - Rosemary Sutcliff [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companion-thread-name-your-all-time-three-favorite-children-s-book-in-order-no-more-than-three-please/1025348.md?page=5)