# What are your favorite children's books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth\ **Created:** [January 22, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509 "2024-01-22T19:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/1 "2024-01-22T19:07:05Z")
_Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/1))_ ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/2 "2024-01-22T19:13:14Z")
For “some other title”, I nominate _The Phantom Tollbooth_ by Norton Juster. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/3 "2024-01-22T19:18:17Z")
I’ve enjoyed reading the “Stick Dog” series by Tom Watson to my kids (and the sister series "Stick Cat). They’re formulaic, which sorta adds to the charm, funny and easy to read out loud. My kids have loved them too. > **[Stick Dog](https://www.amazon.com/Stick-Dog-12-book-series/dp/B088PM9QC1)** > > Visit Amazon's Stick Dog Page and shop for all Stick Dog books. Check out pictures, author information, and reviews of Stick Dog Between my son and daughter, i think i read Goodnight Moon every night for five years. Oddly, i never got sick of it. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/4 "2024-01-22T19:21:07Z")
I miss the tales of the Grimm’s Brothers, [Hans Christian Andersen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen)’s complete tales, Bambi, Maya the Bee, Struwwelpeter, Max und Moritz. Still found a couple to vote for. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/5 "2024-01-22T19:45:42Z")
[Mr. Popper’s Penguins](https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Poppers-Penguins-Richard-Atwater/dp/0590477331/ref=monarch_sidesheet), a chapter book about a house painter who dreams of exploring the South Pole, and becomes the owner of a penguin. And then another. And then another, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/6 "2024-01-22T19:51:05Z")
Happy Piper and the Goat. My first book! ---
**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:** [January 22, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/7 "2024-01-22T19:57:20Z")
Really little me: _Caps for Sale_ for my put down for a nap preliminary Read by myself: [The Magic Chalk](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Chalk) (in case this turns into a children’s book version of the Forgotten Movies thread) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/8 "2024-01-22T20:04:12Z")
Oh, I gotta be the same tiresome dude I always am: -Where are the books from the 21st century? You’ve got books from the 19th century, but AFAICT none from the last 25 years. -Where are the authors of color? You’ve got one book that makes multiple use of the n-word (Hi, _Peter Pan!_), but AFAICT no authors that aren’t White. So here are some add-ons: -[Sal and Gabi Break the Universe](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36595887-sal-and-gabi-break-the-universe?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_12): I’ve been trumpeting this book to anyone who will listen for the past five years. It’s phenomenal–funny, smart, heartbreaking, twisty, playful with language, emotionally resonant, weirdly utopian (not only that, weirdly _middle school utopian_). So, so, so good. Everyone should read it, even if you don’t normally read kidlit. It’s that good. -[Bud, Not Buddy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/368468.Bud_Not_Buddy?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=ijCK6QOn7h&rank=1) is 1999, so barely misses the millennium cutoff. But it’s a story of a Black boy who escapes from an orphanage in 1939 to find his missing father, and runs into all sorts of trouble including abusive foster families and near run-ins with cops, and it manages through all that to be funny as hell. It’s got what’s possibly the funniest scene I’ve ever read in any book ever, and if you’ve read the book, you know exactly what scene I’m talking about. It’s gorgeous. -[One Crazy Summer](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6609764-one-crazy-summer?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=dh7d5E6AIi&rank=1): speaking of historical novels that are way funnier than they have any right to be, how about this one of three sisters who travel to Oakland in 1968 to meet up with the mom who abandoned them, and she’s still super neglectful, so they go to the Black Panthers summer camp all day. It sure doesn’t sound like a blast, but it’s a blast. -[Coming on Home Soon](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/262471): at the other end of the spectrum, sorta, is this Caldecott Honor book from 2004, about a girl during WWII whose mother goes to the big city to work. The girl misses her mom, and then a kitten shows up, and every goddamn time that goddamn kitten shows up I burst into tears. It’s not remotely funny, but it’s incredibly moving. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/9 "2024-01-22T20:07:25Z")
Frog and toad by Arnold Lobel. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/10 "2024-01-22T20:15:44Z")
Even though I’d seen the movie a bazillion times, I didn’t actually read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz until I was an adult (like 10 years ago). I thoroughly enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/11 "2024-01-22T20:16:25Z")
Too complicated to answer. I’ve got really fond memories of a number of the books listed – but while I’m still fond of them, I wouldn’t read or give some of them to a child now without a whole lot of explanation. (No, it’s not a nice romantic story to get married at 13 to a man who threatens you if he thinks you’ve expressed interest in somebody else!) And some of the books I really think well of, though they’re considered children’s books, I didn’t read till I was an adult. And even some of those have bits that need to come with an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/12 "2024-01-22T20:23:12Z")
Two I can think of that weren’t on the list. First, one I think is pretty well known: “Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel” > **[Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Sandpiper Books): Burton, Virginia Lee:...](https://www.amazon.com/Mike-Mulligan-His-Steam-Shovel/dp/0395259398)** > > Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Sandpiper Books) \[Burton, Virginia Lee\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Sandpiper Books) Second, one I loved as a child but is fairly obscure: “The Spaceship under the Apple Tree”: > **[The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree: Louis Slobodkin: 9780689717413: Amazon.com:...](https://www.amazon.com/Space-Ship-Under-Apple-Tree/dp/0689717415)** > > The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree \[Louis Slobodkin\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/13 "2024-01-22T20:30:06Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > First, one I think is pretty well known: “Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel” This is more obscure than you might think. I routinely use the phrase “he’s really Mike Mulligan’ed himself into that situation” (or some variation), and need to explain it most of the time. I refuse to admit my usage itself is the problem… I think with a lot of these, audience age is pretty important. My 7 year will say “Harry Potter”. My 5 year old would say “Little House on the Prairie”. My 2 year old would vote for “anything by Julia Donaldson” or “any of the ‘Little Blue Truck’ books”. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/14 "2024-01-22T20:42:29Z")
I also enjoyed The Hobbit and Farmer Giles of Ham by Tolkien. I remember liking a book called [The Princess and the Goblin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Goblin) and [The Princess and Curdie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_Curdie) by George MacDonald. ---
**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:** [January 22, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/15 "2024-01-22T20:49:00Z")
A classic children’s picture book to add: [The Story of Ferdinand](https://www.amazon.com/Story-Ferdinand-Munro-Leaf/dp/044845694X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37TNJZ8OC8DRF&keywords=ferdinand+the+bull&qid=1705956284&sprefix=ferdi%2Caps%2C489&sr=8-1). My brother and I always cracked up at that one picture of his face when he sits on the bee. Soon to be a major motion picture, WTF? ---
**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:** [January 22, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/16 "2024-01-22T20:50:55Z")
The Swallows & Amazons series, by Arthur Ransome. The first book, _Swallows and Amazons_, is one of my favourite books, period. _Rusty’s Space Ship_, by Evelyn Sibley Lampman Several of Sandra Boynton’s board books, such as _But Not the Hippopotamus_ and _Moo, Baa, La-La-La_. _The Children of Green Knowe_, by Lucy M Boston. _Jamberry_, by Bruce Degen. _Rabbit Hill_, by Robert Lawson. _The Invisible Island_, by Dean Marshall. The Moomintroll series, by Tove Janssen. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/17 "2024-01-22T21:03:58Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > First, one I think is pretty well known: “Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel” Another great one! ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/18 "2024-01-22T21:10:28Z")
I read and re-read _The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet_. There was a sequel I never learned about until I was an adult. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/19 "2024-01-22T21:20:19Z")
_Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of NIMH w_as one of my favorites. Also _The Great Brain_ series by John D. Fitzgerald ---
**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:** [January 22, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509/20 "2024-01-22T21:54:04Z")
I didn’t click other but yes to Phantom Tollbooth. Some of these are sold as kids books and are in form and length but really are more adult? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-childrens-books/996509.md?page=2)