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The Oliver Wolcott Library - Classic Children’s Books that Adults Love to Read

Schools and Libraries

February 10, 2023

From: The Oliver Wolcott Library

Reading children's classics is good for adults! It can lift our mood and take us back in time to our childhoods. Also, it is enjoyable to compare how a book resonated with us when we were children and how it resonates with us when we are adults. Below please find a special curated list of some of the best children's books to read or reread!

Watership Down

By Adams, Richard

2005-11 - Scribner Book Company

9780743277709 Check Our Catalog

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The phenomenal world seller for over 30 years returns to its original publishing home in a beautiful new edition. …More

Peter and Wendy or Peter Pan (Wisehouse Classics Anniversary Edition of 1911 - with 13 original illustrations)
By Barrie, James Matthew
Illustrator Bedford, F. D.
2020-01 - Wisehouse Classics
9789176376898 Check Our Catalog

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Now published by Wisehouse Classics, this is the unabridged Anniversary Edition of the original 1911 published novel "Peter and Wendy" (or "Peter Pan") with the original therteen illustrations by F. D. Bedford.

"Peter and Wendy" or "Peter Pan" is J. M. Barrie's most famous work, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous yet

…More

The Secret Garden
By Burnett, Frances Hodgson
Illustrator Tudor, Tasha
2010-12 - HarperCollins
9780064401883 Check Our Catalog

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"(Neglected Colin) lives the life of a spoilt and incurable invalid until on the arrival of an orphaned cousin, the two children secretly combine to restore his mother's locked garden and Colin to health and his father's affection".--Four to Fourteen. …More

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
By Dahl, Roald
Illustrator Blake, Quentin
2007-08 - Viking Books for Young Readers
9780142410318 Check Our Catalog

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The gates of Willy Wonkas chocolate factory are opening at last, and only five children will be allowed inside. …More

A Wrinkle in Time
By L'Engle, Madeleine
2007-05 - Square Fish
9780312367541 Check Our Catalog

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Awards:
Newbery Medal (1962)

Meg's father mysteriously disappears after experimenting with the fifth dimension of time travel. Determined to rescue him, Meg and her friends must outwit the forces of evil on a heart-stopping journey through space and time. A commemorative edition with an Introduction by the author. A Newbery Medal winner. …More

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
By Lewis, C. S.
Illustrator Baynes, Pauline
2008-01 - HarperCollins
9780064404990 Check Our Catalog

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Narnia ... the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy ... the place where the adventure begins. Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic a meet Aslan, …More

Winnie-The-Pooh
By Milne, A. A.
Illustrator Shepard, Ernest H.
2005-12 - Puffin Books
9780142404676 Check Our Catalog

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For nearly 70 years, Milne's classic story about young Christopher Robin and his adventures with his friends from the Hundred-Acre Wood has captivated readers of all ages. Illustrations. …More

Anne of Green Gables
By Montgomery, Lucy Maud
2008-09 - Puffin Books
9780141321592 Check Our Catalog

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1st book in Anne of Green Gables series

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the publication of the book that introduced the world to Anne Shirley, this new edition features an Introduction by the award-winning creator of the characters of Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean, and Hubert Horatio Bobton-Trent. …More

Wonder
By Palacio, R. J.
2012-02 - Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
9780375869020 Check Our Catalog

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Awards:
Bluebonnet Awards (2012), Bluebonnet Awards (2013), Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens (2012), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (2013), Georgia Children's Book Award (2013), Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award (2014), Texas Lone Star Reading List (2012)

Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student. …More

Where the Red Fern Grows
By Rawls, Wilson
1996-09 - Yearling Books
9780440412670 Check Our Catalog

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Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann -- a Boy and His Two Dogs...

A loving threesome, they ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country. Old Dan had the brawn, Little Ann had the brains -- and Billy had the will to train them to be the finest hunting team in the valley. Glory and victory were coming to them, but sadness waited too. And close by was the strange and wonderful …More

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
By Rowling, J. K.
Illustrator Grandpré, Mary
1999-09 - Arthur A. Levine Books
9780590353427 Check Our Catalog

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Awards:

Book Sense Book of the Year Award (1998), Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award (2000), Young Reader's Choice Award (2000)

Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches. …More

Where the Wild Things Are
By Sendak, Maurice
Illustrator Sendak, Maurice
2012-12 - HarperCollins
9780064431781 Check Our Catalog

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In this Caldecott Medal winner. Max, a wild and naughty boy, is sent to bed without his supper by his exhausted mother. In his room, he imagines sailing far away to a land of Wild Things. Instead of eating him, the Wild Things make Max their king. …More

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings
By Silverstein, Shel
Illustrator Silverstein, Shel
2014-02 - HarperCollins
9780060256678 Check Our Catalog

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From the outrageously funny to the quietly affecting, here are poems and drawings that illuminate the remarkable world of the well-known folksinger, humorist, and creator of "The Giving Tree." Illustrations. …More

The Little Prince
By Saint-Exupery, Antoine de
Illustrator de Saint-Exupéry, Antoine
2000-06 - Clarion Books
9780156012195 Check Our Catalog

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An aviator whose plane is forced down in the Sahara Desert encounters a little prince from a small planet who relates his adventures in seeking the secret of what is important in life. Howard's new translation of this beloved classic beautifully reflects Saint-Exupery's unique, gifted style. Color and b&w illustrations. …More

Charlotte's Web
By White, E. B.
Author DiCamillo, Kate
Illustrator Williams, Garth
2012-04 - HarperCollins
9780061124952 Check Our Catalog

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The classic story is now adapted as a live-action film by Walden Media ("The Chronicles of Narnia") starring Dakota Fanning as Fern, and the voice of Julia Roberts as Charlotte, set for theatrical release on June 23, 2006. Illustrations. …More

The Swiss Family Robinson
By Wyss, Johann David
Abridged by Tait, Chris
Illustrator Akib, Jamel
2007-02 - Union Square Kids
9781402736940 Check Our Catalog

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Rich in suspense and surprises, this story of a shipwreck, a deserted island, and a single family who wonder if they can survive entices young readers to come along on a wonderful adventure, where each moment brings a new thrill. Illustrations. …More