So, recently I have been reading all the classic novels I never read as a child. I must be honest some of them seem to be more appropriate for older children (but maybe I am out of my depth.) I read [name_f]Alice[/name_f] in Wonderland a long time ago but that seemed more nonsense then anything else. I more recently finished [name_m]Wizard[/name_m] of [name_m]Oz[/name_m], and have started reading both The Wind in the Willows and [name_m]Peter[/name_m] and [name_f]Wendy[/name_f]. They aren’t bad books, that’s not what I am gearing towards, I just wonder as a parent what age would you read these stories to them, based on the themes, language etc.? I guess it’s probably based on the individual; but I am curious. I grew up in a household where we read [name_f]Enid[/name_f] Blyton books before bedtime and didn’t swear, although I was always a bit of a scaredy cat anyway.
Thanks Berries and feel free to recommend any classics you particularly love!
Well I might as well list the novels that I loved as a child. ;]
A [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_f]Princess[/name_f] by [name_f]Frances[/name_f] [name_m]Hodgson[/name_m] [name_m]Burnett[/name_m]
The [name_f]Secret[/name_f] Garden by [name_f]Frances[/name_f] [name_m]Hodgson[/name_m] [name_m]Burnett[/name_m]
[name_m]Black[/name_m] Beauty by [name_f]Anna[/name_f] Sewell (it might be a bit horrifying though)
The [name_f]Princess[/name_f] and the Goblin by [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]Macdonald[/name_m]
[name_f]Heidi[/name_f] by [name_f]Johanna[/name_f] Spyri
[name_f]Pippi[/name_f] Longstocking by [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] Lindgren
Any of the childrens novels by [name_m]Roald[/name_m] Dahl
Some of the classics are quite dark some are fine.
[name_f]Winnie[/name_f] the Pooh, [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] potter ect ate quite tame but the language can make them hard to follow for little littlies.
I’d probably wait till 8+ for some of the others- [name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Pan[/name_m] etc. [name_m]Even[/name_m] the classic fairy tales in their original forms can be rather dark. The non disney little mermaid commits suicide, etc… It really depends in the child I guess. The lion king and other movies have dark scary buts too so… That doesn’t really help much does it.
My parents started reading “real” books to me and my sister when we were very little, so my definition of what appropriate children’s literarure might be a bit weird. I hope I’ll be like that, I want my children to read proper books from a young age, I might not let them read very adult literature when they’re as young as I was when I opened Lady Chatterley’s Lover for the first time, but I will start reading the books below when they’re three I guess. [name_m]Roald[/name_m] Dahl is a good author to introduce, he’s so funny and weird and charming, and his books are filled with amazing drawings.
Some of my favourites:
A Wrinkle in Time by [name_f]Madeleine[/name_f] L’Engle
[name_f]Alice[/name_f]'s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, and What [name_f]Alice[/name_f] Saw There by [name_m]Lewis[/name_m] [name_u]Carroll[/name_u]
Ballet Shoes (and Skating Shoes and all the other Shoes I guess) by [name_u]Noel[/name_u] Streatfeild
[name_u]Charlie[/name_u] & the Chocolate Factory, [name_u]Danny[/name_u] Champion of the World, [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], Witches (and so on…) by [name_m]Roald[/name_m] Dahl
Collected Works by [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] [name_m]Potter[/name_m]
[name_f]Coraline[/name_f], Stardust by [name_u]Neil[/name_u] Gaiman
[name_f]Emma[/name_f], Pride and Prejudice by [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_u]Austen[/name_u]
Frankenstein by [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_u]Shelley[/name_u]
His Dark Materials by [name_m]Philip[/name_m] Pullman (this will become a classic!)
[name_m]Hugo[/name_m] & [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_f]Agnes[/name_f] [name_f]Cecilia[/name_f], Skuggan Över Stenbänken by [name_f]Maria[/name_f] Gripe
I Capture the Castle, [name_f]One[/name_f] Hundred and [name_f]One[/name_f] Dalmatians by [name_f]Dodie[/name_f] [name_m]Smith[/name_m]
[name_m]Jim[/name_m] Button and [name_m]Luke[/name_m] the Engine Driver, The Neverending [name_u]Story[/name_u] by [name_m]Michael[/name_m] Ende
[name_m]Little[/name_m] Women by [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] [name_f]May[/name_f] [name_u]Alcott[/name_u]
Madicken, [name_f]Ronja[/name_f] the Robber’s Daughter, [name_f]Mio[/name_f] My [name_m]Son[/name_m], The Brother’s Lionheart by [name_f]Astrid[/name_f] Lindgren
[name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Pan[/name_m], [name_m]Peter[/name_m] in [name_m]Kensington[/name_m] [name_m]Park[/name_m], [name_m]Peter[/name_m] & [name_f]Wendy[/name_f] by J.M. [name_u]Barrie[/name_u]
The Borrowers by [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_m]Norton[/name_m]
The Chronicles of [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] by C.S. [name_m]Lewis[/name_m]
The Faraway Tree by [name_f]Enid[/name_f] Blyton
The [name_m]Little[/name_m] House on the [name_u]Prairie[/name_u] by [name_f]Laura[/name_f] Ingalls [name_m]Wilder[/name_m]
The [name_m]Lord[/name_m] of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Moomin Books by [name_f]Tove[/name_f] [name_m]Jansson[/name_m]
The Pooh Books by A.A. Milne
The [name_f]Princess[/name_f] [name_f]Bride[/name_f] by [name_m]William[/name_m] Goldman
The Railway Children by E. [name_m]Nesbit[/name_m]
The [name_f]Secret[/name_f] Garden, A [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_f]Princess[/name_f] by [name_f]Frances[/name_f] [name_m]Hodgson[/name_m]-[name_m]Burnett[/name_m]
The Wind in the [name_f]Willow[/name_f] by [name_m]Kenneth[/name_m] [name_m]Grahame[/name_m]
[name_m]Tom[/name_m]'s [name_m]Midnight[/name_m] Garden by [name_f]Philippa[/name_f] [name_m]Pierce[/name_m]
Oh and recommendations:
The little white horse, [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] Goudge
The last unicorn, [name_m]Peter[/name_m] Beagle
[name_f]Winnie[/name_f] the Pooh (collected stories) A. A. Milne
[name_m]Hans[/name_m] [name_f]Christen[/name_f] [name_m]Anderson[/name_m]'s Fairytales (although some not ok for younger kids, as the little mermaid above)
Grimms Fairytales (the snow queen was my favorite growing up)
Arg racking my brains for more but it’s not responding (sleepless 1year old equals brain dead mumma).
And I second the [name_f]Secret[/name_f] Garden, [name_f]Pippy[/name_f] long stockings, the [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_f]Princess[/name_f], [name_f]Heidi[/name_f], [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] chronicles, little woman and [name_f]Ronja[/name_f] the Robbers Daughter, and the Never Ending [name_u]Story[/name_u].
I completely agree [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f]! My parents were the same, but there were a few they managed to miss. I would love to be the same when I have children. Thank you for your extensive list! I think [name_m]Peter[/name_m] [name_m]Pan[/name_m] is the one I am a bit iffy about when to introduce, just because of the violence mainly.
My mother and father both read aloud to all of us kids. We would all sit together as a family and listen. All of us kids loved it. My mother read us the [name_m]Little[/name_m] House on the [name_u]Prairie[/name_u] series three times over (once for each child) and my father read us The Hobbit and The [name_m]Lord[/name_m] of the Rings series. There were many of the above mentioned as well.
I remember really liking when books felt “real” as a small child. I read once that fairy tales help children make sense out of a very dark and often nonsensical world. I think that is true. As with anything, I think it’s important to stop and discuss what you are reading. When scary things happen, it’s good to work through them with your children rather than leaving them to wonder. That is not to say that they need to watch the nightly news with us or that we shouldn’t shield them from the world of adults.
I also think violence in books is quite different than in films. [name_m]Reading[/name_m] a description of a fist fight is really different than seeing footage of someone getting hit, reading about a gun going off is much different than hearing a gunshot, etc.
I don’t think I’ll avoid many children’s books with my daughter because of themes. Unless a particular theme or story seems to bother her. If a child appears disturbed or fearful or begins obsessing over the theme, it’s definitely best to wait until they’re older.
I also took a course on fairy tales, and learned many old stories, such as [name_m]Little[/name_m] [name_u]Red[/name_u] Riding Hood, were designed in order to scare children, and basically terrify them out of talking to strangers, venturing into the woods, etc.
That’s why many of the tales are so dark and disturbing, and scaring young children was the goal behind that.
I think it depends on your child as to when you introduce them. I’m planning on reading classic novels to my daughter as soon as she’s old enough to be interested. I think all of those books are appropriate for school aged children. I’m not too worried about the fact that there are “mature” or “dark” themes in some books (unless she becomes fearful, of course). For one thing, kids don’t necessarily pick up on all the themes in a story. There have been many books, movies, and television shows that I reread/watched as an adult and went, “Wait, that’s what this story was about?!” I had no clue when I was kid. Also, I just don’t believe every story needs to be happy. In fact, you don’t even have a story without some sort of conflict. Letting kids experience sadness, disappointment, frustration, etc. through a character in a story is healthy, I think. We can’t shelter our kids from all the “bad” things in life, so giving them an opportunity to hear about different types of situations and how someone might work through them can help them when “bad” things inevitably happen in their life. It’s a good way to open up a dialogue about difficult subjects like that. I mean, I understand people’s desire to shelter their kids and “keep them innocent”, but I just don’t think it’s wise to try to hide from them things that are facts of life. They’re going to face them one day, it’s our job as parents to prepare them. I’ve known parents who didn’t want their child to hear [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]'s [name_m]Web[/name_m] because of the death theme. And parents who don’t want their child exposed to certain books/movies because the characters’ actions might encourage disobedience or mischief. I think that’s totally absurd.
I was also read “real” books as a child, even if they go completely over the little one’s head now, it’s just fun to hear a parent read aloud and will certainly make them want to revisit classics later on!
Some overlap, but some I remember reading very early…
[name_m]Little[/name_m] House on the [name_u]Prairie[/name_u] (all except [name_m]Farmer[/name_m] Boy, I wasn’t at all interested in [name_m]Farmer[/name_m] Boy)
[name_m]Little[/name_m] Women (I don’t know how she did it without my noticing, but my mother skipped the whole [name_f]Beth[/name_f] dying part)
The Voyages of [name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Dolittle series
The [name_m]Wizard[/name_m] of [name_m]Oz[/name_m]
[name_m]Stuart[/name_m] [name_m]Little[/name_m]
The [name_f]Cricket[/name_f] in Times Square
[name_f]Sarah[/name_f], Plain and Tall
[name_f]Misty[/name_f] of Chincoteague
The fairytale thing is true! Fairytales are meant to guide and help children, especially through puberty ;). And deaths and other scary things in children’s stories are the same, they’re there for a reason so that children will understand that bad things happen. If they learn this from an early age it won’t seem so unnatural when they get older.
My parents never skipped parts of stories (apart from [name_m]Lord[/name_m] of the Rings, I think my father skipped some of the walking sequences because he found them boring) or movies, but they always took care to talk through it. We’d have discussion groups where we had to answer questions about the chapter/scene and everything, but it was good, it helped us understand more. When we started to read and write we actually got questionnaires. My parents are weird.
I have very clear memories of my first grade teacher reading aloud to the class, some of the books she read to us were [name_m]Stuart[/name_m] [name_m]Little[/name_m], Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (and the sequels), [name_m]Little[/name_m] Pear (by [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f] [name_f]Frances[/name_f] Lattimore. My teacher’s daughter in-law was from [name_f]China[/name_f], so we learned a lot about Chinese culture and had a Chinese [name_m]New[/name_m] Year celebration) and the Wayside School books.
I second the rec of [name_m]George[/name_m] [name_m]MacDonald[/name_m]'s fairy tales. They’re truly beautiful!
Adults language today isn’t at the same level it was 100 years ago, so of course children are often not at the same level as children of 100 years ago. A lot of these stories have more simplified versions available.
I think I’ll read my children fairytales and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] and Wonderland and the like, but everyone else has given great lists so I won’t add to them.
I’ll just say that my dad started reading to me at a young age and I think it’s the reason I’m so into reading and English at my age now. We went through the whole [name_m]Harry[/name_m] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] series, the whole Looking Glass series, the whole [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] series… We would just sit in bed for an hour and he would read and normally I would fall asleep. He always jokes that he used to forget things that happened and I would remind him the tiniest details from the book. I think it’s a wonderful thing to do and it teaches children (or at least it taught me) the ability to pick out details and remember them. I’ll definitly continue this with my child.
I just don’t think i’ll read them the real versions of the fairytales. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t want to scare them too much!
NOTE: I also noticed someone posted about The Last Unicorn. That book and the movie scared me so bad when I was little that to this day I still cringe thinking about it. Maybe just a word of warning haha?
Growing up I was read [name_m]Little[/name_m] House series and [name_m]Wizard[/name_m] of [name_m]Oz[/name_m] among others. Another good one that I would like to read my children is [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]'s [name_m]Web[/name_m]. I think attention span plays a big role. My son can’t handle books that don’t have pictures on every page. I’ve tried reading him the Box Car Children the first one and [name_m]Wizard[/name_m] of [name_m]Oz[/name_m] but we only make it about a page before he starts getting antsy and wants to do something else. He loves Dr. Seuss so we read a lot of those books.
Everything [name_f]Ottilie[/name_f] said, really.
I’d also add ‘I Capture the Castle’, which I’m saving for when my daughter is ten/eleven.
My kids are a bit little for most of my classics as of yet, but they love the Orchard book of Greek myths: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Orchard-Book-Greek-Myths/dp/1852133732
Our copy has amazing illustrations by an artist named [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_u]Ray[/name_u]. I probably love it as much as they do!
Ditto Orchard’s [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m] for kids book- I love that my kids know who [name_f]Titania[/name_f] and Malvolio are.
Getting kids excited about reading is such a kick…the kind of rapt, absorbed silence which comes over them at storytime is like no other silence!
Just realised I didn’t even answer the initial poster properly…
I don’t think any time is ‘too early’.
My parents were academics, and big believers in total exposure of kids to anything and everything cultural. We went to operas and they’d explain the story to us first so we could ask all our questions before the show and have some sense of what was happening.
I think same goes for novels- kids like hearing new words, and aren’t afraid to ask questions/tell you if they’re bored or frustrated. but chances are, they’ll enjoy hearing the words even if they aren’t totally clear on what they mean.
I remember being read Great Expectations aged around eight and loving it…however much I understood! Dickens is a very good transition writer- good characters, good dialect. My son shouts ‘mummy do a VOICE now’ when he feels my reading is sub par. Haha
My mum bought us a complete set of [name_m]Roald[/name_m] Dahl tape stories that my brother and sister listened to (and still do) every night. We also got out tape stories like the [name_m]Wizard[/name_m] of [name_m]Oz[/name_m]. I think that its a bit easier to get them to listen to the story as they are still learning about the story but it’s easier for the parent. [name_m]Just[/name_m] my personal experience.
Many great books have already been listed! Regarding when to start – when your baby is born, i.e. it is never too early. Infants love to hear the sound of your voice for bonding and as they get older being read to helps with vocalizing and even talking. Toddlers will want picture books and board books that they can manipulate and understand. But even at this age, kids will benefit from more sophisticated chapter books being read to them. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t worry if they do not have full comprehension. The goal is for the books to be read and re-read again and then read independently when older. A child of 10 is much more likely to pick-up a classic if it was read to him/her at an earlier age.
I’m not a mom yet, but I’ve always loved reading and this thread is reminding me about a lot of my old favourites! Has anyone mentioned the [name_f]Anne[/name_f] of [name_u]Green[/name_u] Gables series yet? I’m in university and still love them… the kind of book that grows with you. It’s a pretty big deal here but not sure about outside [name_f]Canada[/name_f]. I also used to love the Dear [name_f]Canada[/name_f] series (like the Canadian version of the American Girl books i think) and the [name_m]Royal[/name_m] Diaries series.
Favourite authors:
[name_u]Jean[/name_u] [name_m]Little[/name_m] (From [name_f]Anna[/name_f], Listen to the Singing, Mama’s Going to Buy You a Mockingbird)
[name_f]Karleen[/name_f] [name_m]Bradford[/name_m] (she wrote a great children’s fiction series about the Children’s Crusade)
[name_u]Kit[/name_u] [name_m]Pearson[/name_m] (A Perfect Gentle [name_m]Knight[/name_m], the Guests of War trilogy about British war guests in [name_f]Canada[/name_f])
[name_m]Eric[/name_m] Walters (Trapped in Ice, Safe as Houses)
[name_f]Deborah[/name_f] [name_u]Ellis[/name_u] (the Breadwinner trilogy about the Afghan war)
[name_f]Lois[/name_f] [name_f]Lowry[/name_f] (Number the Stars)
[name_f]Marsha[/name_f] Skrypuch (Nobody’s Child and Daughter of War about Armenians in Turkey, [name_f]Hope[/name_f]'s War)
Wow now that I think about it I read a lot of books about war when I was younger… a lot of historical fiction. Maybe not exactly classics, but these are well known children’s/young adult authors in [name_f]Canada[/name_f]. I also love [name_f]Jane[/name_f] [name_u]Austen[/name_u]; though I didn’t pick it up until I was about 14, my sister and I first watched the movie version when I was 10 or 11 and she was about 7. As for “actual” classics I remember liking [name_m]Black[/name_m] Beauty, [name_f]Pollyanna[/name_f], and Daddy-[name_m]Long[/name_m]-Legs. I also started reading my parents’ tourist guidebooks when I was about 9 and loved them.
