What books do you think every child should read?
What are some books--YA, classic, or otherwise--you believe every kid today should read to develop a strong moral compass, a habit of reflection and introspection, and an understanding of their humanity and the complexity of the world around them? What books have influenced you, and what books would you want your own child to have read by the end of elementary school? I'll start:
The Great Gatsby - conveys raw ambition but also the limits of material success; really great for sparking internal discussion as to what one hopes to achieve with their life
All the perennial YA series (i.e. Harry Potter) - say what you will about their writing/plot but I truly believe these are crucial to developing a passion for reading and for exposing children to the potency of the entire worlds that books contain
Great Expectations
Never Let Me Go
The Crucible
East of Eden
Atlas Shrugged
Animal Farm
I had to read that in 9th grade and idk why it shook me up at the time. Really changed my world view
Big believer that these are the most important, at least initially. I speak with all of my smartest friends at my college and find that we all devoured YA fiction first, which was really how we got into reading and then gained an interest in nonfiction. It just connects better with younger minds. I didn't have the slightest interest in Great Expectations, Great Gatsby, etc until I first enjoyed reading with those easier to digest books.
Gaining that love of reading is just invaluable imo
Anyway, would second Great Expectations. Really enjoyed that book in high school and years later still think about the story and its lessons every now and then
This has been my experience as well, Harry Potter and Percy Jackson got me into reading
Harry Potter got me into it too as a kid. There’s 7 super long books and it develops an amazing plot through them all.
Also it’s the classic hero story archetype. I think that newer readers benefit from such a classic story format as it keeps them engaged and interested to actually read all seven books.
Charlotte's Web -- teaches about loss and overcoming odds
Red Badge of Courage -- teaches about war and bravery
Hatchet -- teaches about survival, independence, and perseverance
Night (by Elie Wiesel) -- teaches about horrors of humanity
Redwall series -- teaches about bravery, teamwork, triumph of goodwill
Flatland -- teaches about the nature of the universe and thinking outside the box (literally)
I think this is a great list for children. I particularly remember how great Hatchet was when I read it all the way back in elementary school.
Some I'd add:
#1 Where the Wild Things Are
#2 Narnia series, particulary the often forgotten The Horse and his Boy
#3 Dr. Suess' Oh the Places You'll Go!
All three of these books are stories of adventure, accomplishment, and self-actualization. I think they're great for teaching children that they have the ability to do interesting and great things with their lives.
Edit: wrong word
I think it's ideal to teach children about a few things:
A lot of problems in society relate to ignoring point (1). Actions have consequences, and you have a lot of control over where you end up in life if you work extremely hard and you respond positively to challenging situations instead of blaming an external factor (point 2). Children are not taught to be self-reliant and resilient.
A lot of other problems with society have to do with a deficit in point (3). There is a large amount of ignorance and mistrust of others for no real reason other than ethnicity, traditionalism, or nationalism. People in Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, China, Taiwan, etc. are people, with their own experiences and points of view. There is a near complete lack of education in the USA related to geography and history, instead relying on critiquing social-issues using a modern lens.
I remember having to read Hatchet in 5th grade and still remember the book. Plane goes down, he’s cold and mosquitos biting him.
Night is the only book I truly struggled to read. I remember it being such a short book (just over 100 pages), but it took me a month to read through it because of how difficult it was emotionally. Fantastic book and I completely agree that more people should read it to understand humanity.
I'd add on "Where the Red Fern Grows", "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", and if we're talking more middle school, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court".
The Rangers Apprentice. Not sure if anybody knows it or if I’d even like it now. Loved it when I was a kid and reread it over and over
Merchant of Venice
Of mice and men
These two great for character and the good and evil.
Also recommend
Great expectations, Scrooge. Both great reads and have very important messages. I read these books when I was in early school 12-16ish. They are great reads for kids especially of mice and men and Scrooge. They gave me an understanding of life, money, greed, regrets, romance and change.
1984
Animal farm
Beyond good and evil
The God delusion
Marcus aurelius meditations
The Art of war
These will probably be best for teenagers 14-17ish and worth a rereading as they become adults 18,19 & 20s early 20s and then again in 30s.
These gave an understanding of all sort of opinions and ways of thinking that greatly change and educate your understanding of the world. If you child reads these books especially the first ones I mentioned they will grow up with a rich knowledge and understanding that will put them far above those of their peers in both educational and conversational level.
Heaven on earth man, do you want to fuck up your children completely during their teens? The Art of War? The fucking God Delusion? "They will grow up with a rich knowledge and understanding"? Take a quick look at what WASP children read only a 100 years back and compare the two lists - I'll assure you it'll be much more nourishing for the soul than what you in your edgy teenager phase thought was cool.
the art of war lmfaoooo
No wonder you made this delusional book list lmao
Im sorry but teenagers should learn to socialise with other teenagers and not worm themselves in reading fucking 1984 or beyond good and evil are you fucking kidding lmao that's how you become a weirdo/smart ass
I’m not saying read them at the cost of socialising, but there’s time to read them. Was referring to age of more of level of reading and concentration sort of thing.
you’re so right here
Laugh out loud The God Delusion. Dawkins cringe.
Have your kid read Hitchens instead
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Read that when I was like age 6-10 and this series definitely made me enjoy literature and become a better reader and writer. Premise of the story is kind of unsettling, idk why it is considered a children's book. Whole premise is that some creepy old guy is tryna marry this 18 year old girl to take her family's fortunes. Later books in the series the kids escape being killed.
Maybe more appropriate for kids aged 11-14?
I also really enjoyed reading Jules Vernes 'Around the World in 80 Days', 'Journey to the Center of the Earth', and '20000 Leagues Under the Sea'. Really made me interested in exploring and travelling the world.
Amazing books bro. Same thing happened to me after reading then
Zero to One
Anti-Racist Baby lol
Lord of the Rings (understand the core of why good versus evil is real and important, and what makes good, good, and evil, evil)
Bulfinch's Mythology (learn timeless lessons from classic fundamental stories)
Hamlet (Learn how to deal with really bad things happening in your life)
There are countless books that could be added here, but these are the crucial ones in my mind.
My opinion, no need to introduce financial media into kids lives. They can get there by becoming well-read, intelligent people without needing to hear about TVM. If they don't get it by their early teens, send them some Motley Fool stuff, or some decent youtube/podcast channels that cover smart investing.
agree with that, and the Silmarillion if they really enjoy Tolkien's world but also more depth/tragedy. It's more historical than LOTR but there are a lot of great wtf moments in literature in it.
So true. LOTR is one for the young man to read, late grade school, high school, maybe younger. Silmarillion is LOTR grown up. Like Hamlet, shows a lot of the darker side of things.
That's quite easy to answer, actually
For babys:
>Grimm's Fairy Tales
>Stories of the Saints (Francis and George are the all-time classics)
For young children:
>Written-out Sagas (preferably the Greek ones), later in poetic form
>Some of Karl May's novels (such as Treasure of the Silver Lake)
>Jules Vernes' novels
>JRRT's more accessible works
And when they are schoolchildren you can start with the advanced stuff, Goethe, etc. One work that I can not recommend enough (for boys, at least) is Storms of Steel, probably the greatest book on war ever written. For girls you'd probably go for Jane Austen or some adventure lady, I guess, idk. I have no sisters, so I'll leave that to my wife. Don't start them on philosophy too young, it ruins the mind. Childish piety will save them from many evils later in life.
As a kid, reading was my favorite activity. I know this site is full of hardo’s and I’m just a corporate finance pleb, but I think OP wants books for KIDS. Here are some of my favorites I can remember:
Magic Tree House
The Hardy Boys
The Boxcar Children
The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon series)
Redwall (series)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Goosebumps
Alex Rider (series)
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Robinson Crusoe
Treasure Island
Charlotte’s Web
Stellaluna
The Tale of Despereaux
The Last Dog on Earth
Silverfin (believe Bond series but just read that)
Where the Wild Things Are
Goodnight Moon
Little Bear (series)
The Frog and the Toad
Oh The Places You’ll Go (all Dr. Seuss books)
The Cat in the Hat (all Dr. Seuss books)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Love You Forever
Diary of a Wombat
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Little Engine that Could
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
The Enormous Crocodile
Please comment if you want to discuss any of these further - I loved reading as a kid and credit it for shaping my brain. I always get complimented on my writing skills, and I credit it 100% to reading. As I’ve gotten older, I don’t read anymore, but rather listen to audiobooks. I’ve found since getting back into books that I have been a happier person.
I loved theHardy Boys as a kid. They made some newer ones sometime post 2005 I think where each chapter alternates the perspective of each brother which was an interesting way to read them
Lord of the flies followed up with a good discussion afterwards.
Atlas Shrugged, lol.
Not only is the book pretty much drivel, it's also incredibly... boring. I read through it just to be able to say I read it and it took me a few months of struggling to read a few pages before bed.
The Alchemist, Kite Runner, The Sun Also Rises, All the Light We Cannot See, For Whom the Bell Tolls... so many...
my teacher in 4th or 5th grade read this to the class and I've always loved it, fantastic
Fucking obvious - valuation by McKinsey
Everyone Poops
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Dr. Anne’s 10 Step Diet by Anne Kulze
True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort (Eddie Doherty adaptation)
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
The Dip by Seth Godin
Confessions by St. Augustine
I wouldn’t give these to kids. Read several you listed but in my early 20’s. Not even the smartest high schooler will understand Frankl
Yeah definitely some are for older kids in HS.
tbh wasn't a huge fan of this one, it seemed somewhat Calvinist/predestination-y to me.
Moyer.
More Money Than God by Sebastion Mallaby
the stranger - Albert camus
Ulysses
Gravity's Rainbow
Infinite Jest
Based
Mein Kampf
Did everyone miss the part in the post that said children, then OP went on to clarify he said end of elementary school. Everyone is naming books that should be read in HS
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