Think back to your childhood… which books did you LOVE to read? Which ones were you extra excited to see at story time? As you got older, which books captured your attention the most?
I have ALWAYS been a reader and can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love books. Instilling that passion in my kids is something I’ve always tried to do. This means that I buy them books at any chance I get, and if I see an old favorite of my mine, we’re reading it that day for sure.
From books I loved as a young child, to the adventures of big kid books, and then continuing into my teenage years, I literally buy them all. Now, I’m sharing some of our favorites with you! These are ones that I absolutely loved as a child and that my kids enjoyed, too!
Ok, you all should have known that I couldn’t just choose little kid books, big kid books, or books for teenagers, so I made one list of each. I have 3 littles (ages 5, 3, and 2) and 2 big kids (ages 11 and 15), so I have to have a wide range of books for all different age groups.
If you don’t have kids, no worries!! You could use a little nostalgia in your life, anyway! Go ahead and choose a book or two, and relive your childhood.
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Nostalgic Books For the Littles
- Green Eggs and Ham
- Where The Wild Things Are
- The Giving Tree
- Corduroy
- The Gruffalo
- The Little Engine Who Could
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
- The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
- There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear
My personal favorite: The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
Books for Big Kids
Bonus: Every book on this list counts toward AR tests and points. Since school is coming quick, it’s best to be prepared!
I’ve included the recommended grade levels for each book, but remember each child is different. If you want to read a book with your child, it’s OK if it’s a little higher than their grade level, because you’ll be reading with them to help with unknown words and meanings.
- Matilda: Grades 3-6
- The Witches: Grades 3-7
- The BFG: Grades 3-7
- Box Car Children: Grades 2-6
- The Baby Sitter’s Club: Grades 3-7 **Check out this retro set!!**
- Amelia Bedelia: Grades K-3
- Ramona Quimby, Age 8: Grades 3-7
- The Watson’s Go to Birmingham: Grades 5-8
- Junie B. Jones: Grades 1-4
- Holes: Grades 4-6
My personal favorite: This is too difficult to answer!! I’ll have to choose three – The Witches, The BFG, and Box Car Children.
Books for Teenagers
Depending on the reading and maturity level of your child, these can also be books for preteens. I read many of them when I was a preteen myself including numbers 3, 7, 9, and 10.
I find that it is more difficult to get our teenager to read books than it is to get my younger kids to read, so reading with her or sharing my favorite books with her seems to be the best way.
- Anything written by Sarah Dessen – all of her books are nostalgic to me, honestly. I read and loved them all!
- The Great Gatsby
- Harry Potter
- Romeo and Juliet
- The Scarlet Letter
- In Cold Blood
- 1984
- The Bell Jar
- Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
– This may be the best one on the list to read with a preteen or teenage girl. It makes for an awesome movie night after! - The Outsiders
- To Kill a Mockingbird
I’m sure you noticed that there are 11 here… just count that as a bonus, because I couldn’t bring myself to eliminate any on this list!!
My personal favorite: The Great Gatsby, for sure!! It’s still my favorite book!
Final Thoughts on Nostalgic Books To Read With Your Kids
As adults, we oftentimes find ourselves over-stressed, over-worked, and over-tired. We rarely take the time we need to relax and enjoy ourselves. Having kids, however, allows us a few moments to sit back and pretend we are a kid again while reading books that we used to love ourselves.
So, go ahead and pick out a few books to purchase that you loved as a kid. You won’t regret the time spent with your own children, reminiscing over your own childhood while creating new memories that will last forever.
What were some of your favorite books as a child? What about as a teenager? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!!
