More Books Children Love

 Today's post is another installment of books my children loved to read.  I originally said that I would not list a book twice if two different children chose it, but I have changed my mind.  One book on this list from my oldest son was also on my oldest daughter's list.  I have included it here because the 'why' they loved the book is different.


Related posts can be found here from my oldest daughter,  youngest daughter,  
 and myself.

The Hardy Boys series by Frank Dixon

The adventures of Frank and Joe Hardy are hard to put down.  It’s by design, of course: every short chapter ends with a thrilling cliff-hanger that compels the reader on to the next chapter, especially if the reader is a young boy.  Of all the mystery stories I read, these were my favorite.  I read dozens of them.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff

It’s a picture book, not a chapter book, but I loved it (and still do) for its special combination of silliness and cleverness masquerading as logic.

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
I really liked survival stories.  This one was more fun to read than Robinson Crusoe, because the Swiss Family Robinson was a family.  This book has a special kind of “we’re all in this together” feeling, and is full of fun and fascinating details about building things and living on a tropical island.

My Side of the Mountain By Jean Craighead George

I read this book until the cover fell off my paperback copy, and then I read it some more.  It even tempted me to run away from home myself, although I never made it very far.  Like The Swiss Family Robinson, this survival story gives the reader all kinds of interesting woodcraft, like how to make a fishhook out of twigs and string.  Also in this category (but not owned by me as a child, and hence not read to the point of falling apart): Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

Redwall Series by Brian Jacques

Like The Hardy Boys, this is a series that seemed to go on forever, and wasn’t at a particularly high reading level, but was, in some way deeper than syntax and vocabulary, enchanting.  Brian Jacques created a world that kids want to live in with his stories of fighting and feasting animals, and I read all of these books over and over.

What does an adventure loving young man do once he has grown up and can go exploring?  Find out here.

**this post contains affiliate links.  That means if you click on them and decide to buy something, I will get a small commission (no cost to you).