15 Favorite Classic Children's Books for Every Family

Do you know what I think is absolute magic? Watching your child learn to read and then grow in their love of reading! This summer, I’ve had the pleasure of watching both of these happen with my two older kids.

Kaelyn, who’s going into 2nd grade, has been reading for a few years and has always read above her grade level, but this summer, she really started to dive into books and is reading a chapter book every few days! I love it when she brings her book to the breakfast table, in the car with us on errands, to the park, and even when her lamp stays on at night long after her brother and sister have fallen asleep. She reminds me so much of myself at her age.

And then there is Brenden, starting Kindergarten this fall, who surprised me a few weeks ago when we sat down to work on reading some BOB books and he read them with ease. “When did you learn how to read?” I exclaimed. He looked at me with a proud grin, “I didn’t even know I COULD read!” It’s pure magic.

And do you know what else feels like magic? Finding great books for our kids to read (and great books for ourselves too!) at a fraction of the price and second-hand, which is, of course, one of our favorite ways to go green!

ThriftBooks.com sells second-hand books for the lowest prices online and has an unbeatable selection of over seven million books! In the process of helping people find high quality used books and out of print treasures they have saved 322 million books from the landfills, donated over four million used books, and saved 350,714 tons of greenhouse gases!

I’m a big supporter of buying things second-hand. Buying used saves things from ending up the landfill, saves the resources it would take to produce that item brand new, and also saves money! I love finding and buying used books, especially children’s books.

My kids can be really hard on their books. They look at them and read them and love them so much, and sometimes that leaves a book in less than stellar condition. It makes me feel better when I know the books they have used and loved to literal pieces were already used and loved by someone else, and that I didn’t pay full price for them.

One of my favorite things is when my oldest reads out loud to her younger siblings! Oh my heart! Last week on our vacation she read all of Beezus and Ramona to Brenden and he was enthralled!

I also love having a large home library of books for my kids to choose from, and when I don’t have to pay full price for books, I can provide even more awesome books for my kids to read and enjoy! I think it’s so much fun to introduce my kids to books that I loved as a child, and they think it’s cool that mom used to read these books when she was younger!

Here are some of our family’s favorite classic books that we think should be a part of every family’s home library!

Favorite Classic Children’s Books for Every Family

Favorite Classic Picture Books

Favorite Classic Early Reader Books

Favorite Classic Series

We love reading aloud in our family, and one of my very favorite things is when my oldest reads aloud to the younger ones. She recently read Beezus and Ramona to her brother while we were on vacation and they both can’t wait to dive into the rest of the Ramona Quimby series!

You can find all of these great classic books and so much more on ThriftBooks.com! The Thrift Books site is easy to search and shop on, offers unbeatable prices, and FREE Shipping on US orders $10 or more.

They also have a great Thrift Deals selection where you can save even more, each books marked with DEAL on the details page has special pricing:

2 books for $7.00
3 books for $10.00
4 books for $12.00
each additional is $3.00

And if you’re like our family and find yourself buying lots of books, you’ll also love Thrift Books other popular features:

Reading Rewards – our loyalty program has no annual fee and rewards you with a $5 coupon for every $50 you spend on books.
Tell-a-Friend – our referral program gives your friends & family a 15% OFF coupon, as a new customer. You also get one for referring them if they sign up within 14 days; unless you’re a Reading Rewards member. Then it’s 20%!
Wish List – our Wish List will email you the instant an out-of-print book you want comes onto our shelves. We also show you how often we get copies of the title you want and how many other Thrift Books customers are interested in the same title.

I know many of you are like me in that you love to find and support companies that save you money while also saving the planet! Be sure to check out Thrift Books when you’re adding new books to your family’s library!

Now it’s your turn! What books would you add to my list? What were your favorite books and series when you were younger that you love sharing with your kids?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.