Children’s books are often treated as something we grow out of, but many of the best were never really meant to be left behind. Written for young readers, they carry the confidence, clarity and narrative drive that adult fiction can sometimes forget. Revisited later in life, they feel even better than we remember.
So if reading more is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, children’s classics can be the perfect way back in. They move quickly, trust the reader, and remind us of the pleasure of being carried by a story rather than labouring through one. Here’s our pick of the 14 best to try…
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Three adopted sisters grow up in a crumbling London house full of fossils and lodgers, and push against the limits placed on them in the 1930s as they pursue acting, engineering and ballet. This is an irresistibly lovely story of ambition and found family.
Puffin, £7.99
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving hobbit, is drawn into a dangerous journey to help a group of dwarves reclaim their home from a dragon. Tolkien’s measured prose and mythic wonder create a world that rewards adult rereading.
HarperCollins Children’s, £8.99
Watership Down by Richard Adams
An epic survival story disguised as an animal tale, this classic follows rabbits fleeing destruction to found a new society. Adams blends invented myth, political struggle, violence and belief into a narrative that respects young readers and profoundly moves older ones.
Puffin Classics, £8.99
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton and Anne of Green Gables by L. M. MontgomeryTreasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Jim Hawkins, a boy running an inn, joins a sea voyage in search of buried pirate gold. The journey turns dangerous as mutiny breaks out aboard ship, forcing him to navigate loyalty, fear, and the unsettling charm of the pirate Long John Silver.
Puffin Classics, £14.99
The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton
In the first of a series which sets its readers’ imaginations alight, three children climb a Faraway Tree to discover lands that constantly change, each with its own rules and surprises. Blyton’s genius lies in both the momentum and pure narrative joy.
Hodder Children’s, £7.99
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Anne Shirley, an orphan sent by mistake to a farming household, grows up in a tight-knit rural community on Canada’s Prince Edward Island. Her imagination, temper, and intelligence slowly reshape how others see her and what a girl is allowed to be.
Puffin Classics, £9.99
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and My Family and Other Animals by Gerald DurrellLittle Women by Louisa May Alcott
The March sisters come of age during the American Civil War, growing up in a household shaped by love, scarcity, and strong principles. Alcott charts their ambitions and compromises with clarity, treating domestic life as a serious arena for moral and personal choice.
Puffin Classics, £14.99
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Alice falls into a strange world where rules change without warning and language rarely means what it should. As she moves from one encounter to the next, the book quietly questions authority and logic and resonates long beyond childhood.
Puffin Classics, £14.99
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Durrell recounts a childhood on Corfu filled with eccentric relatives and obsessive observation of wildlife. With razor-sharp comic timing and deep affection, the book celebrates curiosity and attention, and later inspired an equally charming TV series.
Puffin, £7.99
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-ExupéryThe Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A lonely, unhappy child is sent to live on a remote Yorkshire estate, where she discovers a locked garden and begins to bring it back to life. As the garden changes, so do the people around her. This is a truly restorative read about the power of care and attention.
Puffin Classics, £14.99
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Through the English riverside adventures of Mole, Ratty, Badger and the impulsive Toad, who causes chaos wherever he turns, this gently heartwarming read captures ideas of home and friendship.
Puffin Classics, £14.99
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A pilot’s encounters with a small, wandering prince form a deceptively simple philosophical fable. Through brief scenes and clear language, the book reflects on love, loss, responsibility, and how easily adult life abandons wonder.
Puffin, £7.99
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Three siblings move from London to the countryside and learn to navigate sudden poverty and uncertainty. Their everyday kindness and curiosity shape the lives around them, while beneath the story’s warmth is Nesbit’s quiet questioning of Edwardian class assumptions.
Puffin Classics, £14.99
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Four siblings step through a wardrobe into Narnia, a land locked in winter by an oppressive ruler. As they become involved in its fate, the story explores loyalty, fear, and sacrifice, moving quickly while carrying real emotional weight.
HarperCollins, £14.99
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