The Best Kids & Young Adult Books

[Josie]

What are your favorite kids and/or young adult books?

 

[Lursa]

Stella Luna. Love that one about accepting each other for their differences. Used to be able to get it with a Stella Luna puppet too.

What do you think of that one @Josie?

 

[SNOWFLAKE]

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, despite the N word.
The original Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The Narnia Series (despite it's obvious religious leanings, I just love the stories)
The original Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan books.

On the other hand, forget Harry Potter.

 

[aociswundumho]

The phantom tollbooth was one of my favorites. And the king with six friends was another one I read over and over.

 

[Helix]

For little kids :

 

[NolanVoyd]

Lowis Lowery books are great.

"The Giver" "Gathering Blue" "Number the stars"

Also the post apocolyptoc sci fi trilogy "Uglies" "Prettys" and "Specials" by Scott Westerfield is really good.

 

[iliveonramen]

Goosebumps. Loved that series as a kid.

 

[Josie]

The phantom tollbooth was one of my favorites. And the king with six friends was another one I read over and over.

I have never read that one, but heard about it many times.

 

[Josie]

Goosebumps. Loved that series as a kid.

I read all of the R.L. Stine Fear Street books in the 90s. Christopher Pike too. I was very into scary, horror books until I read one by Dean Koontz. Never again will I read one of his books.

 

[Chock Full o Nuts]

Trying to recall what I read as a kid; been a bit! Few that pop in my head.

 

[Chock Full o Nuts]

I read all of the R.L. Stine Fear Street books in the 90s. Christopher Pike too. I was very into scary, horror books until I read one by Dean Koontz. Never again will I read one of his books.

Remember reading a couple Koontz books. I liked em.

 

[Josie]

As a kid, I loved Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High/Twins, The Babysitters Club and the above mentioned scary books.

As an adult who sometimes reads young adult books, I really, really like dystopian novels like The Hunger Games and Divergent. Fantasy is also a favorite of mine: Harry Potter and Maximum Ride.

My favorite little kids books to read aloud: There's a Nightmare in My Closet, Skippyjon Jones, The Napping House, any Chris van Allsburg or Kevin Henkes, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, My Father's Dragon, any and all fractured (and original) fairy tales.

The kids love all the Dav Pilkey - Dogman, Mighty Robot, Captain Underpants.
Babymouse, Pinkalicious, Henry & Mudge, Creepy Carrots (and all that came after it), Grumpy Monkey

In my experience, most kids LOVE learning about true things so they will gravitate toward more non-fiction books about space, dinosaurs, other animals, people, etc.

 

[Josie]

Trying to recall what I read as a kid; been a bit! Few that pop in my head.

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I love the Berenstain Bears, but they are soooooooooooooooooo loooooooooooooooong for a read aloud. I still read them to my class, but I break it up into 2 sessions.

Patricia Polacco books are like that too. They are picture books, but geared more toward upper elementary and middle school.

 

[Josie]

Remember reading a couple Koontz books. I liked em.

The one I read that broke me was called The Bad Place. I shudder even typing that.

 

[Grand Mal]

What are your favorite kids and/or young adult books?

35 years ago, when my son was a kid, we liked anything by Bill Peete.

 

[gdgyva]

okay...maybe corny now but

Laura Ingalls Wilder......Little House on the Prairie
Anne McCaffrey.....The Dragonriders of Pern
Any of the Nancy Drew mysteries

We read these to our kids every night.....
It was part of the ritual of getting them to bed by 830pm

 

[Serenity]

Growing up, I loved anything by Enid Blyton and also May Gibbs.

May Gibbs is best known here for her Snugglepot and Cuddlepie stories. Based on gumnut babies who go on adventures. Not sure how well they are known outside of Australia though. Very, very popular here and have been around for decades.

 

[Lutherf]

I was a big Hardy Boys fan as a kid. Started reading stuff like Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Tom Sawyer, etc. by 7 or 8. An aunt got me going on the Great Brain books around that same time. I also read a few biographies of some of my sports idols. Not long after that I was given a book on Greek mythology and LOVED the story of Hercules.

Almost forgot, Sherlock Holmes. Great stories for kids. Same goes for Poe.

 

[Hamish Howl]

What are your favorite kids and/or young adult books?

An Old Man's Toy; Gravity at Work and Play in Einstein's Universe by A. Zee.

 

[iliveonramen]

I read all of the R.L. Stine Fear Street books in the 90s. Christopher Pike too. I was very into scary, horror books until I read one by Dean Koontz. Never again will I read one of his books.

I read the Fear Street books too. I loved scary stories and those series had some really good ones.

 

[Risky Thicket]

James by Percival Everett

Outstanding! A powerful, humorous, thought provoking book for young adults, and adults as well.

 

[Roadvirus]

Goosebumps. Loved that series as a kid.

Same. I had dozens.

My favorite was the Night of the Living Dummy ones.
Every time i see a ventriloquist dummy....i think of "Slappy".

 

[Roadvirus]

Remember reading a couple Koontz books. I liked em.

IMHO, a totally underappreciated author.

I've read Phantoms, The Taking, Strangers & Midnight. The Taking was sorta dull, but the others were excellent.

 

[Chock Full o Nuts]

IMHO, a totally underappreciated author.

I've read Phantoms, The Taking, Strangers & Midnight. The Taking was sorta dull, but the others were excellent.

Actually, can't even recall the titles of which ones I had read, being it was around late 80s/90 or so. Just remember I had a hard time putting it down. Looking to try and spark my memory, dude's written a few books!

All Books

www.deankoontz.com