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Guide 01
The Collection
Children's classics: where to start
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/books/Alices-Adventures-in-Wonderland-Lewis-Carroll by Lewis Carroll (1865).
Glorious nonsense, best read aloud. Ages 6 and up.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz/books/The-Wonderful-Wizard-of-Oz-L-Frank-Baum by L. Frank Baum (1900). Stranger and richer than the film. Ages 6 and up.
The Wind in the Willows/books/The-Wind-in-the-Willows-Kenneth-Grahame by Kenneth Grahame (1908). Friendship and home on the riverbank. Ages 7 and up.
Anne of Green Gables/books/Anne-of-Green-Gables-L-M-Montgomery by L. M. Montgomery (1908). An orphan who talks her way into everyone's heart. Ages 9 and up.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer/books/The-Adventures-of-Tom-Sawyer-Complete-Mark-Twain by Mark Twain (1876).
Pirates, caves and a fence to whitewash. Ages 10 and up.
Treasure Island/books/Treasure-Island-Robert-Louis-Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson (1883). The original pirate adventure. Ages 10 and up.
Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground
Journey/books/Baron-Trumps-Marvellous-Underground-Journey-Ingersoll-Lockwood by Ingersoll Lockwood (1893). A Victorian fantasy beneath the earth. Ages 9 and up.
The Camp Fire Girls Solve a Mystery/books/The-Camp-Fire-Girls-Solve-a-Mystery-Hildegard-G-Frey by Hildegard G. Frey (1916). A cozy 1916 series mystery. Ages 9 and up.
The Rover Boys on the Farm/books/The-Rover-Boys-on-the-Farm-Edward-Stratemeyer by Edward Stratemeyer (1902).
Early-1900s boys' adventure. Ages 9 and up.
Guide 02
About This Collection
About children's classics
These books were written for children and have never stopped being read by adults. Carroll's nonsense, Baum's American fairy tale, Grahame's riverbank and Montgomery's Anne each invented something new for young readers. Most work beautifully as read-alouds, a chapter a night, and the browser reader on a tablet makes that easy.
Coming to the library
Readers ask us for Peter Pan (Barrie), The Secret Garden (Burnett), Black Beauty (Sewell), Heidi (Spyri) and
Questions about this shelf
Can children read on BookMarket?
Yes, with a parent or guardian using the parent's account. BookMarket accounts are for ages 13 and up.
Are these classics suitable for young readers today?
Most are, but some older books reflect the attitudes of their time. We note this on the book page where it matters, and the age suggestions above are a guide only.