The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/all/20060325171040/http://www.whatbooks.com/childrens/
Book Reviews
home Books Music DVD's Video Games Software Camera Magazines Kitchen contact
USA What-Books UK What-Books Canada What-Books


Go back to our 'Children's Books' section. Click Here

Adrian Mole Diaries
Adventures of Curious George
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Are You There God?
Black Beauty
Blueberries for Sal
Brave New World
Bridge to Terabithia
Bronx Masquerade
Charlotte's Web
Complete Tales & Poems of Winnie-The-Pooh
Crispin
Good Dog
Goodnight Moon
Harriet the Spy
Hatful of Seuss
Jamberry Board
Mad About Madeline
Madeline
Make Way for Ducklings
My World
Stuart Little
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chosen
The Contender
The Little Engine That Could
The Little House
The Mitten
The Outsiders
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Runaway Bunny
The Secret Garden
The Snowy Day
The Story of Babar
The Wind in the Willows
Understood Betsy
White on Black
 
 
 
Go back to our 'Children's Books' section. Click Here

fiction
childrens
food & drink
home & garden
history
humor
thrillers & horror
reference
best of 2003
best of 2004
best of 2005
award winners
author focus
Bill Bryson
Tom Clancy
J. K. Rowling
Dan Brown
John Grisham
Nick Hornby
camera & photo store
magazines store
 
Charlottes Web Children's literature is literature specially for children. The genre has a long history, although originally it was more for instruction than specifically for entertainment.

John Newbery's publication of A Little Pretty Pocket-Book in 1744 marks the beginning of pleasure reading marketed specifically to children. Previous to Newbery, literature for children was intended to instruct the young, though children adopted adult literature that they found diverting. Among the earliest examples found in English of this co-opted adult fiction are Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur and the Robin Hood tales.

In current publishing, the typical breakdown within the field is - pre-readers, early readers, chapter books, and young adults. Picture books, which cross all genres and age levels, feature art as an integral part of the overall work.

Many authors specialize in books for children, or have written books beloved by children. In some cases, books intended for adults, such as Swift's Gulliver's Travels have been edited somewhat for children.

Famous Works of Children's Fiction

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1864) by Lewis Carroll, a novel about a little girl who enters Wonderland - a land where craziness and weirdness are a way of life - by diving into a rabbit hole in pursuit of a white rabbit. It was succeeded by Through the Looking-Glass.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) by Roald Dahl, a novel about a young boy who recieves a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit the near-magical Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. It was succeeded by Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Other children's books by Roald Dahl include James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr Fox, and The Witches (winner of the 1983 Whitbread Award) and Matilda.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson, about a young girl who helps a young boy break stereotypes and follow his heart in the battle of puberty - until their friendship is tragically destroyed.

Charlotte's Web by E. B. White, about a spider who befriends a pig and saves him from being slaughtered by writing messages about him in her web.

Popular Series

The Little Women series is probably the first series of children's books. It was written by Louisa May Alcott.

The Harry Potter series of books (1997 - present day) by J. K. Rowling, about a boy who saves the wizarding world and is famous - even before he is a year old.

The Artemis Fowl series of books (2001 - present day) by Eoin Colfer, about a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind and boy genius - who knows a secret about the underground world of fairies.


To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the world's earliest glimpse into the magical land of Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Pauline Baynes, the first illustrator of C.S. Lewis's enchanting creatures and remarkable landscapes, has hand painted her original black-and-white pictures for a beautiful new full-color collection of all seven volumes in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Read More. Chronicles of Narnia


A horse is a horse of course unless of course the horse is Black Beauty. Animal-loving children have been devoted to Black Beauty throughout this century, and no doubt will continue through the next. Although Anna Sewell's classic paints a clear picture of turn-of-the-century London, its message is universal and timeless: animals will serve humans well if they are treated with consideration and kindness. Read More. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Wind in the Willows "[Mole] thought his happiness was complete when, as he meandered aimlessly along, suddenly he stood by the edge of a full-fed river. Never in his life had he seen a river before--this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again." Read More.


Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
The Mitten: A Ukrainian Folktale by Jan Brett
Goodnight Moon Board Book by Margaret Wise Brown
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
My World by Margaret Wise Brown
The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant by Jean De Brunhoff
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Chronicles of Narnia Box Set by C. S. Lewis
The Contender by Robert Lipsyte
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
The Complete Tales & Poems of Winnie-The-Pooh by A. A. Milne
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
The Complete Adventures of Curious George by H. A. Rey
A Hatful of Seuss: Five Favorite Dr. Seuss Stories by Dr. Seuss
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
The Adrian Mole Diaries by Sue Townsend
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Good Dog, Carl by Alexandra Day
Jamberry Board Book by Bruce Degen
Mad About Madeline: The Complete Tales by Ludwig Bemelmans
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
White on Black by Tana Hoban
The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Hatful of Seuss


HOME | USA STORE | UK STORE
DISCLAIMERSILICON CLOUD | WHAT MUSIC | MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS | CAMERA & PHOTO | KITCHEN | NEW PAGES
STEPHEN KING | TOM CLANCY | BILL BRYSONJK ROWLING | JOHN GRISHAM | DAN BROWN | CHILDRENS BOOKSAWARD WINNING BOOKS
NICK HORNBY | FOOD & DRINK | HOME & GARDEN | HORROR FICTION | FICTION BOOKS | HISTORY | HUMOR