--- title: 40 Classic Children’s Books Even Adults Love description: The most formative books may be those of your childhood: Dozens of Real Simple readers remember beloved children’s books that turned them on to reading.... canonical: https://time.com/3422868/40-classic-childrens-books-even-adults-love/ author: Real Simple article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-24T11:00:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:50.669Z og:title: 40 Classic Children's Books Even Adults Love og:description: The most formative books may be those of your childhood og:url: https://time.com/3422868/40-classic-childrens-books-even-adults-love/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 40 Classic Children's Books Even Adults Love twitter:description: The most formative books may be those of your childhood twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 40 Classic Children's Books Even Adults Love > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=44127550-90bb-4aaf-9370-226485d0d852&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Sep 24, 2014 11:00 AM UTC by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Sep 24, 2014 11:00 AM UTC The most formative books may be those of your childhood: Dozens of _Real Simple_ readers remember beloved children’s books that turned them on to reading. They reveal why in their own words. Visit [RealSimple.com](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/classic-childrens-books) to read the full list. _Here are the first five books:_ ### 1\. _The Giving Tree_ by Shel Silverstein  Harper & Row As a child I loved the simple story and it has resonated with me more and more as an adult. —_Samantha Sadler Layman_ **To buy:** Ages 1 to 8; $17, [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060256656/?tag=timecom-20). (**More from Real Simple**: [6 Funny Movies to Watch This Weekend](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/funny-movies-00100000128244/?xid=time-rs-081814)) ### 2\. _Ferdinand_ by Munro Leaf  Grosset & Dunlap My dad read it to me as a baby girl recovering in the hospital. We read together until his grandsons were born. And then we read to them. “Just quietly under the cork tree.” —_Cindy Lee Claplanhoo_ **To buy:** Ages 3 to 5; $4, [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/dp/044845694X/?tag=timecom-20). ### 3\. _The Saggy Baggy Elephant_ by Kathryn Jackson and Byron Jackson  Little Golden Book My grandma would read that to me when I was little. I was so proud when I could finally read it by myself. —_Charmin Garst Savage_ **To buy:** Ages 3 to 7; $4, [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307021106/?tag=timecom-20). (**More from Real Simple**: [Banishing Life’s Little Annoyances](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/good-riddance-life-annoyances-00000000000472/index.html?xid=time-rs-081814)) ### 4\. _Are You My Mother?_ by P.D. Eastman  Random House Books for Young Readers _Are You My Mother?_ showed love and opportunities were everywhere. —_Denise Thompson_ **To buy:** Ages 3 to 7; $9, [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0394800184/?tag=timecom-20). (**More from Real Simple**: [50 Great Books That Will Change Your Life](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/great-books-00100000101474/index.html?xid=time-rs-081814)) ### 5\. _Harold and the Purple Crayon_ by Crockett Johnson  HarperCollins I was so inspired by Harold’s imagination and realized that books could take me anyplace I wanted to go, just like Harold. —_Leslie Fischer_ **To buy:** Ages 3 to 7; $7, [amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0064430227/?tag=timecom-20). (**More from Real Simple**: [5 Ways to Stay Cool Under Pressure](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/5-ways-to-stay-cool-under-pressure-00000000052702/index.html?xid=time-rs-081814)) [**Read the full list HERE**](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/entertainment/classic-childrens-books/classic-childrens-books-35)**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3422868/40-classic-childrens-books-even-adults-love/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3422868/40-classic-childrens-books-even-adults-love/"},"headline":"40 Classic Children's Books Even Adults Love","datePublished":"2014-09-24T11:00:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:50.669Z","description":"The most formative books may be those of your childhood: Dozens of Real Simple readers remember beloved children’s books that turned them on to reading....","url":"https://time.com/3422868/40-classic-childrens-books-even-adults-love/","keywords":["Living","Children","Books","reading"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Real Simple","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/real-simple/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3422868/40-classic-childrens-books-even-adults-love/","name":"40 Classic Children's Books Even Adults Love"}}]}] ```