10 Favorite Magical Story Books for Kids

Recently, I conducted a quick poll on the Inner Child Fun Facebook page to see what magical story books were the biggest favorites to read aloud to kids, and the recommendations were fantastic! Here’s a short summary of ten of the most popular recommendations.

10 Favorite Magical Books to Read to Kids

1. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery — One of the first to be recommended, and a personal favorite, The Little Prince is a sweet tale that is sure to inspire the imagination as it already has for generations.

2. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell — This is on Emily’s reading list and after already seeing the film, she is very excited to get started on this one!!

3. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein — A classic. If you’ve never read this collection of brilliant creative poems and illustrations by Shel Silverstein, you NEED to read this book.

4. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett — This is one of Emily’s favorite books of all time.

5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak — We own two copies of this book, and both are worn and very well-loved.

6. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson — When the kids were younger, my sister in law gifted them with tickets to see Harold and the Purple Crayon at the local theater, and it became an instant favorite for both of them!

7. Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson — This book, and all of the books from its series are a favorite of Clara’s. Beautifully illustrated and particularly great for reading aloud.

8. The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone — As soon as this book was recommended, I thought of Mark because it was one of his favorite stories when he was a kid. In fact, he saved his copy from his childhood to pass onto the kids!

9. Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne — This is one of Emily’s favorite series, and she frequently reads them aloud for Clara to enjoy too. I love that they are historically inspired, and the non-fiction reading guides to go along with them are very well done!

10. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White — I haven’t read this book to my kids yet, but they are familiar with the film and love it. I was excited to see this one was recommended and can’t wait to share this classic with them!

Do you have a favorite magical story book to read to your kids that I forgot to add? I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment and share your ideas with us, or join in the conversation on our Facebook page to see other great magical book suggestions!!

Have fun!!

Comments

  1. This is a lovely list. For my 7 year old Rick Riordan was the most magical author last year with 5 books in his Greek Percy Jackson series and 4 books in Roman series. She cannot wait for the last book to arrive this year!

  2. I LOVE The Secret Garden! One of my favorite-est books ever! soo glad I made myself stick with it – all those unfamiliar words/setting at the beginning in India really threw me (cholera and what she called her nanny) but once I got into it I was totally HOOKED! in fact it’s time for a re-read! I also love the Boxcar Children and Surprise Island, a few Bobbsey Twins stories that I read early on (cedar camp and at the seashore) and the first 2 little house on the prairie books (big woods and plum creek)

  3. If we’re adding chapter books, i vote for ‘Little Women’, ‘Heidi’, ‘Hans Brinkler or the Silver Skates’, and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ series.

    Hans Christian Anderson stories and Grimm’s fairy tales are also classics.

  4. Have you read “The Root Children”? lovely!

  5. Amy Nicholson says

    This is a wonderful list! I’ve read (and shared) most of them. I also love The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and Anne of Green Gables.

  6. A few of our favorites were The Wind in the Willows and Treasure Island.

  7. Linda Luhrsen says

    Stuart Little, Caps for Sale, The Trumpet of the Swan , Stormy Misty’s Foal, Frog and Toad, Where The Red Fern Grows

  8. The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton is wonderful. My daughter and I read it together after moving to England, and we both loved it.

  9. Thirty years ago I throroughly enjoyed with “Holiday on Saltkråkan” by Astrid Lindgren

  10. Grandfather Twilight is fantastic too!