The 15 Best Children's Literature of all Time

In this article, we will share The 15 Best Children's Literature of All Time - Literary Classics Books Collections. We have looked at the best children's books 2022 Choose wisely.

In the minds of many parents, the status of children's literature writers is mostly low. They often think that although the level of children's literature writers is higher than their own, there is still a gap compared with those of serious literature. 

But in fact, the real result is just the opposite: children's literature is not only an important part of literature, it can even be said that children's literature is the most difficult form of expression in literature.


The 15 Best Children's Literature of All Time in The World 


Children’s literature must take into account children’s understanding and view the world from children’s perspective, so it requires the keenest observation and the purest literary feelings to write literary works that children really like, so children’s writers It can be said to be the rarest group of writers in the circle of writers.

Excellent children's literature works are always good at showing the poetic beauty between people and the world with a delicate style, so as to give children a strong emotional experience. It plays a very important role in promoting the development of children's physical and mental health. 

Especially in cultivating children's interests and cultivating the temperament of children's literature, it is indispensable. Just like the children's literature in promoting education expert Tan Fengliang pointed out: "The potential and transference of literature cannot be underestimated."

Children's literature has opened a window to children's emotional education. The beautiful nature reflected by the simple storyline, the vast universe, and the complex social emotions is all treasures of children's learning. 

When they feel the literature and art, the thoughts of truth, goodness, and beauty will subtly infiltrate the children's hearts, melt into the children's emotions, and help them grow up healthy.

List of the All-Time Best Classic Literature for Children and Young Adults.

How many books have your children read? ——15 outstanding children's literature masterpieces that have influenced the world. 


1. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry


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This book enjoys a high reputation in the history of world literature and is the most influential work of the French writer Saint-Exupéry. He tells us a dreamlike story that took place in the African Sub-Saharan Desert.

With a childlike vision of the little prince, the author sees through the emptiness, blindness, foolishness, and rigid dogma of adults, and writes the loneliness and loneliness of mankind and the destiny of wandering with the wind without foundation in the simple and naive language. 

At the same time, it also expresses the author's criticism of the relationship between money and the eulogy of truth, goodness, and beauty.

The film of the same name was released in 2015.


2. Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett


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This work is recognized as the most famous and successful work of the female writer Frances Burnett, and it has become one of the most important and influential works of children's literature in the history of world literature in the early twentieth century.

Mary is a little English girl living in India. Her parents are busy with work or socializing all day long and completely handed her over to the nanny. Therefore, Mary, who lacked parental affection and care, had a stubborn temperament and a strange temper.

A cholera disaster took the lives of her parents, and she had to go to an old manor in England alone to join her uncle. But the manor is full of mystery: a hundred rooms that have been locked, a garden that has never been entered for ten years, cries from time to time in the middle of the night... Mary decided to secretly understand all this mystery.


3. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll


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The work brings readers into a wonderful world with fantastic stories, where everything is confusing and unpredictable, sometimes interspersed with humorous word games, puns, or limericks. 

It reads like absurdity, but it is actually full of strict logic And the profound connotation is the wonderful crystallization of wisdom and fantasy.

This book is one of the books with the most circulation outside of Shakespeare's works and the "Bible" in the UK.


4. Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi


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This book is the proud work of the famous Italian children's literature writer Carlo Collodi. Since the publication of this fairy tale, it has been loved by children from all over the world and has been filmed into cartoons and feature films many times, and it has been widely popular in countries all over the world.

An old man named Geppetto had no children. He carved a puppet from wood and named him Pinocchio. Although Pinocchio has always wanted to be a good boy, it is difficult to change his bad habits.

He played truant, lied, made bad friends, was deceived a few times, and never changed. Later, a fairy taught him that every time he lied, his nose was long. He even lied three times, and his nose was so long that he couldn't turn around in the house...


5. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery


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This book tells about Annie losing her parents when she was a child and being adopted at the age of 11. Annie has a bright personality and is full of fantasy. Her self-esteem and self-improvement, with her hard work, not only won the love of adopters but also won the respect and friendship of teachers and classmates.

Since its publication in 1908, this masterpiece of Canadian children’s literature has been translated into dozens of languages and sold tens of millions of copies worldwide. It has been shown on screen or filmed in Canada, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and other countries. Become a TV series, popular in Europe and America.

Mark Twain spoke highly of the novel, saying "Anne is the most moving and beloved image after the immortal Alice."


6. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne


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Jules Verne's work has influenced generations. Many of his works have been made into movies, and the performances are endless. "Twenty Thousand Miles Under the Sea" is one of his important works, describing the story of French naturalist Professor Aronax and Captain Nimo traveling deep under the sea. 

They traveled to many oceans in the world and saw countless rare marine animals and plants and strange sights in the water. The whole book is full of suspense, and the knowledge is extensive. Reading is both pleasing and thrilling.

This science fiction novel came out in 1870, and it has been more than a hundred years old. It is still popular in the world in various versions in multiple languages and has a wide audience. Only this end shows its vitality and attraction. Readers who advocate that the book is less than a hundred years old can read it with confidence.


7. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie


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The author, Sir James Barry, wrote a lot of works for children in his life. Of course, the most famous and brought him world reputation is the novel "Peter Pan" completed in 1904.

This is a book for children, but also a book about children. The last sentence of the book is: "Things are repeated like this, as long as the children are happy, innocent and carefree." 

It is full of the writer's infinite love and nostalgia for the children's world, and at the same time, it is permeated with a touch of sadness. Why is such an uncomplicated story so magical? Let our protagonist Peter Pan tell you.


8. Greek Mythology by Ingri d'Aulaire 


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"Greek Mythology" is divided into two parts. The first part is the "Legend of the Gods", which tells the origin of the universe and mankind, the birth of gods, and their genealogy. In remote ancient Greece, people believed that gods possessed the same form as humans. They were extraordinarily beautiful, powerful, eternally youthful, and immortal. 

The gods are in charge of the destiny of mankind, and at the same time, they are also controlled by their own destiny. The oldest gods are the Titans, they are the children of Gaia (the earth) and Uzanos (starry sky). 

As Zeus overthrew his father, the order of the universe was controlled by the twelve gods on the sacred mountain of Olympus. Among them, Zeus was the most powerful god, and he ruled the gods, mankind, and the entire universe.

The second part is the "hero story". The protagonist is half-human and half-god heroes (gods and children born to humans). Some are entirely human descendants. For example, the most famous hero Hercules, was the son of Zeus and the queen of the world, Alcmene. 

He had unimaginable supernatural powers when he was a baby, and strangled the two big snakes that crawled into the cradle with his bare hands. After he grew up, he completed the twelve tasks assigned to him by King Eurystheus, including retrieving the fur of the Nemean lion and killing the giant snake Hydra.


9. The Arabian Nights by Sir Richard Burton


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This book is an outstanding collection of large-scale folk tales from the Arab region in the Middle Ages. It represents the highest achievement of ancient Arabic literature with its voluminous scale, gorgeous pictures, bizarre plots, and bizarre fantasies, attracting generations of readers from the East and the West.

It includes grand and rich, eclectic, fairy tales, myths, fables, jokes, historical stories, adventure stories, love stories, anecdotes, everything; the world is everywhere, the land and the sea, it is omnipresent; it reflects from different periods, different regions and different angles. 

The social systems, lifestyles, and people's thoughts and feelings of the Middle Eastern countries in the Middle Ages painted colorful pictures of social life, and it was a valuable reference for studying the history of ancient Arab society.


10. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling


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This book is an early representative work of Radiad Kipling, one of the most important and famous British writers of the early 20th century. It is also its most influential and most popular work. It has been translated into various languages ​​over the past 100 years. It is widely circulated in the world.

The work is a collection of seven independent novellas, telling the story of the wolf-boy Mogori and several other different animals. The works portray the witty and brave wolf boy Mogori, the simple old bear Baru, the astute black panther Baghira, the white seal Kotick who is not afraid of hardships, and the little mongoose Rich-Ditch who is not afraid of rape. A distinctive and unforgettable image with a thrilling and fascinating storyline.

Except for the white seals, the seven novelettes in the book all take place in India, unfolding a mysterious and magnificent picture of the Indian jungle to the readers, so the works are full of unique exotic flavors.


11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott


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The March family has four sisters, living in poverty, simple and warm. The four sisters have different personalities: the eldest Meg is beautiful and dignified, and some are vain; the second is free and independent, and eager to be a writer; the third, Beth is kind and shy and loves music; the fourth is smart and lively, loves art, and hopes to be a high class The "lady" of society. Can they all realize their dreams?

What all girls of all ages have to face and experience in the growth process can be found in this book: the sweetness and troubles of first love, the choice between emotion and reason, the gap between ideal and reality, the contradiction between poverty and wealth...

The plot of "Little Women" is simple and true, but touching. Since its publication more than a year, it has been put on the screen many times and translated into various languages, becoming a classic masterpiece in the world's literary treasure house. 

All the emotional experiences and life experiences described in the book have been, are, and will happen in the process of every young girl’s maturity, giving this book a vitality that transcends the times and countries, which is also the charm of her becoming an immortal classic. And the reason.


12. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum


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This book is about the adventures of Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas, USA. She and the dog Toto were brought to a magical country by a tornado-OZ country. 

In order to return home, she followed the advice of the kind witch and went to the Emerald City of OZ country to visit the great wizard OZ for assistance.

On the way to Emerald City, Dorothy met the scarecrow who longed for wisdom, the white iron woodcutter who longed for love, and the lion who longed for courage, so they embarked on the long journey to Emerald City together. 

However, the wizard OZ put forward a condition: Unless Dorothy and his friends eliminate the evil witches of the West, they will not help them. So Dorothy and friends had to leave Emerald City and head west...


13. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett 


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Young Sarah Crewe, the daughter of a wealthy British officer, first lived as a princess living in an aristocratic school. But with the unfortunate death of her father, her status in the school was devastated. 

The helpless and impoverished young Sara struggles with the hypocrisy and vicious pity of the female principal and suffers all kinds of abuse. However, Sarah still maintained an optimistic heart. Her vivid imagination and broad mind made her actively face the cruel life and the pain of hunger and cold.

She said: "If I were a princess, even if I was ragged, my heart would still be a princess. If I dress gorgeously, I can easily become a princess, but I can still keep a princess' heart when I am unknown. , Is a greater success." 

Her optimism and courage attracted the attention of a mysterious figure, so a miracle appeared, and the former princess regained her former glory after experiencing the hardships of life...

The book " Little Princess" was first published in 1905, and it has been republished for more than 100 years, and it has spread all over the world. The story of "The Little Princess" has been put on the screen and stage many times, and the little princess Sara played by Shirley Temple is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.


14. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame


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This is a witty fairy tale novel, in which several cute animal images are portrayed: the cowardly but adventurous mole, the hospitable and romantic river rat, the chivalrous, leader-like old man Badgers, like bragging, stinking, fashionable toads, honest and honest otters-they live on the banks of rivers or in large forests, they have fun and troubles.

The vanity toad got into trouble again and again. In order to educate him, the animals took pains to persuade and educate him. When Toad's house was occupied by the weasel, they united and worked together to defeat the more numerous weasels with their wisdom. Toad was greatly moved, and since then he determined to correct his problems and become a good toad.

"The Wind in the Willows" was published in 1908 and later attracted the attention of US President Roosevelt. He wrote to tell the author that he had read "The Wind in the Willows" three times in one go. The author Graham loves nature. In his pen, the description of nature is extremely smooth, rich, and colorful. The Wind in the Willows is therefore hailed as a model of English literary prose.


15. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift


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The story of an Englishman named Gulliver after two voyages. The story of the travels in the Lilliputian Country and the Grown-up Country encountered all sorts of wonderful things during the journey.


When he was young, Gulliver followed a famous surgeon in London as an apprentice, learned navigation and mathematics, was recommended to be a doctor on a ship, and later opened his own clinic and got married. 


But as the business was declining, he accepted the appointment of Captain William Pritchard, the owner of the Antelope, and decided to bid farewell to his wife and children to sail. During the voyage, due to a strong storm, the ship hit the reef and was in distress, so Gulliver was lucky enough to drift to Lilliput (Lilliput State)...




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