Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
1865 · 171 pages
Alice follows a rabbit down a hole into a country where logic runs sideways, ruled by a queen who wants everyone beheaded. Carroll freed children's books from having to teach anything.
★ 8.5
The Books canon
Sourced and shelved.
Every book chosen by hand and annotated for why it matters.
Browse all 1,178 books or filter by subject, era, place, and author.
Browse all 1,178 books or filter by subject, era, place, and author.
The Hobbit
1937 · 300 pages
Thirteen dwarves turn up at a comfortable hobbit's door and talk him into helping them rob a dragon. The comedy is real, and the riddle game in the dark still frightens children.
★ 7.8
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
1950 · 171 pages
Four children evacuated from wartime London find a wardrobe opening onto snow, a lamppost, and a land where a witch has made it always winter. Lewis buried the Christian story inside an adventure.
★ 6.9
Where the Wild Things Are
1963 · 48 pages
Sent to bed without supper, Max sails to an island of monsters, tames them by staring, and is crowned their king. Sendak gave children's books permission to take a child's rage seriously.
★ 6.9