I have always loved children’s novels. There’s something quite timeless and special about literature that has been written for children.

There’s a simplicity and purity to these kinds of stories, that draws me back to them, time and time again.

 

Here is a collection of some of my favourite children’s novels.

Some might not be suitable for young children, but all are most definitely suitable for people of all ages.

 

1. The Little White Horse

Perhaps my favourite literary book of all time. The beauty and purity of this book is astounding. I never get tired of it. I love the symbolism, the exquisite detail, the wonder, and the mystery. It is full of the most beautiful themes and characters. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

 

‘Just inside the archway, as one entered it, stood a tall dovecot, and the cooing of the doves and the loveliness of their plumage made up a large part of the enchantment. And then it was cobbled with rounded softly coloured stones that looked like opals, with tufts of bright-green moss growing between them, and in the centre of it was a huge well with a stone wall all round it.

. . . ‘No one knows how deep it is,’ he answered. ‘The water has never been known to fail, even in the longest drought, and in the height of summer it is as cold as it is in January.’

– Elizabeth Goudge, The Little White Horse, 1946, p48

 

 

2. The Hobbit

This story is one of the most quintessential adventure books of all time. I love it’s simplicity and humour. Such a fun story.

 

‘ “We are getting near,” said Gandalf. “We are on the edge of his bee-pastures.”

After a while they came to a belt of tall and very ancient oaks, and beyond these to a high thorn-hedge through which you could neither see nor scramble.

“You had better wait here,” said the wizard to the dwarves; “and when I call or whistle begin to come after me—you will see the way I go—but only in pairs, mind, about five minutes between each pair of you. Bombur is fattest and will do for two, he had better come alone and last. Come on Mr. Baggins! There is a gate somewhere round this way.” And with that he went off along the hedge taking the frightened hobbit with him.’

– J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, Chapter VII

 

 

3. The Roman Mysteries

This book series by Caroline Lawrence is one of my all time favourites. Set in Ancient Rome, it comprises 17 different books, all based around four children who solve mysteries and go on adventures together. I absolutely love these books.

The Prophet From Ephesus is maybe my favourite of all. It is the second-to-last book in the series, and it is very clever, weaving together fictional and historical story-lines. There is also a depth and richness to this story, that compels me above the rest.

 

‘For the rest of her life, Nubia would remember the first time she saw Ephesus. They had crested a mountain and the city lay below them, two or three miles distant. From here it looked like a scattering of coloured tesserae at the foot of golden hills. . .

In the foreground, the pine-covered mountain slopes glowed emerald green in the late afternoon light. Birds were singing, the breeze was cool, the soft air smelt of dust and incense. The pulsing of the cicadas was like a heartbeat. There was a presence here: a sadness mixed with joy, a poignant hopefulness. Unaccountably, Nubia’s eyes brimmed with tears.

‘Do you feel that?’ she said.

‘I feel it,’ said Aristo. . . ‘It feels like . . . coming home.’

– Caroline Lawrence, The Prophet From Ephesus, 2009, p85

 

 

4. The Chronicles of Narnia

A wonderful classic series. I’ve always been drawn to the The Last Battle. Seems especially pertinent in these days.

 

‘Up till now the King and Jewel had said nothing: they were waiting until the Ape should bid them speak, for they thought it was no use interrupting. But now, as Tirian looked round on the miserable faces of the Narnians, and saw how they would all believe that Aslan and Tash were one and the same, he could bear it no longer.

“Ape,” he cried with a great voice, “you lie. You lie damnably. You lie like a Calormene. You lie like an Ape.”

He meant to go on and ask how the terrible god Tash who fed on the blood of his people could possibly be the same as the good Lion by whose blood all Narnia was saved. If he had been allowed to speak, the rule of the Ape might have ended that day; the Beasts might have seen the truth and thrown the Ape down. But before he could say another word two Calormenes struck him in the mouth with all their force, and a third, from behind, kicked his feet from under him. And as he fell, the Ape squealed in rage and terror:

“Take him away. Take him away. Take him where he cannot hear us, nor we hear him. There tie him to a tree. I will—I mean, Aslan will—do justice to him later.” ‘

– C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle, 1956, Chapter III

 

 

5. The Adventures of Tintin

Technically called a graphic novel, but still a novel all the same. I love this series. Growing up, I would always make a beeline for the cartoon section of the library just to see if any Tintin books were there.

Captain Haddock is definitely a favourite…

 

‘[Captain Haddock]:  What a week, huh?

[Tintin]: Captain, it’s Wednesday.‘

– Hergé, The Crab with the Golden Claws, 1943