A few years ago, when deciding what to buy my godson for his christening gift I struck upon the idea of giving him what I believed to be the essential books that every boy should grow up reading. His name is Jack, so I asked an artistic friend to paint a beanstalk on a bright red wooden crate from Target and label it "Jack's Beanstalk of Books." After that, many of my friends asked me for that list of books. This was before I had a blog, and when I stumbled upon the list on my computer the other day, it was almost like finding a blog post from my pre-blog past...eery.
There's no better time to share this list than now, and I hope it helps you find the right gift for your son, nephew, little brother or grandson this holiday season! Stay tuned for my Best Books for Girls list that will follow. And please let me know what you think I've left out! (since I was giving these books to a then 1 yr old, it definitely skews a bit younger, and I confess I have since added some my son's favorites).
All links go to Powell's, as they're offering free shipping on orders of more than $50 this week! The Giving Tree
The Runaway Bunny
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Goodnight Moon
The Snowy Day
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The World of Pooh Good Dog, Carl
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Bedtime for
Velveteen Rabbit
Tikki Tikki Tembo
Story of Babar Curious George
Caps for Sale
Story of Ferdinand
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Story about
The Jungle Book
Just So Stories, Kipling
Where the Wild Things Are Stuart Little
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Charlotte's Web
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
Harriet the Spy
Henry Reed, Inc. Encyclopedia Brown
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A Wrinkle in Time
Henry Huggins
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The Phantom Tollbooth
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Great list! One of my favorite recent books is The Library Lion, which nephew likes quite a bit.
Posted by: Kate | December 02, 2009 at 07:14 AM
My little guy is all about the Tonka truck books.
Posted by: Kelly | December 02, 2009 at 09:13 AM
Thanks so much for the list. I have a little boy and am always interested in good books to buy for him.
Posted by: Ryan | December 02, 2009 at 09:24 AM
It's so important to draw attention to reading, and attract reluctant readers to it,especially boys. In fact, I've recently completed a feature magazine article on this subject that came out in October, "Help for Struggling, Reluctant Readers."
I grew up as a reluctant reader, in spite of the fact that my father published over 70 books. Now I write action-adventures & mysteries, especially for tween boys, that avid boy readers and girls enjoy just as much.
My blog, Books for Boys http://booksandboys.blogspot.com is dedicated to drawing attention to the importance of reading.
Keep up your good work.
Max Elliot Anderson
Posted by: Max Elliot Anderson | December 02, 2009 at 09:31 AM
Great list. I would add The Stinky Cheese Man.
Posted by: Lisa | December 02, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Oh, and the A Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket. They are filled with both humor and scary moments and loaded with plays on words that are great teaching moments.
Posted by: Lisa | December 02, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Excellent posting! These were some of my favorites (even though I'm a chick). David Shannon's books are also always a hit.
Posted by: A Bookshelf Monstrosity | December 02, 2009 at 01:49 PM
Every single one of the books on the list I read to my son. My favorite picture book was Snowy Day. These books make you feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Posted by: susan | December 02, 2009 at 05:21 PM
They're dated, but oh, for the love of Danny Dunn!
Posted by: Nanci | December 07, 2009 at 12:01 AM
Wonderful list! My sons (now 19 and 17) would add Brian Jaques's Redwall series, which they liked even better than the Harry Potters.
Posted by: Meg Waite Clayton | December 08, 2009 at 09:01 AM