A childhood without Judy Blume and Roald Dahl is no childhood at all. Classic stories from these famed writers, as well as more modern tales of childish strife, are must-haves in your grade-schoolers bookcase.
While every Roald Dahl children’s book is a must-read, “Matilda” is just brilliant. This story is about a young girl who feels unloved and unwanted by her parents. After an incident with the headmistress, Matilda finds she has psychic powers that can be used for good.
Like Roald Dahl, every Judy Blume book is also a classic. A favorite of many children is “Freckle Juice.” Nicky has freckles that cover his whole face – even his neck. Andrew decides if he had freckles like Nicky then his mother wouldn’t know if his neck was dirty or not, so Andrew tries to find out how Nicky got his freckles. When secret freckle juice is offered to Andrew, he tries it. Only something unusual happens.
Another popular tale is “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown. In this creative tale, a bulletin board falls on Stanley Lambchop during the night and now he’s only half an inch thick. Stanley ends up being mailed and amazing things happen – he becomes a hero.
A new popular series that has also been made into a major motion picture is “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney. In this exciting, innovative read, Greg Heffley starts middle school only to find that he’s much smaller than his classmates. He starts recording the events of school in his diary.
Another classic tale illustrates a bad day – “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst. In his funny yet touching read, Alexander just knows it’s going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day when he wakes up with gum in his hair. Nothing else goes right all day.
Actor and writer Steve Martin has crafted a hilarious book about the troubles of actually getting to school. In “Late for School,” Martin tells the story of a harrowing and adventurous journey to school.
A folktale comes to life in “Tikki Tikki Tembo” by Arlene Mosel. In this story, a Chinese boy falls into a well. Help is delayed because of his long and difficult to pronounce name.
In “Caps for Sale” by Esphyr Slobodkina, which has been in print for over 50 years, a peddler tries to outwit a group of mischievous monkeys.