The Book Dragon for Bookworms

I’ve been a bookworm my whole life. People who know me for any prolonged length of time know me as such at this point. It might be because of this very reason that I have often been approached by eager parents to suggest appropriate titles for their own bookworm kids. I find this deeply humbling and also admire these parents for respecting their children’s interests and wishing to nurture their hobbies in a way they best know how. I also think highly of them who involve me in their quest because let’s be honest, that’s just good taste.

However, I do not know if I am the best person to offer suggestions to kids. I am the first to admit that my moral compass does not quite point due North. But there are better people than I who have written amazing books and it is my privilege to recommend these to kids.

My Go-To recommendation for kids, author-wise, would unproblematically be Enid Blyton. She has written about like a gazillion stories so that’s a steady diet of proper grammar, well-behaved kids and good, solid ethics and morals. Additionally, her books range from silly titles like Noddy in Toyland, fairies that live inside mushrooms, to boarding schools, holidays and crime-solving kids. It’s a whole range. You can’t go wrong with Enid Blyton.

Otherwise, there are a lot of fairy-tale books that can be quite fun for kids. However, I feel like a lot of kids these days just come out mature and already old and knowing. This creeps me out but also I feel like there’s something innocent that’s missing in them. 

I believe that if you want to contain this childlike wonder and innocence, you will do well choosing children’s classics for them. Peter And Wendy, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Anne of Green Gables, Heidi and all those wonderful titles. They are classics for a good reason: they’re good. I’d start them out with Charlotte’s Web and The Little Prince myself. 

If the kid is aged 10 or so, they can start reading Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone. They can grow up with Potterverse as they age every year. It is good investment. Potterverse has some very solid world-building and its proper moral code of conduct, anti-Nazi themes and valuation of love are good for children and young adults.

If the kid is on the threshold, something like High School graduation, I’d strongly suggest Very Good Lives by JK Rowling.

If these older kids still want to pursue literature, perhaps more classics – The Bible, Pride & Prejudice, Frankenstein, The Count of Monte Cristo, Hamlet Prince of Denmark, Dr Faustus, The Wizard of Oz, The Time Machine. Although to be perfectly honest, those are more for general lit. awareness. They’re very good to have read because a lot of people like them and quote or reference them. 

For humour and pleasure’s sake, Douglas Adams, Bill Bryson, Andrew Kaufman, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pritchard. A lot of people also put a lot of stock in Mitch Albom, Paulo Coelho, Alexander McCall Smith; good authors, all of them. Young Adults have a good selection – The Hunger Games series, Eragon series, Tales of Earthsea, Howl’s Moving Castle. And, of course, for general nightmares and scares, Stephen King.

I love recommending books. Books allow you to live out multiple lives, make multiple mistakes, die a thousand meaningful deaths, and even roam the world as an immortal. There is a sense of wonder and adventure that no other artform can match. Movies have their magic but they can’t match the pure thrill of actually being the characters as when you’re reading them. Can’t.

Of course, I read fiction almost exclusively. So my suggestions tend to be that. If we have to pick only three books, though, let’s go with:

1. Ages 10 and under: Charlotte’s Web by E B White

2. Ages 10 to 15: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

3. Ages 15-17: Very Good Lives by J K Rowling