Please suggest children's books that contain a sense of wonder and whimsy. I just want something lighthearted to get back into reading but also want something that is amusing, whimsical and imaginative. I remember how reading storybooks as a child would literally teleport you into a whole different world, something like that. But shouldn't be too simple, would prefer if it has a deeper message. Also would prefer classical books more, I think they had a strange sense of whimsy about them haha.
Genres I like- adventure, science fiction, magic, slice of life etc
by psychicbrocolli
19 Comments
Try The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster or Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
If you haven’t read it already – Watership Down by Richard Adams. Though I have to say that it is as heartwrenching as it is whimsical and magical. For children’s fiction, it also has pretty deep messages about nature, humanity, “animality”… My all time favorite book! 🙂
Books by Roald Dahl might just scratch that itch.
Books by Diana Wynne Jones, Kate DiCamillo, and C S Lewis (Narnia) also feel very magical to me. If you want something elder, Edward Eager’s books like Half Magic are really fun and charming. I’d also recommend The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett.
The Wild Robot is a fun read with some great family messaging!
Have you tried the Redwall series by Brian Jacques? They are all standalone so pick up any one for a nice adventure.
The Secret Garden
Robinson Crusoe
Treasure Island
Philip Pullman, Michael Morpurgo, Ted Hughes
The Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley is very good. First book is called The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
I have a YA book you might find a good match: TJ Klune’s *The House in the Cerulean Sea*
As an adult who loves middle grade, I’ve got you!
– [Nevermoor](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6a6d5ca1-b2f5-47be-828c-018144d3bbc7) by Jessica Townsend— my favorite series even as an adult, very whimsical while also touching on deeper topics
– [The Girl Who Drank the Moon](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/b8b6a493-2301-493a-bc3e-d4e79c04f4a3) by Kelly Barnhill
– [The Railway Children](https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/f57e9651-b1b1-4a15-9ebd-7a57f4740bad) by E. Nesbit
As an adult, I still very much enjoy reading the series of unfortunate events by lemony Snicket. Also recommend holes by Louis Sakar.
*The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making*. Like a more feminist *Alice in Wonderland*.
*The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog*
*Furthermore*
*Island of the Aunts*
*The Pushcart War*
*The Way Back*, by Gavriel Savit
*Hamra and the Jungle of Memories*
Gullivers travels by jonathan swift. Technically, not a children’s book, but I really liked it when I read it when I was a kid. As an adult rereading it, I appreciate the satire.
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome.
I’m genuinely so overwhelmed and delighted by all the suggestions here, thank you to everyone for dropping in their favorite books! i hope I’ll be able to read them all!
I’ve loved The Royal Guide to Monster Slaying by Kelley Armstrong. It’s all about mythical creatures, adventure, and friendship. 4 books in the series. I read them for me at 33, and they were great.
Grace Lin is a great choice! Where The Mountain Meets the Moon especially, but her other books are great too. Full of wonderful imagery and inspired by Chinese folklore