Children's
6 titles
Picture book 3–6
Where the Wild Things Are Anger, imagination, and coming home. Nobody has improved on this.
Middle grade 8–12
Pippi Långstrump Illustr. Ingrid Vang Nyman
A child who answers to no one and is stronger than any adult. Still radical.
Picture book 4–7
The Tiger Who Came to Tea A stranger eats everything in the house. The family is fine with it. Children love the chaos. Adults read it differently.
Non-fiction 7–10
Factfulness The world is better than you think and here is the data. A good antidote to doom.
Young adult 12+
The Giver Utopia as dystopia. Still the best introduction to political philosophy for a 12-year-old.
Picture book 3–6
The Very Hungry Caterpillar A perfect object. The holes in the pages still delight every time.