books *every* child should read?

[insaneneko]

100 books every child should read by the Telegraph UK...Wow, I've never heard of many of these books. Some were not surprising yet completely repellent to me, some were very surprising. They chose Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones--why *that* particular one out of her many excellent books? I was happy to see that one, as well as Anne of Green Gables, Little Princess, To Kill a Mockingbird and others on the list. It was odd seeing Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials but NOT Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain. They also chose the third book of the Harry Potter series...I suppose that is the strongest book in the series...The comments are fun to scan through as well.

I wonder what I'd put on my own list of books every child should read...The thing is, I don't believe that there really are a set of books every child should read. After all, everyone's tastes are so different.

Comments

[fantasygirl49.livejournal.com]

agree about the ...everyone has different taste although it wouldn't be bad to know some good recommendations to start your book readings :D

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I do like looking at these lists as another resource, not as anything definitive.

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

Whoever put that list together really loves Roal Dahl.

I've read about half of it, but there were definitely some (mostly set in England and Wales) I'd never heard of.

What's up with all the Kipling? I can understand Just So stories, because they are about animals and if you squint really hard, you can take out the racial overtones, but with books like Kim (and the Alain Quartermain book just about it) it's impossible to separate the attitudes from the narrative.

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I didn't notice the repeats as I only skimmed it really quickly.

I never did get around to reading Kipling, and now I don't think I'll bother...

[svz-insanity.livejournal.com]

I have to agree. People have different tastes. It's like those "50 Books To Read In Your Lifetime" lists I see every now and then. I love some of the "classics" but other tones, like Anna Karenina made me want to bash my head open against a rock. Granted, I was twelve when I tried reading it... but still. :)

I'm glad A Little Princess made it though. :) One of my favorite childhood books.

[insaneneko.livejournal.com]

I can't find my copy of A Little Princess! Why is it that the book you want to read right then is the one that is nowhere to be found? *sighs*