Reading is a very special part of childhood, as it allows you to journey to magical lands with the simple flick of a page.
From wizards to mad hatters, books will allow your kiddos (and you) to go on truly amazing adventures, without leaving the comfort of your home.
With all of this in mind, we started to get a bit nostalgic about our favourite reads, thinking about all the classics we enjoyed as youngsters.
While there are literally thousands of brilliant books for kids to choose from, we have selected our top 8, that we reckon everyone should read - especially while they're still young enough to appreciate the magic.
1. Harry Potter
Having turned 20 this month, we reckon the Harry Potter series has earned 'classic' status at this stage. Follow the brave young wizard through his years in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where there is a new adventure in every chapter! Do your little ones a favour, and let them read the books before watching the famous films, and allow their imaginations to run wild.
2. The BFG
Every night, when the world is sleeping, big gruesome giants guzzle up whoppsy-whiffling human beans. And there's only one giant who can stop them - the BFG. He's the kindest giant there is and, with his friend Sophie in his top pocket, he sets out to rid the world of the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater and all their rotsome friends forever.
3. To Kill A Mockingbird
Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus - three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man. A classic tale that deals with the issues of race and class/
4. Alice In Wonderland
Most of us have seen the movie, but the real wonder of Alice lies in the classic book. The book tells the tale of a girl named Alice, who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar creatures.
5. The Diary Of Anne Frank
In 1942, with Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annex” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period.
6. The Wind In The Willows
Meet little Mole, willful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant Toad. Over one hundred years since their first appearance in 1908, they've become emblematic archetypes of eccentricity, folly, and friendship. And their misadventures-in gypsy caravans, stolen sports cars, and their Wild Wood-continue to capture readers' imaginations and warm their hearts long after they grow up. Begun as a series of letters from Kenneth Grahame to his son, The Wind in the Willows is a timeless tale of animal cunning and human camaraderie.
7. The Wizard Of Oz
Journey to the spectacular land of Oz with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz! This classic tale from L. Frank Baum has enchanted readers for over a century. Young and new readers will learn the power of the phrase “There is no place like home!"
8. The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn
Intended at first as a simple story of a boy's adventures in the Mississippi Valley - a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - the book grew and matured under Twain's hand into a work of immeasurable richness and complexity. More than a century after its publication, the critical debate over the symbolic significance of Huck's and Jim's voyage is still fresh, and it remains a major work that can be enjoyed at many levels: as an incomparable adventure story and as a classic of American humour.
