Recommended books for children

After-class readings for children and teenagers (the order of the books here are random and does not represent the order of importance)

Note:

Books have always been a huge part of my life

Once upon a time, I believed that most good books were the ones that could draw tears or laughter, but then, with time, with explorations, that idea changed, and I learned that there are many different types of books, and their common factor is not all about emotions, but about growing, learning, and being a better version of oneself (maybe not as a direct influence, but more through comparisons and reflections)

Traveling the Earth is a long journey, and one can be less lonely when there are companions such as books along the way~

For children aged from 5 to 9:

1. A Christmas carol
2. Little Lord Fauntleroy 
3. The Indian in the Cupboard
4. Mercy Watson 小猪梅西
5. Diary of Wimpy Kid 小屁孩日记
6. Junie B. Jones朱尼琼斯系列
7. A to Z Mysteries A to Z 神秘案件
8. My Weird School疯狂学校
9. The 39 Clues 39条线索
10. Guardians of Ga' Hoole 猫头鹰王国的守护者
11. The little house box 小木屋系列
12. Famous Five 五伙伴历险记
13. Warriors 猫武士
14. Magic Tree House 神奇树屋
15. Boxcar Children 棚车少年
16. Geronimo Stilton 老鼠记者
17. Fabre's book of insects 昆蟲記
18. The Secret Garden 秘密花園
19. The Little Princess 
20. Ella enchanted 魔法灰姑娘 --Before this, Cinderella was my favorite
21. The Little Prince 小王子
22. Alice in Wonderland 愛麗斯漫遊奇境記
23. Sarah Plain and Tall 又高又醜的莎拉
24. Dear Mr Henshaw 親愛的漢修斯先生 --can be a model for diary-writing if the child is interested
25. The Hundred Dresses 一百條裙子
26. Mr Popper's penguins 波普先生的企鵝
27. Grandma in the apple tree 蘋果樹上的外婆
28. My grandfather is a cherry tree 外公是顆櫻桃樹
29. Charlotte's web 夏洛的网
30. Island of the Blue Dolphins 藍色的海豚島
31. Yang Fu of the Upper Yangtze 扬子江上的小傅 --One of my favorite books situated in a city I've never been to
32. Holes 洞
33. Rabbit Hill 兔子坡
34. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon --Could actually be a great intro to Chinese stories and legends for children growing up in Western society
35. Thimble Summer 银顶针的夏天
36. When you reach me 
37. The view from Saturday 相约星期六
38. Wednesday War 星期三的战争
39. Bud not buddy --A read from a long time ago, of humor, of care, of a little boy growing up
40. Hattie Big Sky 海蒂的天空
41. The tales of Despereaux 浪漫鼠德佩罗
42. A single shard 碎瓷片
43. Because of Winn Dixie 傻狗温迪克
44. Getting near to baby 屋顶上的小孩
45. Walk two moons
46. The Giver 记忆传授人
47. Missing May 想念梅姨
48. Shiloh 喜乐与我
49. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle 女水手日记
50. Hatchet 手斧男孩
51. The wish giver 五毛钱的愿望
52. The grey king
53. A long way from Chicago 
54. A year down yonder 鄉間一年 --Lots of laughter even when just thinking about this book, her grandma is a genius
55. Out of the dark(. Helen. Keller) 假如給我三天光明
56. The story of my life 
57. Teacher: Anne Sullivan Macy --impression now: a beautiful summer's day, bright with sunshine and mysterious delight, a cool wooden hut, covered by vines and leaves of shadows and lights, a little girl and a gentle guardian
58. The world I live in 
59. Ramona Quimby Age 8 雷梦拉八岁 --it is said that when one is around the same age as the main characters of a book, then that would be the best age to read and enjoy it. In cases such as this, I agree with that statement
60. Ramona and Her Father 雷梦拉与爸爸
61. Julie of the Wolves 狼群中的朱莉
62. Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth 小巫婆求仙记 --when I was a child, I was also a miser, this book was the first one I bought myself (spoilers alert: there's a very ‘effective’ method for Halloween's trick-or-treat in this book)
63. The Black Pearl 黑珍珠
64. The Cricket in Times Square 时代广场的蟋蟀
65. My side of the mountain 山居岁月 --living in the wilds, one could glimpse some of the spectacular tranquility of nature in the pages
66. The Family under the bridge 桥下一家人
67. The Westing Game 威斯汀游戏 
68. Caddie Woodlawn 野丫头凯蒂
69. The cat who went to Heaven 去了天堂的猫
70. Hitty, Her First Hundred Years 海蒂：木偶百年历险记
71. Grey-neck, the story of a pigeon 花颈鸽
72. King of the wind 风之王
73. Tuck Everlasting 不老泉
74. Shiloh 本和我
75. Kneeknock Rise 尼瑙克山探险
76. The Dark is rising sequence 大海之上，巨石之下/黑暗蔓延（系列）
77. Dominic 帅狗杜明克
78. Abel's Island 真正的贼：老鼠阿贝漂流记
79. Number the stars 数星星
80. Belle Prater's Boy 爱的故事
81. From the mixed-up files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler 天使雕像 
82. The Wizard of Oz 綠野仙蹤
83. The wind in the willows 柳林風聲
84. The prince and the pauper 王子與乞丐
85. Gulliver's travels 格列夫遊記
86. Robinson Crusoe 魯賓遜漂流記
87. Treasure Island 金銀島
88. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 湯姆 索亞歷險記
89. The wonderful adventures of Nils 尼爾斯騎鵝歷險記 --Maybe more suitable for younger children aged before 7
90. 20 thousand leagues under the sea 海底兩萬里
91. David. Copper field 
92. Tale of two cities 
93. Oliver Twist 
94. Great expectations 
95. A series of Unfortunate Events

For children/teenagers aged from 10 to 16:

1. Sophie's world 蘇菲的世界 --like an intro to philosophy
2. Gone with the wind --My initial impression of that age in America, still waiting for the tomorrow
3. Le Comte de Monte-Cristo 基督山伯爵 --Didn't quite understand all the emotions there, but hey, it's a classic
4. The Thornbird --Maybe more suitable for teenagers aged 16 or more…
5. To Kill a Mockingbird 殺死一隻知更鳥
6. Walden 瓦爾登湖 --personal opinion: beautiful book, also best book for falling asleep if you are having difficulties with that
7. 1984 --surprisingly accurate description of communism, even if some might look absurd
8. Animal Farm 動物農莊
9. All Things Bright and Beautiful (series) 萬物有靈且美（系列）--sounds as though it's for adults/teenagers, but I'm sure children will adore these too. Of animals, of nature, of the English countryside under the pen of a humorous author. Plus, some of the pictures in the books are just adorable
10. Harry Potter (series) 哈利 波特（系列) 
11. The chronicles of Narnia 納尼亞傳奇（系列）
12. Ann of Green Gables （系列）
13. Sherlock Holmes (系列）
14. The Corfu Trilogy 希臘三部曲 --a must if you're interested in nature, animals, and laughter
15. His Dark materials 黑暗物質三部曲 --impression now: not so dark actually… more like a cozy room as an ancient castle's library, light filtering through the blinds, shed on pages that caresses the memories of time and stories
16. Chiang Kai-shek Diaries 蒋介石日记 
17. The Unknown Lincoln 林肯传
18. His Excellency: George Washington 华盛顿传
19. Jane. Eyre --for a time, it was my favorite novel. Her beliefs, her journeys, her love and dignity
20. Pride and prejudice 
21. Wuthering Heights 
22. Sense and sensibility 
23. Emma
24. A room with a view 
25. The Great Gatsby
26. Love in the Time of Cholera 霍亂時期的愛情
27. Persuasion
28. The spy who came in from the cold 
29. One Hundred Years of Solitude 百年孤獨
30. Little women 小婦人
31. Catch-22 第二十二條軍規
32. A Farewell to Arms 永別了，武器--skip this if you can't stand too much swearing~(it was an intro for me too)
33. The Old Man and the Sea 老人與海
34. The hunchback of Notre-Dame 巴黎聖母院
35. Eugenie Grandet 歐也妮·葛朗台 --Balzac never fails to bore and intrigue one at the same time with all the details
36. War and peace 
37. Anna Karenina
38. Hamlet 
39. Romeo and Juliet
40. The Merchant of Venice 威尼斯商人
41. King Leor
42. A midsummer night’s dream 
43. Macbeth
44. Memoirs of a Geisha 藝伎回憶錄--personal opinion: also great for intro to Japanese culture (in a certain sense)
45. Ferryman 擺渡人
46. Crime and punishment 
47. Little House in the Big Woods 森林裡的小木屋 --it's like the definition of ‘bed-time stories’…the night has settled, the fire is crackling in the fireplace, the room is warm, and the younger ones had already fallen asleep around the living room couches…wind and snow might be outside, but they are simply treasure-hunting places for the adventures of tomorrow
48. never split the difference
49. Children of my heart 
50. The Lord of the Rings

For teenagers/young adults aged from 17 to 21:

1. What everybody is saying 
2. The power of habits 
3. Atomic Habits 
4. The Catcher in the rye 麥田裡的守望者 --to be honest, not my favorite 
5. what life should mean to you 自卑與超越--could be a good read for parents too
6. the unbearable lightness of being 不能承受的生命之輕
7. In search of lost time 追憶似水年華 --a bit too long, but if not required, could bring it on a long flight or something
8. Lean in: women, work, and the will to lead 向前一步 
9. Rich dad poor dad --interesting book for understanding some finance-related ideas
10. How to win friends and influence people 
11. How to talk to anyone: 92 little tricks for big success in relationships --introverts such as myself might appreciate this more~
12. How to make anyone fall in love with you 
13. How to instantly connect with anyone: 46 All new little tricks for big success in relationships 
14. The 80/20 principle--very engaging and beneficial for thinking and reflecting on oneself and other things in general
15. Life wealth: the 38 letters of Rockefeller to His Son 洛克菲勒寫給兒子的38封信
16. Nonviolent communication
17. Emotional Intelligence 
18. How to deal with difficult people The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R.)
19. The art of reading people 
20. Critical thinking-proven strategies to improve decision-making skills 
21. Talking to strangers: what we should know about people we don’t know 

Some interesting authors (including those recommended to me by friends):

1. Shakespeare
2. Pushkin
3. Tagore
4. Tolstoy
5. Hugo
6. Balzac
7. Blonté (all 3 sisters)
8. Jane Austen
9. Charles Dickens
10. Helen. Keller 
11. Gabrielle Roy (Canadian Author)

PS

• Please note that due to time limitations and personal opinions, the division of the age sections is not perfect, and I would love to see your feedback in the comments
• For many of the books listed, it is more advised to purchase audio versions actually: physical copies of books can give one a sense of security, the touch, the smell, the pages turning…but as the child is growing, health is one of the most fundamental concerns, so listening to audiobooks can reduce the possibility of myopia; and according to studies, listening instead of reading/watching encourages development of children's imagination; also, from personal experience, it allows one to be more sensitive to sounds and voice while constructing worlds from words