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20 Free Classic Children's Books For Kindle
Image Credit: Annie Spratt
Is your kid a voracious reader? Are you looking for something new to read to your children?
You can't go wrong with one of these twenty best-loved and heart-warming children's classics.
Amongst these are some of the greatest classics of English and American Literature, as well as many books that have been loved by generations of readers.
They can all be downloaded for a Kindle, or you can download these e-books, for free for iOS, Android, PC or Mac by downloading the free Kindle app for your device.
Note: All books were available in free editions at time of writing.
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- Grimm's Fairy Stories
In The Complete Folk & Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm you can read the original versions of many much-loved fairy tales. Your kids may be shocked - they don't all have the happy ending that Disney gives them and some are downright grisly.
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Regarded as one of the greatest American classics, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is about a lively and adventurous young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. The story is set in the fictional town of St. Petersburg in Missouri.
- The Jungle Book
There's more to The Jungle Book that just Mowgli, Bagheera and Baloo the bear. The five stories are fables and have a strong moral tone.
- Black Beauty
Black Beauty, written to teach sympathy and respect for both horses and humans, was Anna Sewell's only book and was a huge bestselle and has inspired film and television adaptations.
- The Secret Garden
- The Wind in the Willows
Catch up with more of literature's best know characters as you read the adventures of Toad, Mole, Ratty and Badger in Wind in the Willows. A political allegory cleverly wrapped up in a story that appeals to young and old alike.
- Little Women
- Treasure Island
Treasure Island is a rip-roaring adventure on the high seas that will encourage boys to read, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- A Christmas Carol
Meet the original Scrooge, Marley's Ghost and Tiny Tim. A Christmas Carol is a wonderful introduction to the works of Charles Dickens.
- The Thirty-Nine Steps
This exciting tale of derring-do The Thirty-Nine Steps, by John Buchan has protagonist Richard Hanney is forced to go on the run when he is the most likley suspect for a murder he did not commit.
- Five Children and It
Five Children and It is E. Nesbit's tale of five children who find a Psammead, a sand fairy who grants them a wish each day. Each wish goes wrong but will disappear at sundown.
Related:
- The Railway Children
The Railway Children is another popular story by E. Nesbit which was made into a much-loved film. Three children move to the country when their father is falsely accused of spying. They make friends with their new neighbours and eventually prove their father's innocence.
- Little Lord Fauntleroy
Frances Hodgson Burnett's tale Little Lord Fauntleroy tells of an American boy sent to live in England with his grandfather when he inherits an English aristocratic title. The book promoted the fashion for Fauntleroy Suits for boys and is still popular today.
- Kidnapped
- The Swiss Family Robinson
Originally in German, this is the story of a resourceful The Swiss Family Robinson who are shipwrecked on an island in the East Indies.
- Heidi
Johanna Spyri's popular novel, also written originally in German as well, is the story of orphan Heidi who is sent to live in the mountains with her reclusive grandfather and manages to persuade him to come out of his seclusion.
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn tells the further adventures of Huck Finn with a strong anti-slavery message and satire of strongly entrenched predjudices.
- What Katy Did
Twelve-year-old Katy Carr becomes responsible for her family when her mother dies. After an accident leaves her an invalid she learns to become patient, wise and kind. What Katy Did, along with the sequel What katy Did Next have been loved by generations of readers.
- The Ugly Duckling
Lewis Carroll's much loved classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a must read. Some of literature's most enduring characters can be found here - The Mad Hatter, The Cheshire Cat, The White and Red Queens and the White Rabbit as well as Alice herself.
The story of Mary Lennox and how she is helped to recover from her parent's death with a love of nature is as popular today as when it was published. Frances Hodgeson Burnett's book The Secret Garden is still read today.
Louisa M. Alcott's tale Little Women has also been adapted for the screen several times, and it's feisty heroines still resonate with children today.
Another of Robert Louis Stevenson's most popular tales, Kidnapped is the story of a boy who is put aboard a ship by his uncle when he realises that the boy may be the rightful heir to the family fortune.
Hans Christian Anderson's simple tale of a little brown duckling that grows up into a swan. The Ugly Duckling has been loved by generations of children.