Free Classic Books for Kids
October 23, 2014
When I was a kid, I adored the Free Stuff for Kids book series.
I read those books like a monk poring over a sacred scroll, writing companies for free samples of stickers, stamps, and little gadgets. There was something so magical about discovering something free in the book and sending out the letter myself.
I hope that your kids can have that experience of discovery too, even if they aren’t mailing letters. But instead of a Free Stuff for Kids book, you can help them find vast libraries of free (and completely legal) eBooks they can download by themselves.
Just follow the links below to build a free digital library for your kids…
Free Classic Books for Kids
The Slant Book (1910) by Peter Newell: This book literally turns sideways as a baby rolls down the hill in a stroller.
The Funny Alphabet (1850): A delightful little alphabet book in which the letters are made up from acrobatically contorted bodies, and the accompanying text from often as equally contorted rhymes.
The Baby’s Own Aesop (1908): “Walter Crane’s beautifully illustrated version of Aesop’s fables, shortened and put into limericks for the younger reader and first published in 1887.”
The Real Mother Goose (1916) Enormous collection of nursery rhymes with vivid, full-color illustrations (including the picture at the top of the page).
What to draw and how to draw it (1913) by E.G. Lutz: Fun and simple book to introduce kids to drawing.
The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1916): Classic fairy tales with gorgeous vintage illustrations.
Jack and Jill and old Dame Gill (1806) by J. Aldis, London: “Extended version of the famous nursery rhyme in which, in addition to fetching some water, Jack and Jill get into various scrapes with animals, swings, see-saws, and the ever-chastising Old Dame Gill.”
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900): The story is still classic, and the vintage illustrations look fabulous on digital screens.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1884): You’d be surprised how well this story holds up for kids. My daughter loved an audiobook version of this story as she neared four-years-old.
Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine: If your kid loves science fiction, this classic magazine collection has some of the greatest science fiction stories ever written.