These old fashioned books offer heart-warming stories that ring true today — because at the end of the day, kids are still just kids no matter when they lived.
Children will connect with the adolescent characters while being transported to a different time and place. These books are perfect for older elementary and middle-school children (ages 8-12).
Be sure to check out our other book lists for kids!
You can find these old fashioned books at your local library or purchase through the affiliate links provided for your convenience.
Related Article: 10 More Vintage Chapter Books for Kids
20 CHILDREN’S OLD FASHIONED BOOKS
Growing up I remember relishing reading Little House in the Big Woods and Heidi.
This year, I read The Penderwicks with my boys, who loved hearing about all of the adventures of the daughters and their new friend!
Based on the real-life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods is the first book in the award-winning Little House series, which has captivated generations of readers.
Meet the All-of-a-Kind Family -- Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte, and Gertie -- who live with their parents in New York City at the turn of the century.
Together they share adventures that find them searching for hidden buttons while dusting Mama's front parlor and visiting with the peddlers in Papa's shop on rainy days.
The comic genius of Robert McCloskey and his wry look at small-town America has kept readers in stitches for generations!
Nothing fazes Homer Price! Ragweeds taller than fire ladders, music that sets a whole town dancing—he solves these problems calmly and efficiently.
Homer Price is a boy with a good supply of common sense—and ingenuity!
National Education Association Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children * School Library Journal Top 100 Chapter Books
This timeless tale of a poor orphan has won children's hearts for a century--and continues to be a favorite.
Grown-up Meg, tomboyish Jo, timid Beth, and precocious Amy.
The four March sisters couldn't be more different.
But with their father away at war, and their mother working to support the family, they have to rely on one another.
Newbery Honor Book
Children will treasure this warm and funny adventure of family, freedom, and Santa Claus.
Deliciously nostalgic and quaintly witty, this is a story as breezy and carefree as a summer day.
This summer the Penderwick sisters have a wonderful surprise: a holiday on the grounds of a beautiful estate called Arundel. S
But the best discovery of all is Jeffrey Tifton, son of Arundel’s owner, who quickly proves to be the perfect companion for their adventures.
At the age of five, little orphan Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps.
One terrible day, Heidi is collected by her aunt and is made to live with a new family in town.
Heidi can't bear to be away from her grandfather; can she find a way back up the mountain, where she belongs?
Newbery Medal Winner
Growing up in a well-to-do family with strict rules and routines can be tough for a ten-year-old girl who only wants to roller skate.
But when Lucinda Wyman's parents go overseas on a trip to Italy and leave her behind in the care of Miss Peters and Miss Nettie in New York City, she suddenly gets all the freedom she wants!
Friendship, resourcefulness, adventures! Here’s the classic tale of two families of children who band together against a common foe: an uncle who claims he’s too busy for his nieces.
Newbery Honor Book
Join Joey and his sister Mary Alice as they spend nine unforgettable summers with the worst influence imaginable-their grandmother!
Newbery Medal Winner
This wry, delightful sequel to the Newbery Honor Book A Long Way from Chicago has already taken its place among the classics of children's literature.
In Farley Mowat’s exciting children’s story, a young boy’s pet menagerie grows out of control with the addition of two cantankerous pet owls.
The story of how the owls turn the whole town upside down is warm, funny, and bursting with adventure and suspense.
A favorite of children, parents, and teachers for generations, this heartwarming classic first appeared in 1880.
Since then, it has inspired countless young imaginations with its tender tales of the ways in which courage and good cheer can overcome adversity.
Anne, an eleven-year-old orphan, is sent by mistake to live with a lonely, middle-aged brother and sister on a Prince Edward Island farm and proceeds to make an indelible impression on everyone around her.
Newberry Medal Winner
Making the new farm prosper is not easy. There is heat to suffer through, and droughts, and cold snaps.
Perhaps most worrisome of all for the Boyers, there are rowdy neighbors, just itching to start a feud. The land was theirs, but so were its hardships.
Little Pear is a young boy who lives in a small village in China.
Although his story takes place long ago, Little Pear is much like any little boy today--always on the lookout for excitement and adventure!
Even the most ordinary Moffat day is packed with extraordinary fun.
Only a Moffat could get locked in a bread box all afternoon, or dance with a dog in front of the whole town, or hitch a ride on a boxcar during kindergarten recess.
And only a Moffat could turn mistakes and mischief into hilarious one-of-a-kind adventure.
Lots of great suggestions here…including a few that I had not seen.
Now that surprises me, because Barbara you are the one person I would have thought would know all of those books 🙂
I’ve got about half of these and I’ll definitely have to check out the rest…Thanks for sharing 🙂
I love these recommendations. So many great memories came flooding back just reading the titles! I’ve read most of these, but there are some new ones I need to look at. 🙂
Have you heard of Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace? That would be another wholesome, old-fashioned book (series) to add to the list.
I actually haven’t heard of Betsy-Tacy before, Kim. I’ll have to check out that series. Thanks for the tip!
The Betsy-Tacy books are just delightful–about best friends growing up together at the turn of the 20th century. Very imaginative, sweet, family-centered.
I haven’t seen a couple of these. Can’t believe I missed a good book! It looks like a great list, and I’m a big fan of old fashioned values and the days before every kid was a whiny “whimpy kid.”
This is an amazing list of books to read for sure. I loved the Secret Garden. I’ll never forget reading that book as long as I live.
great old books. You just reminded me to get copies of little women for my 2 granddaughters. TY
Little Women is one of my all-time favorites! Hope they enjoy the book 😀
Oh my goodness, it’s like you stepped into my childhood! I had completely forgotten about The Moffets! But I know I read it and loved it as a child. I’ll have to dig it up from my parents’ house. I also was obsessed with the All of a Kind family series! And The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew! And of course The Secret Garden, Little House, and the Little Princess. I think it is safe to say I trust your taste in kids’ books, and will have to check out everything else on this list. Thank you for sharing!!
Can I just say I am grinning from ear to ear? I am SO thrilled to hear that I’ve jolted you back to your childhood. Personally, some of my favorite memories are actually of books as a kid. I even remember where I was when reading some of them… including The Secret Garden, which I read on an Amtrak train on my way to my grandmother’s house 🙂 I hope you pull some of your favorites out and read them all over again. Who says we’re too old?
To add to the list:
The Railway Children — E. Nesbit
Half Magic — Edgar Eager
The Treasure Seekers — E Nesbit
The Secret of Platform 13 — Eva Ibbotson
One Dog and His Boy — Eva Ibbotson
Journey to the River Sea — Eva Ibbotson
The Little White Horse — Elizabeth Goudge **
Linnets and Valerians — Elizabeth Goudge
The Good Master — Kate Seredy
An Old-Fashioned Girl — Alcott
(The Little White Horse is back in print largely because JKR named it as her favorite book growing up.)
There were just too many to include! And these are all terrific additions 🙂