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  5. Revisit Your Favorite Children's Books

Revisit Your Favorite Children's Books

Real Simple Author
By Real Simple Editors Updated October 13, 2015
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
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"Beauty," by Robin McKinley
Credit: Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers
They'll enchant―and surprise―you all over again.
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Curl Up With These Classics

"Beauty," by Robin McKinley
Credit: Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

Gretchen Rubin, best-selling author of The Happiness Project ($27, amazon.com), is such a fan of revisiting childhood favorites that she started two book clubs devoted to young-adult fare. Why bother? “Each time you reread a book is a totally different experience, because you’re totally different,” she says. Here’s what makes her must-return-to list―and why.

Beauty

by Robin McKinley ($17, barnesandnoble.com)

“This is a marvelous retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. There’s so much pleasure in seeing a familiar story in a new, fresh way. In fact, you appreciate the twists and turns even more because you know the story so well.”

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The Golden Compass

"The Golden Compass," by Philip Pullman
Credit: Courtesy of Random House Children's Books

by Philip Pullman ($8, barnesandnoble.com)

“So rich that a child can read it at a child’s level and an adult can read it at adult level, and there’s tremendous pleasure for both. It’s a fantastic world of extremely high stakes and marvelous characters.”

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Little House in the Big Woods

"Little House in the Big Woods," by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Credit: Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

by Laura Ingalls Wilder ($7, barnesandnoble.com)

“Reading the Little House series as a grown-up, you really see the genius of Laura Ingalls Wilder―how the books grow and change as Laura does. The final page of this one, when Laura’s thinking she’s so happy that now is now, because it could never be long ago―it’s really brilliant.”

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A Little Princess

"A Little Princess," by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Credit: Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

by Frances Hodgson Burnett ($7, barnesandnoble.com)

“There’s a wonderful arc to this story. The main character starts out with everything perfect, loses it all, and then makes a triumphant return while remaining true to herself. As an adult, you can really find pleasure in that ‘justice rewarded’ theme.”

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Gone-Away Lake

"Gone-Away Lake," by Elizabeth Enright
Credit: Courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

by Elizabeth Enright ($7, barnesandnoble.com)

“This charming, happy book―about cousins who discover a swamp surrounded by summer homes that have been deserted for 50 years, and two wonderful old people living there―is so peaceful and cheerful. Everybody’s nice and it all works out well. It’s a refuge if you’re feeling like things are tough.”

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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," by C.S. Lewis
Credit: Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers

by C.S. Lewis ($9, barnesandnoble.com)

“A magical world reached through a wardrobe. What could be more enticing? It’s a very short book, but the whole world Lewis created explodes with such rich detail. You don’t outgrow loving to read about magic―that’s why Harry Potter is so much fun.”

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Little Women

"Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Credit: Courtesy of Penguin Group

by Louisa May Alcott ($7, barnesandnoble.com)

“The towering classic! I just reread this for the 25th time, and it’s a delight every single time. I know it so well that I get excited when my favorite parts are coming up. The death of Beth is one of the saddest parts of any book ever.”

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The Silver Crown

"The Silver Crown" by Robert C. O’Brien
Credit: Courtesy of Aladdin

by Robert C. O’Brien ($7, barnesandnoble.com)

“I love this story about a girl who finds a silver crown on her pillow when she wakes up on her birthday. It’s an unexplained fantasy world that’s perfectly drawn in very few pages. Time is at a premium for everyone, and it doesn’t take you very long to read this and be transported.”

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From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

"From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
Credit: Courtesy of Mass Market Paperback

by E. L. Konigsburg ($7, barnesandnoble.com)

“The concept of whether you could actually live in New York City’s Metropolitan Museum is just as fun to think about now as when you were a child, and you still completely identify with the children. The narrative framework of this book―who’s telling the story and what her role is―is actually very complex and confusing. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I understood exactly what was going on.”

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The Hunger Games

"The Hunger Games," by Suzanne Collins
Credit: Courtesy of Scholastic, Inc.

by Suzanne Collins ($13, amazon.com)

“It’s so good! Give this to people and don’t even tell them it’s young-adult. It’s about an extremely brave and cunning and interesting heroine in a postapocalyptic world. It’s full of cultural commentary. As a child, you wouldn’t necessarily read it and think, ‘Oh, this is like American Idol or the Roman gladiators,’ but it’s all in there.”

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    1 of 10 Curl Up With These Classics
    2 of 10 The Golden Compass
    3 of 10 Little House in the Big Woods
    4 of 10 A Little Princess
    5 of 10 Gone-Away Lake
    6 of 10 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
    7 of 10 Little Women
    8 of 10 The Silver Crown
    9 of 10 From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
    10 of 10 The Hunger Games

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