Kids Books - Classics

Pip, a young orphan living with his older sister and her husband, longs for a better life, one that would make him eligible for marrying the woman of his dreams, Estella. After he is finally given a chance to become a true gentleman, Pip learns important lessons regarding the influence of money and how it can change a person, for the better or for the worse….Great Expectations begins with seven-year-old Pip, a young orphan boy living with his ill-tempered sister and her kind husband, Joe. An aspiring blacksmith apprentice under Joe, Pip yearns for the moment when he and Joe can work in the forge together. But his dreams are quickly erased upon being introduced to Miss Havisham. An eccentric individual who hopes for nothing more than ruining the lives of men as her life was ruined by a man, Miss Havisham invites Pip to her home. Curiously enough, all Miss Havisham wants to watch Pip play with Miss Havisham’s beautiful adopted daughter, Estella. Estella, despite her beauty and charisma, is spoiled and crass much like Miss Havisham. However, despite her poor treatment toward Pip and her undeniable dislike for him, Pip is immediately taken by her beauty and dreams of marrying her. Unfortunately for Pip, he knows that such dreams are far out of reach unless his circumstances change and he becomes an honorable man. An opportunity comes when Mr. Jagger, a lawyer from London, reports to Pip that an anonymous benefactor has given him a large sum of money and hopes for him to create a good life for himself in London. The only conditions are that, one, Pip always is referred to as “Pip”, and two, the identity of the benefactor must remain a secret. Agreeing to the terms, Pip sets out to London for a better life. In London, Pip immediately adapts nicely into his new living conditions. Pip enjoys the pleasures of wealth and the respect and honor that comes along with the large allowance. Unfortunately, Pip, becoming too used to his life and forgetting to live within his means, falls into exponential debt. His wild and expensive life seems to be unraveling as quickly as it began until the arrival of Abel Magwitch. Magwitch, an old convict that once forced Pip to steal as a young boy, is Pip’s generous benefactor. It soon becomes clear, nevertheless, that Magwitch is in severe trouble and must leave London before authorities are notified. Now, Pip must think of a plan that will allow for Magwitch to escape while still keeping Pip’s name clear of any association with the former convict. Along with the predicament involving Magwitch, Pip’s notion that all he had to do to get Estella’s affection was to become a gentleman, is quickly foiled upon meeting Estella once again in London. Engaged to be married and looking at Pip as no more than a chauffeur, Pip realizes that any chance he might have had with Estella have vanished. The book concludes with Estella and Pip meeting once again after about eleven years. Estella, humbled but still exuding beauty and grace, admits to Pip that she threw away his love for her because of her ignorance and pride. The book ends emotionally with the two walking with the shadow of Miss Havisham behind them. Through this story, applications for our lives include the importance of keeping money in check but not an idol and the importance of not thinking ourselves better than others because of our fortunate circumstances. Pip realizes that “Miss Havisham and Estella, their riches and refinement, has changed me permanently!”. The importance of money and the consequences of making it an item for worship is clearly illustrated in this book and warnings are pronounced evidently. Not thinking ourselves higher than other people is also a clear lesson from this story. Estella, seemingly well-to-do and beautiful, had a repulsive attitude towards those she deemed below her. However, at the end of the book, the reader is able to see that, through the challenges of life, Estella had a change in perspective and was humbled. She stated towards the end of the book that “My suffering all these years has come to be a stronger teacher to me than all other teachers. I have been bent and broken, but I hope into a better shape." Her honest and moving words are perhaps the hallmark of this entire book. With its many twists and turns, I would strongly encourage one to not write off this book as an old, non-relevant to modern times story, as I did before I read it. Despite being written in the 1860s, however, Charles Dickens masterfully captures a timeless issue in today’s society: money. Although perhaps not as exciting as a twenty-first century novel, this book has stood the test of time and after reading it, it will become clear why. With that being said, Great Expectations is most definitely a must read because of its important lessons and creative characters. Happy reading!

2 stars-- I tried. I actually tried to like this poorly written, overrated "classic", but to be honest...I HATED EVERY PAGE. Anne of Green Gables made me want to scream and punch a pillow. By page 100, I was half-dead with boredom, and my eyes hurt from rolling them so much. Okay, I know what you're probably thinking: "But this book is a CLASSIC. Why don't YOU try to write a novel before criticizing the work of L.M. Montgomery?" Well, guess what? I'm allowed to have an opinion! But what exactly made me hate Anne of Green Gables so much? THE CHARACTERS. I strongly disliked EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER in this book, especially Anne Shirley. Anne is too talkative, dumb, annoying, superficial, insensitive...the list goes on. She has a "big imagination", which is just her excuse for acting like someone who drinks too much caffeine for breakfast. And did I mention her really, really short temper? I mean, she held a grudge for YEARS on this guy in her class named Gilbert, because he--gasp!--called her "carrots", making fun of her red hair. OMG, he called her "carrots"? That's SUCH a horrible thing to say! It's DEFINITELY a good reason to stop talking to him, even though he repeatedly apologized and even SAVED ANNE FROM DROWNING ONE TIME! Yeah, Gilbert's the bad guy here. (In case you couldn't tell, I'm being very sarcastic). Also, Anne is super insensitive. She always impulsively says and does whatever she wants to say and do, without realizing that she might be hurting people's feelings. She has a big imagination...and a big mouth. The other characters in the book were not much better than Anne. Her best friend Diana doesn't seem to have a personality--she's one of those characters who exists solely because she's pretty. She just does whatever Anne does. Anne's friend Ruby is superficial and boy-crazy, and her other friend Jane is boring. Gilbert's alright, I guess--but his crush on Anne is SO OBVIOUS. Marilla and Mathew, Anne's adoptive parents, are the only characters I don't completely hate, as they undergo some character development. I might have actually liked Anne of Green Gables if it weren't for the characters. The world-building and plot are okay, and storyline is interesting. This would've been a good book if the characters were more relatable, realistic, and developed. I know I'm expressing an unpopular opinion, but this is how I truly feel about Anne of Green Gables.

The main character Jonas lives in the future, in a small Community. It is a place without pain, where people are formal and have carefully outlined procedures for things, ranging from Rituals of Loss to Acceptances of Apologies. They follow rules or are formally chastised, or are even punished with the despised "Release", such a mark on the reputation of the family that is never talked about, when it is used as a punishment. On the day of the Ceremony of Twelve, where everyone is given their Assignment, which they have no say in, and which they will keep on doing for the rest of their life, Jonas is chosen to see beyond, acting as the Reciever. The Reciever is the one who holds the memories of countless generations. He is respected, as he holds the most important job of all, but the community rarely uses him. Instead, they usually persist in their traditions. As the Receiver in training, Jonas is given memories by the wise old Giver, the former Reciever. There is pain, but there is also love. As the memories keep coming, Jonas realizes things. He questions the world that he was brought up in. He grows more and more aware of how no one else in the society is like him or the Giver, and realizes that they are all like robots: brought up to not feel, to be precise in their language, and to have no emotions. He begins to wonder if everyone, not just him, should have feelings and emotions. But what can just two people do to change a society? I loved this book. The writing style, overall, was very direct, like the society itself, but the message was the more important part: it was really thought provoking, especially the end. Another perk is that the book was short, just 168 pages in my edition, so you can finish it in just a few days. I highly recommend this to dystopian lovers, but I could see how those who like fast-paced books such as The Hunger Games would prefer other books.

Ho Hum.... What do we have here? The BFG by Roald Dahl is a classic for a reason. So, let's start shall we? I really loved this book. The characters are full of love and are just AMAZING. But.... there is still something going on here. Even though the story was amazing and such, I felt a tad-bit of randomness. Because of that it knocked off one star. Still four stars, nothing to worry about. Now, now , now.... let's talk about the main characters- The BFG and Sophie. Their friendship is adorable. I felt that this was a message to love someone in the inside not the outside. I know what you're thinking, just spill it out...... awwwwww❤️ Anyway, to wrap this whole thing up, The BFG by Roald Dahl is just plain AWESOME! And hey, 4 stars is not that bad.

First, I should introduce the main character, Salamanca Tree Hiddle, better known as Sal, who has the pack her bags and move to Ohio. She leaves her farm in Bybanks, a fictional small town in Kentucky, and travels to Euclid, which not only is a real place, it is the birthplace of the author. But that was a year ago, and in the present, she is in the car with her two grandparents, who are driving her all the way to Lewiston, Idaho, where her mother is. As they're driving, Sal tells a story that happened to her when she first moved to Euclid. It concerns a strange girl named Phoebe Winterbottom, a mysterious young man, and has quite a few surprising twists... As the book unfolds, more and more details about Sal's past are revealed. This book alternates, with Sal revealing more of her story, and strange things happening to her grandparents. All in all, there were a few key details that could either make you enjoy it or ruin it for you. There's the whole thing about having a story behind another story, as Sal puts it, and the whole other thing about some things being unclear and potentially confusing until later. Then there are the two weird grandparents and Sal, Gramps, and Gram's weird rural way of speaking. For me, the whole idea of having two stories worked out in the end, and I liked the eccentric habits of her grandparents, but I could see why some people would be a little confused. Additionally, the idea of traveling across the US and going to all these small towns was cool, too. I enjoyed how it had a fair amount of humor, and was mostly very engaging and drew me in from the first chapter. If you like somewhat old-fashioned realistic fiction, like some of Kate DiCamillo's stories, you'll like it too. You might even have a "gol-dang" time, as Gramps puts it.

Milo is a boy who doesn't like thinking. Then, one day he finds a mysterious package in the apartment. When he assembles it, he finds out that it's a tollbooth! When he drives his car through it, he gets transported to a very strange place. There, you can sell words and eat letters! Soon, he meets Tock, the watchdog who's. part watch, and the Humbug. Milo agrees to go on a quest to get the princesses of Rhyme and Reason back to the Kingdom of Wisdom, which has been suffering in their absence. But their castle is at the top of a mountain full of demons! How will Milo get to them? I liked this book because it was really witty, and the Humbug was especially funny. But how does Milo know how to drive?

this book is so awesome but it is long. I sometimes read this book to my sister

The Phantom Tollbooth is a book about a boy named Milo, who thinks everything is boring. Milo gets a package one day, even though he didn’t order anything. What could this mysterious package be? This is one of Norton Juster’s many books, including The Dot and The Line (1963), Neville (2011), The Hello Goodbye Window (2005), and many more. The story is about a young boy named Milo who goes on an adventure in a realm of imagination. The book stars 4 main characters named, Milo a human who was always bored, Tock a watchdog with a clock on his side, The Spelling Bee a bee who spells everything correctly, and The Humbug, a beetlelike creature. The main characters had to rescue two princesses, Rhyme and Reason. They had to cross many demons on their adventure to rescue Rhyme and Reason. My favorite character was the Mathemagician mainly because of 2 reasons. 1. Math is my favorite subject. 2. I like magicians. This book is one of my favorite books, as it makes you feel like you're part of a movie. I definitely recommend this book to everyone in the whole wide world. I think that people who like adventure books, and movies would really enjoy this. Well, that’s my review, and I hope this could get you to try the book, and if it did, I hope you enjoyed it.

The Baudelaires are still shaken from their experience with Count Olaf, but they are now sent to their Uncle Montgomery Montgomery (No that was not a mistake, that is his name), who is an extreme reptile enthusiast. He owns almost every mysterious and strange reptile known to man and woman, and if he doesn't, he has a book about it. He teaches the children all about them,and the children love it. They wonder if they could really have a safe and loving home. But then, a man who calls himself Stefano shows up at their door. The children know at once that it is Count Olaf. They may not have been able to save Uncle Monty, but maybe they can still manage to get out of Count Olaf's clutches.

This book is about a boy named Sam Gribley he ran away from his parents to a forest where his great grandfather had a farm. Sam thought that his great grandfather was still alive and that is part of the reason why he ran away. The other reason is that he did not like it in the city because it was too noisy. He hollowed out a tree and and started to live there, he got a little lonely so he stole a hawk from it's mother and started to live with it. I recommend this book for ages 9-15 because it is a little too violent for people who are younger.