With so many choices and books out there, choosing the best books for your home library can be overwhelming. I have your back with this list of some of the very BEST kids’ book authors, plus a FREE printable list to take with you to the library or bookstore!
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Our school curriculum is beginning to arrive daily in the mail and I am getting so excited for the start of new school year. After spending weeks discussing and researching curriculum options, all that’s left to do is to prepare notebooks and jot down a basic reading schedule.
Because we mostly follow Charlotte Mason’s principles in our homeschool, a majority of our “curriculum” is simply a big stack of beautiful books covering a generous variety of topics and ideas. Reading books together, and independently as the children get older, is a natural and lovely way to learn about the world. It’s one of our absolute favorite things to do as a family (both during “school hours” as well as in other pockets of the day).
But, the more you read, the more it becomes clear that not all books are worth your time (or money if you are building a home library).
“No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally worth reading at the age of fifty.”
C.S. Lewis
I’ve spent MANY hours recently at the used bookstore looking through books, reading through recommended book lists, listening to friends’ share about their favorite books, and scrolling through book after book on Amazon. I’ve scanned the books on our shelves– the ones that have lasted the test of time, kept through multiple purges and cycles of paring down.
The result of all of this is a new resource for you, and for me, to help select the best books written by the best authors who have written numerous award-winning, living books.
I’ve put together a list of over one hundred children’s book authors whose books are consistently worth reading. The list is divided into sections for easier reference– toddler/preschool books, picture books, chapter books, science and nature books, math books, history and people books, poetry books, and finally great collections and series.
Of course, the list doesn’t include EVERY single author worthy of reading. I tried to focus on authors with more than a few great titles. If you are looking for even more good books and wonderful authors, you can check out these three books which have helpful collections sorted by topic, age, and so on:
Scroll through the authors and you will find a printable reference sheet with all their names and categories (there is some overlap). Print it off and tuck it in your wallet, or save it on your phone, for easy reference when you’re shopping at a (used) bookstore or trying to think of gift suggestions.
I did not include any links to the authors but if you’d like to shop from this list of Best Children’s Book Authors, you can visit the Amazon shop page I created to accompany this post. You can look through books from each of these amazing authors and easily add quality books to your home library.
Best Kids’ Book Authors
TODDLER/PRESCHOOL BOOKS
- Eric Carle
- Margaret Wise Brown
- Tomie dePaola
- Peter Spier
- Denise Fleming
- Lois Elhert
- Anne Rockwell
- Sandra Boyton
- Mem Fox
PICTURE BOOKS
- Tomie dePaola
- Patricia Polacco
- Jan Brett
- Jerry Pallota
- Susan Jeffers
- Barbara Cooney
- Cynthia Rylant
- Lois Elhert
- Helen Oxenbury
- Mo Willems
- Jon Klassen
- Arthur Geisert
- Eve Bunting
- Jack Ezra Keats
- Arnold Lobel
- Chris Van Allsburg
- Teagen White
- Paul Galdone
- Virginia Burton
- William Steig
- Barbara McClintock
- Steven Kellogg
- Leo Lionni
- David Wiesner
CHAPTER BOOKS
- Marguerite Henry
- Beverly Cleary
- Gary Paulson
- Elizabeth Yates
- Lois Lenski
- Edith Nesbitt
- E.B. White
- Roald Dahl
- Katherine Paterson
- Patricia MacLachlan
- George MacDonald
- Sharon Creech
- Avi
- Eleanor Estes
- Scott O’Dell
- Kate DiCamillo
- Madeleine L’Engle
- Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Jacqueline Woodson
- Rebecca Caudill
- Bill Wallace
- Sid Fleischman
- Robert McCloskey
- Brandon Mull
- Rick Riordan
- Lois Lowry
- Pam Munoz Ryan
SCIENCE & NATURE
- Jim Arnosky
- Gail Gibbons
- Jerry Pallotta
- Ruth Heller
- Jon Scieszka
- Brian Floca
- Julia Rothman
- David Macaulay
- James Herriot
MATH
- Loreen Leedy
- Jerry Pallotta
- Lois Ehlert
- Jon Scieszka
- Marilyn Burns
- David M. Schwartz
- David Adler
HISTORY & PEOPLE
- Mitsumasa Anno
- Betsy Maestro
- Susan Jeffers
- Ingrid & Edgar d’Aulaire
- Jean Fritz
- Lynn Cheney
- Arthur Geisert
- Eve Bunting
- Holling C. Holling
- Laurie Halse Anderson
- Alice Dalgliesh
- Gloria Whelan
- Joseph Bruchac
- Judith St. George
POETRY
- A.A. Milne
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Robert McClosky
- Shel Silverstein
- Robert Frost
- Jack Prelutsky
- Jon Scieszka
COLLECTIONS
- Who Was/Is series
- Classic Starts books
- Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists
- If You Lived When…
- Poetry for Young People
- Poetry for Kids
SERIES
- Little House on the Prairie
- Chronicles of Narnia
- Betsy Tacy
- Ramona & Henry Huggins
- The Crossover Series
- Redwall
- Wingfeather Saga
- Green Ember
- Penderwicks
Children’s Authors Reference Sheet
Print the free Best Children’s Authors reference sheet!
If you find this list helpful, consider sharing it with your friends or school groups! I appreciate it!
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You have mastered a difficult task indeed! This is an excellent list you have created. I personally would add Thorton Burgess to recommended science / animal life.
Thank you for this list and all you do for us that follow you!! I’m always looking for new books for my children!! Audrey Penn ismy children’s favorite author!
My favorite children’s book is “The Priest with dirty clothes” by R.C. sproul
We have so many favorites! But we especially love Going on a Bear Hunt for the toddler/preschooler years.