Clicking on the following links or images will take you to the children’s and young adult fiction book collections covered in this section:
Commentary:
In my opinion, the foremost writer of fiction for children and young adults was the incomparable Enid Blyton. She was without doubt my favorite writer during my childhood, and I think this is also true for many of my peers who grew up on the Indian subcontinent in the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. She wrote many different types of books which can be broadly classified into two categories: (a) mystery/adventure novels (mostly for older children: ages 11-14), and (b) fantasy/family stories (mostly for younger children: ages 6-10).
Of all the mystery/adventure novels Enid Blyton wrote, The Famous Five series is the best known. However, my personal favorites in this category are the Five Find-Outers novels. They have ingenious plotting and great characterization, on par with many adult novels. Enid Blyton also wrote many other mystery/adventure novels with recurring characters. Of these, perhaps the most well-known is the series of six Barney Mystery novels. Despite writing such a large number of mystery and adventure novels, there is a consistent quality to Enid Blyton’s work and all of her novels are highly enjoyable.
In addition to her mystery/adventure novels, Enid Blyton was a master in writing tales of enchantment, i.e., stories about magic, fantasy and mythology. She created many engaging characters in her stories such as talking toys and animals, a variety of fairy folk (pixies, brownies, elves, gnomes, goblins, trolls, etc.) and mythical creatures from folklore. Among the more memorable recurring characters in her tales are Noddy and Brer Rabbit. In my childhood, I was particularly fond of the Brer Rabbit stories, and they never failed to brighten my day.
Next to Enid Blyton, my favorite children’s book author is Roald Dahl. His charming stories with whimsical characters are always a joy to read and often bring a smile to one’s lips. Many of Roald Dahl’s books (such as Matilda and James and the Giant Peach) were made into popular movies; in some cases more than once (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
Another hugely successful children’s book author is J. K. Rowling, with her 7-book Harry Potter series. These books became a worldwide phenomenon and have sold hundreds of millions of copies. All the Harry Potter novels have been made into successful Hollywood movies (with the final one Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows being in two parts).
In addition to the works by the three authors named above, there are many other well-known books for children and young adults which have been published over a long span of time. I have tried to compile the most notable of these in my ‘Other Authors’ list, with selections from many great authors such as Howard Pyle, Beverly Cleary and Louis Sachar.
Next, we have the genre of fairy tales and folklore which includes stories which go back to ancient times, some dating back to thousands of years ago. This category includes fairy tales from different authors or sources, mythological stories from different parts of the world. and different kinds of folk tales and stories written specially for children.
Among the oldest and best-known tales in the world are those from Greek and Roman mythology. Many ideas and characters in these stories have permeated popular culture and indeed language itself. Another kind of folklore from ancient times is the collection of fables which have been popular for millennia, Panchatantra in the East and Aesop’s Fables in the West. Yet another ancient source of folklore is the Arabian Nights (also known as 1,001 Nights), a collection of Middle-Eastern tales with a framing storyline which were created at least a thousand years ago.
We also have a wide variety of fairy tales written and compiled by many amazing authors such as the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault and Madame d’Aulnoy, plus many other fairy tales from other sources all over the world. Finally, we have the set of Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare, which is an enjoyable selection of stories from Shakespearean plays written in easy-to-read language suitable for children, while remaining faithful to the original plays.