As we go through life, we are constantly told to “grow up” and “be serious.” While both of these are seemingly inevitable, I encourage you to disregard this advice when it comes to your reading habits. The seriousness of adult life is enough on its own. Why should we extend this into the worlds we can discover through books?

Reading children’s literature as an adult allows us to experience realistic and fantastical stories through a new lens. Adult literature has plenty to offer, but reading children’s literature allows us to reconnect with our younger selves and see the world in ways that we may have forgotten. Here are a few titles that I recommend as you begin your foray back into the imaginative world of children’s literature as an adult: