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The most popular children’s books published in the 1960s introduced children to delightful new characters, historical events, and stories that would come to stand the test of time. From the illustrations to the radicalness of some of the subjects they tackled, many of the best books of the 1960s managed to invoke elements of the era while still\u00a0introducing timeless themes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Some of the best picture books of the 1960s will be familiar to adults, seniors, and young kids today. Many of these books have been bestsellers for decades and were written by popular children’s authors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Author\/Illustrator Don Freeman created one of the most iconic teddy bear characters in his 1968 book\u00a0Corduroy<\/em>. In the story an adorable stuffed bear loses a button from his outfit and ventures out into the department store to find it so he can be loved by a child.\u00a0Readers Digest\u00a0compiled a list of the Best Children’s Books Ever Written and included\u00a0Corduroy<\/em>\u00a0as a top choice. Freeman wrote several more\u00a0books featuring Corduroy\u00a0and 50 years after its original publication, actress Viola Davis penned a new book for the character called\u00a0Corduroy Takes a Bow<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Snowy Day<\/em>\u00a0by Ezra Jack Keats follows Peter as he explores the world around him on a snowy day. While the story and illustrations delight children and won a Caldecott Medal in 1963, even more important is its status as one of the first children’s books to feature an\u00a0African-American main character, changing the way children looked at books and at themselves. Time Magazine lists this story in their 100 Best Children’s Books of All Time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Giving Tree<\/em>\u00a0by Shel Silverstein has celebrated over 50 years as a\u00a0best-selling book\u00a0for children and adults. The book tells the story of a boy and his favorite tree as they both grow and change. Its message of giving and love mirrored the attitude of many during the 1960s, while its simple text and illustrations make it easy for kids to read and enjoy. Time Magazine, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly all list\u00a0The Giving Tree<\/em>\u00a0in their top children’s book lists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The best chapter books of the 1960s introduce kids to a variety of genres, from Madeleine L’Engle’s science fiction to Irene Hunt’s historical fiction. They also include novels by authors who have become favorites of children and young adults, such as Beverly Cleary and Roald Dahl and most have won a\u00a0Newberry Medal or Honor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To Be a Slave<\/em>, by Julius Lester, may not have remained one of the most popular children’s books, but it still stands out because of its content. This book featured accounts of actual slaves combined with paintings and additional text to help children really gain an understanding of slavery. It won a\u00a0Lewis Carroll Shelf Award\u00a0and won the 1969 Newberry Honor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A Wrinkle in Time<\/em>, by Madeleine L’Engle, helped make science fiction more accessible to children. This book follows the Murry family, particularly the daughter, Meg, as they search for Meg’s father who disappeared while working with tesseracts (wrinkles in time). It won the Newbery Medal in 1963 and is the first in The Time Quintet. In 2018 the book was turned into a major motion picture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beloved\u00a0author Roald Dahl\u00a0brought to life every child’s fantasy with\u00a0Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em>, published in 1964. Charlies’ family is impoverished, but that doesn’t stop him from winning the chance of a lifetime to tour the mysteries chocolate factory owned by Willy Wonka in this story that the\u00a0BBC lists this as one of the greatest children’s books. The\u00a0book has been turned into two movies, one featuring famed actor Gene Wilder and the other featuring famed actor Johnny Depp.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Mouse and the Motorcycle<\/em>\u00a0by Beverly Cleary tells the story of Ralph, a mouse always looking for an adventure. This delightful tale was named an ALA Notable Book, has been listed as one of\u00a0School Library Journal’s\u00a0Top 100 Children’s Novels, and even inspired a short film. Cleary earned a Children’s Literature Legacy Award in 1975 for her contributions to writing for kids.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Published in 1967,\u00a0The Egypt Game<\/em>\u00a0by Zilpha Keatley Snyder introduced a modern-mystery to kids. April Hall and Melanie Ross become friends over their shared love for imagination and ancient Egyptian history and form a club where they transfer an abandoned lot into an ancient Egyptian world. The book won a Newbery Honor Award in 1968.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Outsiders<\/em>\u00a0by S.E. Hinton was published in 1967 and defined a generation of revolution and rebellion, introducing kids to two rival gangs, the Greasers and the Socs. Today, the book which was named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and numerous\u00a0other awards, has helped boys get into reading and taught “outsiders” lessons about life. The book was turned into a film and a television series.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Island of the Blue Dolphins<\/em>, by Scott O’Dell, tells an inspiring and empowering story of a girl who was stranded on an island off the coast of California and had to learn to survive. The book won\u00a0numerous awards, including the Newbery Medal in 1961, was named one of School Library Journal’s Books that Shaped the Century, and was turned into a major film.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Jazz Man<\/em>\u00a0by Mary Hays Weik tells the story of nine-year-old Zeke, a boy living a difficult life in Harlem. Zeke finds comfort in the music played by the Jazz Man that drifts across the courtyard. The book won a Newbery Award in 1967 and has become a staple in many elementary and middle schools, particularly those serving low-income or diverse student populations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Published in 1964,\u00a0Across Five Aprils<\/em>\u00a0by Irene Hunt takes place during the Civil War. The Newbery Award-winning novel has been praised for its historical accuracy as it follows the Creighton family and their struggle to survive during the war. It was published during the era of the Vietnam War and many teachers made comparisons between the stories of those involved in both wars.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Cricket in Times Square<\/em>\u00a0by George Selden was published in 1960 and named a Newbery Honor Book in 1961. Chester, a cricket from Connecticut, finds himself in New York City, where he must make friends and learn to navigate life in the big city.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In 1980 author Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known by his pen name\u00a0Dr. Seuss, received the\u00a0Children’s Literature Legacy Award\u00a0given to an author or illustrator who has demonstrated a substantial contribution to children’s literature. There are many famous Dr. Seuss books, but these are his best from the 1960s and all can be found in the top 50 of\u00a0Publisher’s Weekly’s All-Time Best-Selling Children’s Books\u00a0list.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Green Eggs and Ham<\/em>\u00a0by Dr. Seuss has been quoted by kids for over 50 years and has also become Dr. Seuss’ best-selling picture book.\u00a0Written on a bet, the book tells the story of Sam-I-Am as he attempts to convince an unnamed character to eat green eggs and ham, using less than 50 different words. It’s Dr. Seuss’s only book published in the 1960s to make the top 25 of\u00a0School Library Journal’s Top 100 Picture Books poll.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sitting at number 13 on the Publisher’s Weekly list,\u00a0One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish<\/em>\u00a0was a hit published in 1960 by Random House. Jay and Kay show readers all the wacky pets and animals they know in this rhyming\u00a0beginner book\u00a0that’s available in board book, hardcover, and even ebook formats today. Kids who love these fun fish can ride a\u00a0One<\/em>\u00a0Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish<\/em>\u00a0themed ride at Universal Studios Orlando Islands of Adventure theme park in the\u00a0Seuss Landing section.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hop on Pop<\/em>\u00a0is a collection of really short poems by Dr. Seuss published in 1963 and meant to help kids with basic phonics. Based on domestic sales, this zany beginner book lands at number 16 on the Publisher’s Weekly best-sellers list. Former First Lady,\u00a0Laura Bush, listed\u00a0Hop on Pop<\/em>\u00a0as one of her favorite lap-reading or bedtime reading books for young children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Published in 1963,\u00a0Dr. Seuss’s ABC<\/em>\u00a0book is similar to\u00a0Hop on Pop<\/em>, except it introduces the alphabet instead of phonics. Two dogs serve as the main characters and introduce readers to a variety of creatures whose names start with each letter of the alphabet. This simple book ranks 18th on the Publisher’s Weekly list of\u00a0kid’s best-sellers\u00a0and you can\u00a0purchase the board book version\u00a0suitable for babies and toddlers. Young readers can also buy the interactive\u00a0Dr. Seuss’s ABC app, which is a Parent’s Choice Golden Award Winner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What makes children’s books great is their ability to transcend time to connect with children throughout multiple generations. The majority of these most popular children’s books from the 1960s continue to find a place in classrooms, libraries, and on children’s bookshelves today. Many have received updated covers and descriptions to appeal to a modern audience, but the characters, stories, and even images remain the same, still managing to reach children as well as they did in the 1960s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The most popular children’s books published in the 1960s introduced children to delightful new characters, historical events, and stories that would come to stand the test of time. From the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":303,"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions\/303"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/locrine.com\/in\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Snowy Day<\/h3>\n
The Giving Tree<\/h3>\n
Best Chapter Books Published in the 1960s<\/h2>\n
To Be a Slave<\/h3>\n
A Wrinkle in Time<\/h3>\n
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/h3>\n
The Mouse and the Motorcycle<\/h3>\n
The Egypt Game<\/h3>\n
The Outsiders<\/h3>\n
Island of the Blue Dolphins<\/h3>\n
The Jazz Man<\/h3>\n
Across Five Aprils<\/h3>\n
The Cricket in Times Square<\/h3>\n
Best Dr. Seuss Books Published in the 1960s<\/h2>\n
Green Eggs and Ham<\/h3>\n
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish<\/h3>\n
Hop on Pop: The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use<\/h3>\n
Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book<\/h3>\n
Classic Children’s Books From the 1960s<\/h2>\n