These ‘90s Children’s Books Will Make You Seriously Nostalgic: How Many of These Did You Read?

Everything about this particular book cover screams “the ‘90s,” from the haircut to the Nickelodeon blurb to, well, the Animorphs title. Nineties kids were obsessed with these sci-fi novels about shapeshifting teens, made even cooler by those human-to-animal flipbook drawings at the bottom corner of each page.

Amelia’s creative handwritten journals, full of funny little doodles and annotations from the 9-year-old narrator, helped ‘90s kids deal with common challenges like making friends, starting school, and getting along with siblings.

Madeleine L’Engle’s classic fantasy novel was published in 1963, but it was a beloved story for kids throughout the ‘90s.

These books about an 8-year-old aardvark and his annoying little sister, D.W., came out in the 1970s, but they really blew up in the ‘90s when the Arthur TV show debuted on PBS in 1996.

Where to begin with The Baby-Sitters Club? These books basically were the ‘90s to countless kids and tweens, who couldn’t wait to get their hands on the next adventure starring Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey.

Nineties kids won’t be the only ones feeling nostalgia over this book cover. The first Berenstain Bears book came out in 1962, and new titles are still being published today.

Remember the sleuthing adventures of Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny? Nineties kids adored the Boxcar Children books, although the series came out when their grandparents, or even great-grandparents, were growing up. Gertrude Chandler Warner penned the first Boxcar Children book in 1924, and she wrote 18 more Boxcar novels before her death in 1979. The series resumed in 1991 under different authors. Today, more than 150 Boxcar Children chapter books have been published.

Raise your hand if you cried while reading Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson’s 1977 novel about two friends who invent an imaginary forest kingdom and confront an unexpected tragedy. Bridge to Terabithia was on school reading lists around the country in the ‘90s, and it was also one of the most controversial kids’ books of the decade. Some adults objected to the themes of loss and death in the story, and The American Library Association ranks it as the eighth most frequently challenged book of the 1990s.

Before there was Twilight, there was Bunnicula, a light-hearted children’s series about a vampire rabbit who sucks the juice out of vegetables.

These fictional diaries about girls growing up during different periods in American history were educational and also just a lot of fun to read. This particular title, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie, fed into ‘90s kids’ obsession with the Oregon Trail.

Before kids had the Internet at their fingertips, they pored through Eyewitness books, the lively, illustrated reference books about everything from archaeology to space exploration.

This 1993 dystopian novel blew a lot of ‘90s kids’ minds because it was unlike any book they had (probably) ever read. The Giver won the 1994 Newberry Medal and many other awards, but was also one of the most challenged books between 1990 and 2000, with some adults calling it too dark for kids.

You can’t talk about ‘90s children’s books without mentioning Goosebumps, R.L. Stine’s classic collection of creepy tales about the strange and supernatural. How many ‘90s kids stayed up late to read these under the covers?

Of course, the Harry Potter series is still a huge phenomenon today, but it all began in 1997 with the release of J.K. Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

This gripping novel about a young boy who must live in the wild with only his hatchet inspired countless ‘90s kids to brush up on their own wildnerness survival skills.

Nineties kids devoured Roald Dahl’s whimsical novel about a young orphan who finds a flying peach and befriends the gang of magical bugs living inside. The 1996 stop-motion film adaptation of James and the Giant Peach only raised the book’s profile.

Nineties kids loved exploring this interactive book, which included removable letters, cards, and mini books within its pages.

Nineties kids were captivated by Jean Craighead George’s 1972 novel about a young Inuit girl who must learn how to survive in the Alaskan wilderness with the help of a pack of wolves. Two sequels, Julie and Julie’s Wolf Pack, came out in 1994 and 1997.

C.S. Lewis’s classic fantasy series has captivated generations, and ‘90s kids were no exception. Did your fifth-grade teacher read aloud The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe, The Silver Chair, or The Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

Ms. Frizzle was the zany, larger-than-life teacher ‘90s kids wished they had. She took her students on outrageous field trips to outer space, the ocean floor, and even the human body.

Nineties kids loved pretty much all of Roald Dahl’s children’s books, but Matilda still holds a special place on many millennials’ shelves. We’re still charmed by this story about a precocious 6-year-old who uses special powers to outwit her comically terrible parents and tyrannical headmistress.

Marcus Pfister’s gorgeous illustrations are the real hero of The Rainbow Fish, a story about a fish with special shiny scales who learns to share his beauty with others.

Like generations before them, ‘90s kids loved following the everyday adventures of high-spirited Ramona and her big sister, Beezus.

This moving, unforgettable story about a black Southern family dealing with racism during the Great Depression was on countless ‘90s kids’ school reading lists.

These. Books. Were. Terrifying. They were also some of the most hotly contested children’s books of the ‘90s, with some adults calling the grisly plots and nightmarish illustrations too sinister for kids.

This picture book is one of the more esoteric children’s books from the ‘90s. It offers delightfully weird new twists to classic fairy tales like The Ugly Duckling and Little Red Riding Hood.

It’s hard to choose just one Judy Blume novel for this list because ‘90s kids loved so many of her books, but this novel about a 9-year-old coping with his irritating little brother is one of the classics.

Nineties kids grew up reading Shel Silverstein’s classic bittersweet tale about the lifelong relationship between a boy and a tree.

Nineties kids were moved by Sharon Creech’s beautiful 1994 novel about a young girl traveling across the country to reunite with her missing mother.

Deliciously bizarre and slightly sinister—that pretty much sums up Louis Sachar’s Wayside School trilogy, which concluded with 1995’s Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger.

Have you read Frankenstein? How about The Red Badge of Courage? Maybe not, but chances are, you’ve read the Wishbone version. The ‘90s book series, based on the hit Wishbone TV show, introduced kids to classic literature through the eyes of an imaginative Jack Russell terrier.

Our parents weren’t thrilled with us reading these slightly trashy novels, but many ‘90s tweens and teens couldn’t get enough of the friendships, crushes, and mishaps of Jessica and Elizabeth, the pretty and popular Wakefield twins. Between 1983 and 2003, more than 600 (!) Sweet Valley novels were written by a series of ghost writers.

This 1993 picture book about the adventures of a baby fruitbat has become a beloved children’s classic.

Kids gobbled up the whimsical poems and illustrations in Shel Silverstein’s third and final poetry collection.