This spring semester, we are trying something a little different. We hope you all are up for venturing into uncharted territory together as we spend a few months reading Classic Children's Literature! From fantasy to historical fiction to adventure, we will explore the influences of children's stories on contemporary literature. Using our signature literary lens, we intend to reflect on some of our favorite books as young readers while scrutinizing how well they hold up to the modern kid lit canon.

We will discuss each of these selections on the main feed, but if you'd like to dive deeper into the themes, history, and connections between these texts, consider joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/novelpairings.

A quick note: we don't share which books are our book club selections for each month, because we haven't chosen them yet! We'll put out a poll on Patreon.

Novel Pairings Spring 2023: Classic Children's Literature

February: Fantasy

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
Patreon Lecture: Reading Children's Classics with a Literary Lens

March: Historical Fiction

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
Patreon Seminar: Should Grown-Ups Read Twilight?: The role of children's literature in the adult reader's life

April: Orphans and Scamps

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
Patreon Lecture: From Alice to Amari: The Hero's Journey in Children's Fiction

May: Books in Translation

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The Wild Book by Juan Villaro
Patreon Office Hours

109. Reading classic children's literature with Alice, Anne and Aslan

Novel Pairings