Public Domain Children's Books

Read These Classics for Free!

Copyright Expired! Public Domain Children's Books

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The law differs country by country, but based on when a book was written and when its author died, the book's copyright eventually expires. At that point, the book enters the public domain.

Translation? At that point, the book can be published with no payments to the author. That means a hard copy book can be published more cheaply, and full text versions of the book are likely to be available online and for e-readers for free.

All the children's books below are now in the public domain in the U.S. and ,in fact, in most countries in the world. That means you can easily find them online at sites like Project Gutenberg, or often download them for free to an e-reader like the Amazon Kindle.

I'll make it easy for you to get started.

Below you'll find a list of classic public domain children's books. (I'm going to limit it to one from each author. Explore that author to find more of their books.) I'll link you to an online version of each book, as well as a free Kindle version (or darn close to free. You'll have to click to be sure). If we have additional material on the site about the title, I'll link you to that too. Enjoy these classics!

(Webmaster's note: Many of the free Kindle versions lack illustrations. Generally, by spending 99 cents, you can get an illustrated version.)

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain | Kindle | Reviewed on our site


• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll | Kindle | Reviewed on our site


• Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery | Kindle | Reviewed on our site


• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell | Kindle | Reviewed on our site


• Call of the Wild by Jack London | Kindle


• Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz by Frank L. Baum | Kindle


• The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit | Kindle


• Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm | Kindle


• The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde | Kindle


• Heidi by Johanna Spyri | Kindle | A tribute from one of our visitors


• Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling | Kindle | Reviewed on our site


• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie | Kindle


• Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle | Kindle


• Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin | Kindle


• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe | Kindle


• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett | Kindle


• The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting | Kindle


• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter | Kindle


• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson | Kindle


• The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss | Kindle


• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams | Kindle


• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame | Kindle | Reviewed on our site

The National Endowment for the Humanities' classic children's literature books list.

Audio versions of public domain children's books at Librivox.

From Children's Lit in the Public Domain to Best Children's Books home.