For parents · A free reading plan

No time to plan your child’s reading? Here is a free one.

Classic children’s books, free to read online, each with a short quiz. Your child reads, takes the quiz, and can send you the result. No account, no cost, ready for the holidays.

Start with Alice in Wonderland →See all the books

Pick a book

Choose a classic your child already half knows. Everything opens and reads in the browser, free.

Read it free online

One chapter at a time, on any device. Nothing to install, no account, no ads.

Quiz and share the result

A short quiz at the end shows it was really read. Your child gets a result card with the book and score to send you.

Easiest, for younger readers

Short, gentle and famous. A good place for a younger child, or one reading in English, to start.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Carroll

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Alice's Adventures in WonderlandLewis Carroll (1865)A short, whimsical classic with simple sentences and famous scenes. One of the friendliest classics for English learners.A2-B1 · 96p · ~2hRead →The Wonderful Wizard of OzL. Frank Baum (1900)Plain, warm English and a story almost everyone already knows, which makes it easy to follow. A gentle first novel for A2 to B1 readers.A2-B1 · 143p · ~3hRead →HeidiJohanna Spyri (1881)Plain, sunny English and short chapters. One of the easiest classics, good for A2 to B1.A2-B1 · 332p · ~7hRead →A Little PrincessFrances Hodgson Burnett (1905)Warm and simple, with a heroine easy to root for. A gentle A2 to B1 read.A2-B1 · 241p · ~5hRead →The Railway ChildrenE. Nesbit (1906)Simple, kind and episodic, with short chapters. A good A2 to B1 read.A2-B1 · 216p · ~5hRead →Black BeautyAnna Sewell (1877)Short chapters and plain, first-person English make this one of the easiest classics. A gentle A2 to B1 read.A2-B1 · 217p · ~5hRead →

For confident readers

A step up in length and language, for children who already enjoy a longer story.

The Wind in the Willows

Grahame

Anne of Green Gables

Montgomery

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Twain

Around the World in Eighty Days

Verne

The Secret GardenFrances Hodgson Burnett (1911)Warm and gentle, mostly simple English with a little Yorkshire dialect. A comforting B1 read.B1 · 293p · ~7hRead →Peter PanJ. M. Barrie (1911)A famous, playful story most readers already half know. Some sentences ramble, so it suits a confident B1 reader.B1 · 171p · ~4hRead →The Wind in the WillowsKenneth Grahame (1908)Gentle and funny, but the prose is lyrical and a little richer, best for B1 to B2.B1-B2 · 212p · ~5hRead →Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery (1908)Charming and funny. Anne's speeches are flowery, so it reads best at B1 to B2.B1-B2 · 371p · ~8hRead →The Adventures of Tom SawyerMark Twain (1876)Funny and lively, but written with 1800s vernacular, so it reads best at B1 to B2.B1-B2 · 254p · ~6hRead →Around the World in Eighty DaysJules Verne (1873)A fast, clear adventure with short chapters and constant momentum. A good B1 read.B1 · 228p · ~5hRead →

Not ready for a novel yet?

Start with short fables and fairy tales

For the youngest, or a child just starting to read in English, there are 30 short illustrated fables and fairy tales (Aesop, Grimm, Andersen, Beatrix Potter). Each is a two-minute read with audio that reads along, and a short quiz.

Browse the 30 short stories →

Questions parents ask

What should my child read over the summer?↓

Start with a short, famous classic your child will recognise, like Alice in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or Peter Pan. They are free to read online here, and each one has a short quiz at the end so you can see it was actually read.

Is it really free?↓

Yes. Every book is a complete public-domain classic, free to read online with no account and no payment. The quizzes are free too.

Does my child need an account?↓

No. Your child can read any book and take its quiz without signing up. After the quiz they can share the result card with you, showing the book and the score.

How does the quiz and the result work?↓

After each book there is a short comprehension quiz. When your child finishes it, a result card appears with the book title and their score out of the total, which they can send to you as an image or a message.

What age is this for?↓

The books suit roughly ages 8 and up, and older children learning English. For younger children, or a child just starting to read in English, begin with the 30 short illustrated fables and fairy tales.

Free forever

Give your child a whole shelf to read

Twelve classic children’s books, free online, each with a quiz and a result they can share. Pick one and start today.

Start reading free →