Books and the Young

All of us can remember books that were super important to us growing up,
and most of us have had the responsibility of getting important books into kids' hands.

What are the books that you think kids should be exposed to, that seem foundational in some sense?

Perhaps you can regale us with stories about age-appropriate issues you've observed or encountered,
or other bumps along the road? What were you encouraged to read, or protected from?

In the context of all the recent talk of sanitizing libraries and banning dangerous books
and attempting to control language and exposure to woke,
I offer these stimulus materials:

Judy Blume Forever - Official Trailer (it's available on Prime Video)

'Judy Blume Forever' Doc Directors on Why the Iconic Author Is a "Fierce Warrior" | Sundance 2023

Judy Blume on Dealing with Book Censorship and Overly Sensitive Parents

Judy Blume Talks Censorship, Book Bans, and Why She Will 'Always Be a Feminist'

Amanda Palmer on Judy Blume

...and as usual I'll be adding to this Space over the next three days.
One vast rabbit hole I've been saving up to spring on you fits in with with this Question:

Boffo: Nonsense, foolishness, and the comedic

there will be more...

*****

Consider what it does for the Imagination to be exposed to this at a young age:

There, all about me, chastely dropping Saccharine tablets into their cups of stewed Thameswater,
or poising their cigarette holders like blowpipes,
or daintily raising a currant bun to the snapping flash of their long, strong teeth,
tall and terrible women neighed: women inaccessible as goat crags,
their knitted pastel stockings full of old hockey-muscles.
(Dylan Thomas)