Today

Some titles popular with teens, according to Trevor Dayton, kids category manager for Indigo Books:

 Top reads from the past

With no television or Internet, teenagers of the past treasured reading as a leisure activity. Here are some favourite books enjoyed by Canadian teens of other eras:

Fiction

The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.FI.FI. Tolkien
In a place known as Middle Earth, hobbit Frodo Baggins and his companions of men, elves and dwarfs set out on a perilous journey to destroy the ruling ring of power and prevent domination by the evil Sauron.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
The tale of several teen girls and a pair of jeans from a thrift shop that leads to the most memorable summer of their lives.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison
The ups and downs of Georgia's teenage life as seen through her daily diary.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
Mia Thermopolis, living with her artist mom in Manhattan, learns she is the daughter of the prince of Genovia and heir to the throne.

Also

The Sight by David Clement Davies
Fat Boy Saves World by lan Bone
The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson
Dust by Arthur Slade

Non-Fiction

Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff by Jack Canfield
This latest offering in the Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series explores a host of challenges faced by today's teens.

Closing the Gap by Jay McGraw
A plan for both teens and their parents to work through issues that divide them and rediscover a loving relationship.

Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkerson
A spiritual book based on the story of a little-known character from the Bible, which Wilkerson suggests can release God's favour, power and protection.

The Teen Spell Book: Magick for Young Witches by Jamie Wood
A volume of spells and Wiccan lore written especially for teenagers.

Also

If High School Is a Game, Here's How to Break the Rules: A Cutting Edge Guide to Becoming Yourself by Cherie Carter-Scott

Mid to late 1800s

Canadian Crusoes
by Catharine Parr Traill
Uncle Tom's Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte
Pride and PreJudice
by Jane Austen
Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
David CopperField, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe

Early 1900s

Anne of Green Gables
by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Pollyanna
by Eleanor H. Porter

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Two Little Savages
by Ernest Thompson Seton
Pearlie Watson, Sewing Seeds in Danny
by Nellie McClung

1930s-1960s

The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings trilogy
by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Sword in the Stone
by T.E. White
Nancy Drew books
by Carolyn Keene
Hardy Boys books
by Franklin W. Dixon

Source: Leslie McGrath, the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books, Toronto.

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Source: "What's Up?" - Spotlight on the News by The Canadian Press, 20 December 2001.