Some books stay with us long after we’ve outgrown the age at which we first read them. They become part of how we see the world, the people around us and, sometimes, ourselves.
For acclaimed author Peter Orner, these books include childhood favorites, stories he discovered as an adult and a classic he returned to years later with his children.
In this collection of eight mirror books, Orner reflects on the characters, friendships and acts of decency from the stories he finds to be unforgettable and essential.
1. Frog and Toad: Storybook Treasury by Arnold Lobel
“Who doesn’t love these guys?” Orner asks about the eponymous characters in "Frog and Toad." The two friends don’t always get along, but their relationship is a beautiful portrait of friendship. When Toad bakes cookies, he can’t wait to share them with Frog. Their exchanges are funny, tender and wonderfully recognizable.
Orner didn’t grow up with this particular book, but he discovered it while reading to his own children. Now that his kids are a little older, he keeps the book around for himself to remind him of the qualities depicted in the two endearing characters.
Orner said that these are the types of stories we should all read.
“The decency of Frog and Toad to each other is ... essential reading,” he said.
2. The Pushcart War by Jean Merrill
Orner first read "The Pushcart War" when he was around 10 or 12, and its central conflict has never left him. In a New York City overrun by trucks, pushcart peddlers fight back with pea shooters.
It’s a brilliant children’s book, but Orner sees something larger in its pages: a story about power, politics and ordinary people standing up for themselves.
The book’s message isn’t simply that the little guy can win. Orner said the book is about “the dignity of fighting for your individual rights and collective rights as the little people against the trucks.”
With its unforgettable characters and enduring relevance, for Orner, "The Pushcart War" remains a reminder that resistance matters, even when the odds seem hopeless.
3. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
This may be Orner’s favorite children’s book. He remembers having it read to him "hundreds and hundreds of times," and he recognizes his younger self in Alexander, with his mop of hair, messy room and “a kind of irritated disposition.”
Alexander’s day goes from bad to worse. His friends get desserts he doesn’t get. His teacher prefers another peer’s drawing. Even a trip to his father’s office goes wrong. Through it all, Alexander dreams of escaping to Australia.
What Orner loves is the book’s humor and its refusal to end on a sentimental note. Alexander’s frustrations are funny precisely because they’re real and resonant. Every child knows what it feels like when nothing seems to go right, and the book doesn’t need to pretend otherwise.
First published in 1972, it continues to speak to young readers — and to any adult who remembers being a kid on a challenging day.
4. A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Orner admits he may have enjoyed reading this book to his children more than they did.
Amos McGee, a zookeeper, spends his days caring for the animals. When he gets sick, the animals take a bus to his house to care for him. The elephant, rhino, owl, penguin and turtle gather around their friend, eventually reading him a story.
Like "Frog and Toad," this is a book about friendship. But it’s also about a community of very different creatures coming together when one of their own needs help.
Orner calls it “an absolutely gorgeous celebration of friendship and disparate friendships.”
5. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Another favorite from Orner’s childhood, "The Phantom Tollbooth," takes its young protagonist, Milo, into a strange and wonderfully inventive world.
As a fiction writer, Orner marvels at Juster’s ability to create indelible scenes and characters. “If I could do what Norton Juster did in this, I would be beside myself with joy,” he said.
The book is funny, imaginative and full of surprises, but it also has a political edge. Like "The Pushcart War," it takes children seriously, trusting them with ideas rather than talking down to them.
For Orner, that combination of invention, intelligence and humor is part of what makes the book endure.
6. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
“What would we do without 'A Wrinkle in Time?'" Orner asks.
He remembers the book for its characters, especially Meg, Charles Wallace, their mother and their father, who has disappeared into a mysterious space-time predicament.
Meg’s search for her father unfolds alongside her own struggle to navigate adolescence. Orner may not fully understand the science behind the story, but that hardly matters. What matters is the experience of reading it — and the remarkable way certain books remain with us.
“That’s really the unbelievable miracle of books that stay with you, that they never leave you,” he says.
We forget so much of what we read. But "A Wrinkle in Time" stays. Its characters and strange, compelling universe become part of our inner lives, long after we close the book.
7. Watership Down by Richard Adams
In this incomparable story, a group of rabbits sets out to find a new home in a hostile world. Their journey is an adventure, but it’s also a story about survival, courage and community.
Orner believes the book will endure even in a world where people worry that books themselves might disappear.
The story changes the way we see even ordinary rabbits in a park. As Orner puts it, “You never see the rabbits in the park the same way after you’ve read Watership Down.”
8. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Of all the mirror books Orner discusses, "Great Expectations" may be the one he carries closest to him. He read it with his daughter a few years ago, returning to a story whose characters and moral questions have shaped his understanding of the world.
He thinks about Pip, from his encounter with a convict in a graveyard to his life as a gentleman. He thinks about Estella and Miss Havisham, whose bitterness threatens to consume everyone around them. And he thinks about Pip’s decency, which survives despite his faults and the disappointments he encounters.
For Orner, that decency connects "Great Expectations" to many of the other books on this list. These are stories that encourage us to imagine being better people — not because reading automatically makes us better, but because books show us what decency can look like.
“I don't believe that we read books to become better people,” Orner said. “I think we read books to see how better people are on the page.”
Read more about Peter Orner here.
The "Mirror Books" podcast series is part of a Texas Public Radio project examining family literacy as a potential solution to San Antonio’s literacy challenges. Through the experiences of families, educators and local organizations, the reporting examines effective interventions, barriers to access and takes a closer look at programs showing promise for improving literacy outcomes across generations. Learn more at tpr.org/literacy
Support for the family literacy series comes from the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems.
