Road Dahl, but James and the Giant Peach was disturbing.
Diana Wynne Jones.
Andersen’s fairy tales, I remember being stunned by The Little Mermaid. Made me think hope is a joke, which is a pretty intense lesson for a kid.
Then from there to John Wyndham, H G wells, Asimov, Jules Verne, Poe, Dumas, Dickens, and onward still.
Speaking of peasants, I went through a Medieval Times phase and I was more fascinated by the lives peasants the peasants than the nobility. So, I read several books from this time period by Karen Cushman such as Catherine Called Birdie, The Midwife’s Apprentice, Matilda Bone, etc.
I had several favorites growing up, but I especially used to like the “Where’s Waldo?” books in elementary school. Although the picture books don’t consist of written stories, looking at the colorful and detailed images, as well as trying to find Waldo was really fun and still is! Here are some examples of a couple of illustrations: