Some first lines of children's books - when I use this file I have a timer so the first line shows and then the title and author.

1. When Mrs. Frederick C. Little's
second son arrived, everybody
noticed that he was not much
bigger than a mouse.
Stuart Little
By E. B. White

2. Once there was a peddler who
sold caps.
Caps for Sale
by Esphyr Slobodkina

3. In an old house in Paris that was
covered with vines lived twelve
little girls in two straight lines.
Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans

4. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were
looking for a place to live.
Make Way for Ducklings
by Robert McCloskey

5. Beatrice Quimby's biggest problem
was her little sister Ramona.
Beezus and Ramona
by Beverly Cleary

6. It was a dark and stormy night.
A Wrinkle in Time
By Madeleine L’Engle

7. “Where’s Papa going with that ax?”
said Fern to her mother as they
were setting the table for
breakfast.
Charlotte’s Web
By E.B. White

8. These two very old people are the
father and mother of Mr. Bucket.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
By Roald Dahl

9. The primroses were over.
Watership Down
By Richard Adams

10. Five little puppies dug a hole under
the fence and went for a walk in the
wide, wide world.
The Poky Little Puppy
By Janette Sebring Lowrey

11. My dad and I live in an airport.
Fly Away Home
By Eve Bunting

12. In the great green room, there was a
telephone and a red balloon.
Goodnight Moon
By Margaret Wise Brown

13. This is George. He lived in Africa.
Curious George
By H.A. Rey

14. Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff.
Ding-dong, ding-dong
The Little Engine that Could
By Watty Piper

15. The Lupine Lady lives in a small
house overlooking the sea.
Miss Rumphius
By Barbara Cooney

16. It was almost December, and Jonas
was beginning to be frightened. No.
Wrong word, Jonas thought.
The Giver
By Lois Lowry

17. Here is Edward Bear, coming
downstairs now, bump, bump,
bump, on the back of his head,
behind Christopher Robin.
Winnie-the-Pooh
By A. A. Milne

18. I should of been in school that
April day.
A Day No Pigs Would Die
By Robert Newton Peck

19. The Mole had been working very
hard all the morning, spring-cleaning
his little home.
The Wind in the Willows
By Kenneth Grahame

20. Most motorcars are
conglomerations (this is a long word
for bundles) of steel and wire and
rubber and plastic, and electricity
and oil and gasoline and water, and
the toffee papers you pushed down
the crack in the back seat last
Sunday.
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang
By Ian Fleming

21. When Mary Lennox was sent to
Misselthwaite Manor to live with
her uncle everybody said she was
the most disagreeable-looking child
ever seen.
The Secret Garden
By Frances Hodgson Burnett

22. "Christmas won't be Christmas
without any presents," grumbled Jo,
lying on the rug.
Little Women
By Louisa May Alcott

23. Once there were four children
whose names were Peter, Susan,
Edmond, and Lucy.
The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe
By C. S. Lewis

24. The first place that I can well
remember was a large pleasant
meadow with a pond of clear water
in it.
Black Beauty
By Anna Sewell

25. There was a boy named Milo who
didn't know what to do with himself
- not just sometimes, but always.
The Phantom Tollbooth
By Norton Juster

26. Ba-room, ba-room, ba-room,
baripity, baripity, baripity,
baripity --- Good.
Bridge to Terabithia
By Katherine Paterson

27. It was not that Omri didn't
appreciate Patrick's birthday
present to him.
The Indian in the Cupboard
By Lynne Reid Banks

28. Sighed Mayzie, a lazy bird
hatching an egg
Horton Hatches the Egg
by Dr. Seuss

29. In the great forest a little
elephant is born.
The Story of Babar the Little
Elephant
by Jean de Brunhoff

30. Martha was very fond of making
split pea soup.
George and Martha
by James Marshall

31. In the light of the moon a little
egg lay on a leaf.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle

32. There is no lake at
Camp Green Lake.
Holes
by Louis Sachar

33. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number
four Privit Drive, were proud to say
that they were perfectly normal,
thank you very much.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
by J. K. Rowling

34. A sweet breeze met the boy as
he awoke to his journey.
The North Star
By Peter Reynolds