100 Best Children's Books
Once a week my sister, mother, and I filled a cardboard box with new library books to read. Now, almost four decades later, I still borrow an excessive amount of library books, not just for me but also for my own children and my K-5 students. Read More »
For me, a lifelong avid reader and book lover, picking the best 100 children's books felt like picking my favorite child: nearly impossible. In order to make the top 100, the book needed to be an all-time children's favorite - not just a book that editors and critics liked. Then, with a little help from my librarian friends, my Goodreads list, and my fellow book-loving buddies, I considered everything about the title: the illustrations, story richness, depth of characters, uniqueness of plot, movement and pacing, vocabulary, and even critics' reviews. Much to my surprise, I discovered that there's actually a bit of debate over whether some of my favorite young-adult books are technically YA, so I decided to cut them from the list: To Kill a Mockingbird, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Little Women, Lord of the Rings, The Chosen, Enders Game, Animal Farm, and Lord of the Flies. If you're wondering about those books, they were in my heart, but I couldn't include them.
No matter their ages, kids can be introduced to new worlds through books. If you want to raise readers, surround your children with stories they'll actually enjoy. Introduce them to some of your favorites and let them choose their own at the library or bookstore. In the words of the great philosopher, Dr. Seuss, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." Here's a guide to some of the best literature for kids from babies to tweens. Don't see your favorite on the list? Nominate it here! - Melissa Taylor
8 Responses to “100 Best Children’s Books – List”
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I always enjoy a list of books! I would add The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster which is my favorite children’s book.
Other Young Adult books I, a non-young adult, enjoyed
The Hourglass Door Trilogy ( have yet to read the 3) by Lisa Mangum
The Theatre Illuminati Trilogy (again haven’t read the 3) by Lisa Mantchev
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta beginning is a little confusing the first time you read it but it IS an incredible story.
Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta I love all of her books but these two are favorites and there are two more books in this series.
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley and Heather Hepler. Really great story.
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Divergent by Veronica Roth dystopian genre.
The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials by James Dashner sic-fy/dystopian.
Obviously The Hunger Games Trilogy but you already mentioned it
Madeleine L’Engle is most definitely responsible for my Haruki Murakami habit in the late 90s. Also how about the Earthsea Trilogy? I *heart* UKL!
Harry Potter on 78??? Blasphemy… LOL
@Noelle – the books are in alphabetical order.
Am I missing something? No Curious George, and Shel Silverstein is completely omitted???
Can’t believe there’s no Roald Dahl – I can’t take this list seriously as a result! My entire childhood – and, now, that of my two girls – was cradled in James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the BFG, the Witches, the Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda and more… For more modern “classics”, there are the wonderful books by Julia Donaldson (“The Gruffalo” and others), but this list seems very American-biased (yes, there are books by British authors, but not many) so maybe this author isn’t known State-side yet (if that’s true, read them, they’re wonderful books!).
There’s no Winnie the Pooh either, which is another classic I can’t imagine my childhood without (or that of my daughters). In fact, if I think about this really hard, many of my own childhood favourites are missing (Little Women, Enid Blyton, What Katy Did, the Green Knowe series), as are great books by Michael Morpurgo, one of the greatest living (British) authors for biggish kids (9+)…