Scholastic’s Parent & Child Magazine released a list of what they thought were the best children’s books. You can see the list in an easily sortable table below. Links to Amazon.com for each book are also provided.
Top 100 Children's Books
| Rank | Title | Author | Age Range | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte's Web | E.B. White | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 2 | Goodnight Moon | Margaret Wise Brown | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| 3 | A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet) | Madeleine L?Engle | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 4 | The Snowy Day | Ezra Jacks Keats | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| 5 | Where the Wild Things Are | Maurice Sendak | 0-3 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 6 | Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7) | J.K. Rowling | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 7 | Green Eggs and Ham | Dr. Seuss | 4-7 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 8 | The Diary of a Young Girl | Anne Frank | 11+ | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 9 | The Giving Tree | Shel Silverstein | 4-7 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 10 | Frog and Toad Are Friends | Arnold Lobel | 8-10 | Animal Characters |
| 11 | Anne of Green Gables | L.M. Montgomery | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 12 | The Very Hungry Caterpillar | Eric Carle | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 13 | Madeline | Ludwig Bemelmans | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| 14 | The Wind in the Willows | Kenneth Grahame | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 15 | The Dot | Peter H. Reynolds | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| 16 | Tuck Everlasting | Natalie Babbitt | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 17 | Pat the Bunny | Dorothy Kunhardt | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 18 | When Marian Sang | Pam Munoz Ryan | 8-10 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 19 | Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale | Mo Willems | 0-3 | Realistic Fiction |
| 20 | Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings | Shel Silverstein | 8-10 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 21 | Bud, Not Buddy | Christopher Paul Curtis | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 22 | Corduroy | Don Freeman | 0-3 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 23 | The Phantom Tollbooth | Norton Juster | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 24 | The Little Engine That Could | Watty Piper | 4-7 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 25 | The Giver | Lois Lowry | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 26 | Where the Mountain Meets the Moon | Grace Lin | 8-10 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 27 | Black on White | Tana Hoban | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 28 | Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! | Mo Willems | 4-7 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 29 | Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. | Judy Blume | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 30 | My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother | Patricia Polacco | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| 31 | The Mitten | Jan Brett | 4-7 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 32 | The Runaway Bunny | Margaret Wise Brown | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| 33 | The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 34 | Swimmy | Leo Lionni | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| 35 | Freight Train | Donald Crews | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 36 | The Secret Garden | Frances Hodgson Burnett | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| 37 | The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear | Don & Audrey Wood | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| 38 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Jeff Kinney | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 39 | Zen Shorts | John J. Muth | 8-10 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 40 | Moo Baa La La La | Sandra Boynton | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 41 | Matilda | Roald Dahl | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 42 | What Do People Do All Day | Richard Scarry | 4-7 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 43 | The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | C.S. Lewis | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 44 | Good Night, Gorilla | Peggy Rathmann | 0-3 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 45 | The Composition | Antonio Skarmeta | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| 46 | Not a Box | Antoinette Portis | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| 47 | Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? | Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 48 | Hatchet | Gary Paulsen | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 49 | Martin's Big Words | Doreen Rappaport | 4-7 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 50 | Sarah, Plain and Tall | Patricia Mac-Lachlan | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| 51 | Sylvia Long's Mother Goose | Sylvia Long | 0-3 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 52 | The Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Lightning Thief | Rick Riordan | 11+ | Traditional / Poetry |
| 53 | The House at Pooh Corner | A.A. Milne | 4-7 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 54 | Through My Eyes | Ruby Bridges | 11+ | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 55 | Smile! | Roberta Grobel Intrater | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 56 | Living Sunlight | Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm | 8-10 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 57 | The Bad Beginning | Lemony Snicket | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 58 | Harvesting Hope | Kathleen Krull | 8-10 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 59 | Dear Juno | Soyung Pak | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| 60 | Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes | Annie Kubler | 0-3 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 61 | The Lion & the Mouse | Jerry Pinkney | 4-7 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 62 | Diary of a Worm | Doreen Cronin | 8-10 | Animal Characters |
| 63 | The Invention of Hugo Cabret | Brian Selznick | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 64 | My Truck is Stuck! | Kevin Lewis | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| 65 | Birds | Kevin Henkes | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| 66 | The Maze Of Bones | Rick Riordan | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| 67 | Esperanza Rising | Pam Munoz Ryan | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 68 | Counting Kisses | Karen Katz | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 69 | The Magic School Bus At The Waterworks | Joanna Cole | 8-10 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 70 | Blackout | John Rocco | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| 71 | Bridge to Terabithia | Katherine Paterson | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 72 | Are You My Mother? | P.D. Eastman | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| 73 | Tea with Milk | Allen Say | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| 74 | Owl Moon | Jane Yolen | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| 75 | Holes | Louis Sachar | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 76 | Peek-A Who? | Nina Laden | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| 77 | Hi! Fly Guy | Tedd Arnold | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 78 | Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh | Robert C. O?Brien | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 79 | Llama Llama Red Pajama | Anna Dewdney | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| 80 | What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? | Steve Jenkins & Robin Page | 4-7 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 81 | Lincoln: A Photobiography | Russell Freedman | 11+ | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 82 | Ivy + Bean | Annie Barrows | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| 83 | Yoko | Rosemary Wells | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| 84 | No No Yes Yes | Leslie Patricelli | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 85 | Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing | Judy Blume | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| 86 | Interrupting Chicken | David Ezra Stein | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| 87 | Rules | Cynthia Lord | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 88 | Grumpy Bird | Jeremy Tankard | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| 89 | An Egg Is Quiet | Dianna Hutts Aston | 4-7 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 90 | Puss in Boots | Charles Perrault | 8-10 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 91 | Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon | Catherine Thimmesh | 11+ | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 92 | What Shall We Do with the Boo Hoo Baby? | Cressida Cowell | 0-3 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 93 | We the Kids: The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States | David Catrow | 8-10 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 94 | I Took the Moon for a Walk | Carolyn Curtis | 4-7 | Traditional / Poetry |
| 95 | A Single Shard | Linda Sue Park | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| 96 | Gossie | Olivier Dunrea | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| 97 | The Adventures Of Captain Underpants | Dav Pilkey | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| 98 | First Words | Roger Priddy | 0-3 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
| 99 | Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices | Paul Fleischman | 11+ | Traditional / Poetry |
| 100 | Animalia | Graeme Base | 4-7 | Non-Fiction / Informational |
Indeed no list like this is without its controversy. With nearly 500 books in the running it’s not surprising that there were a few essential reads missing from the list. Below are what I found to be 30 of the most glaring omissions:
30 Glaring Omissions
| Title | Author | Age Range | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elidor | Alan Garner | 4-7 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Roald Dahl | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| The Twenty-One Balloons | William Pene du Bois | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| Alice in Wonderland | Lewis Carroll | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| The Travels of Babar | Jean De Brunhoff | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| Duck! Rabbit! | Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| Little House on the Prairie | Laura Ingalls Wilder | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| Harry the Dirty Dog | Gene Zion | 0-3 | Animal Characters |
| Bedtime for Frances | Russell Hoban | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| Harold and the Purple Crayon | Crockett Johnson | 4-7 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| The Borrowers | Mary Norton | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| Black Beauty | Anna Sewell | 11+ | Animal Characters |
| A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog | Mercer Mayer | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| Little Women | Louisa May Alcott | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective | Donaldl Sob | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| The Little Prince | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | 4-7 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| The Tale of Peter Rabbit | Beatrix Potter | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| The Witch of Blackbird Pond | Elizabeth George Speare | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark | Alvin Schwartz | 11+ | Traditional / Poetry |
| The Story of the Treasure Seekers | Edith Nesbit | 11+ | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| Beezus and Ramona | Beverly Cleary | 4-7 | Animal Characters |
| Dicey's Song | Cynthia Voigt | 11+ | Realistic Fiction |
| Blueberries for Sal | Robert McCloskey | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| How to Eat Fried Worms | Thomas Rockwell | 8-10 | Realistic Fiction |
| The Flat Stanley Collection Box Set | Jeff Brown | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| The Burgess Bird Book for Children | Thornton W. Burgess | 8-10 | Animal Characters |
| Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | Judith Viorst | 4-7 | Realistic Fiction |
| Lizard Music | Daniel Pinkwater | 8-10 | Fantasy / Science Fiction |
| Love You Forever | Robert Munsch | 0-3 | Realistic Fiction |
Don’t forget to go check out Schoolastics Top 100 Greatest Books for Kids. Additionally, Victoria BC librarians posted their 100 picture books to read before preschool and it’s pretty awesome too.
I’m glad to see that “Where the Wild Things Are” made the list, almost to the top! That was by far my favorite book, as a child! What’s coolest to me is how a forest grows in “Max”s bedroom–and grows, and grows, until the whole world is a forest!