The Best Children’s Books
Nicholas Kristof has published his list of the best children’s books, arguing that it’s important to pry kids away from their keyboards and phones long enough to get them reading.
I remember the excitement of the year I discovered the Hardy Boys. And I know many families who’ve bonded over Harry Potter, including our own.
But what about “Go, Dog, Go”? Or Captain Underpants? Or (and this does seem like a serious omission) The Chronicles of Narnia and The Hobbit?
How about you? What are the books that you remember reading when you were young, or the books you read to your children (or helped get them started reading)?
I really ought to be getting Diane’s input on this, but she’s sound asleep. It’s 4:30 a.m. in Brazil and my amigo, the rooster who lives just outside our hotel room, has decided I’ve been in bed long enough.
My wife read this list to my daughter Sunday and now she is intent on getting Lad to read. The Narnia series is my favorite of all time though I keep gleaning new bits of thought provoking material every time I read them.
Not classics but some more recent series that my 12 year old loves are:
Gregor the Overlander – great story of friendship and the importance of family.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians – Think Harry Potter, subtract the magic and add Greek Mythology. Funny and well put together.
Okay, I woke up before your rooster did this morning (in Abilene time), so I have time to offer a couple….
When my girls were babies (they’re only 5 and 6), I loved reading the “Little Blessings” series by Kathleen Long Bostrom. I loved that she went beyond nonsensical rhymes and into theology (that I was comfortable with) deeper than most. For my youngest right now, Dooby, Dooby Moo is being recited, and last fall, it was Curly the Pig. Curious George is loved, also. She memorizes them almost verbatim, so we get to hear them over and over. For my oldest, we are enjoying the fun of Daisy Meadows “Fairies” series….and her Kindergarten class loved The Magic Treehouse books.
I hope the girls will delve into my collection of Nancy Drews, and I so much want them to love Anne of Greene Gables. I will opt for Ramona the Brave over Junie B., unless someone convinces me otherwise. And Shel Silverstein….I hope to go there. We don’t really opt for animal stories in this house, unless promised a good ending, i.e., the animal is alive and well at the end.
Your secretary gave me “permission” on one of our trips to Dallas, to “never be without a book,” and I love that. I intend to pass it on to my girls. Thanks for the list!
My daughter loved the Alex Rider books when she was about 9. The Roman Mysteries were favourites too (http://www.romanmysteries.com) She devoured The Deltora series (http://www.scholastic.com/deltora/) and loved The Diary of Anne Frank, Little Women, harry Potter and Twilight before beginning an obsession with Lord of the Rings and all things Tolkien.
I loved “The Girl of the Limberlost”, “Daddy Long Legs” and the Noel Streatfeild novels.
Eh. Some of these books are definitely good, some of these books I’ve never read, and several of these books I’m surprised made the list. Of course, when one person makes a list of their favorite books, you can’t REALLY call it “The Best Kids Books Ever.” Because really, the opinion is this man’s only, and unless you were a little boy in the 1950s or 60s (which about 100% of today’s kids are not,) it’s highly possible you might not enjoy alot of these books. That said, he does have Harry Potter on here, which is a newer series that many kids today love.
I am a children’s librarian and am currently taking “Literature for Youth” in graduate school. Strangely enough, almost none of these books are on my reading list for the class. I think Anne of Green Gables might be the only one. If you really want to find out the best kids books ever, ask some kids!
Thanks for posting this article! I’m going to share it with my colleagues and see what they think about it.
I work in the children’s department of a library, and I must say that I agree with Jennifer T. My first thought was “has this guy read anything in 50 years?” (Harry Potter excepted) Lois Lowry and Neil Gaiman come to mind as modern authors in children’s literature who will have a lasting impact. I’m afraid to counter my own argument, but E.L. Konigsberg was my favorite author as a child. She won the Newbery in the 1960s, but she won it again in the 1990s so I consider her a modern author with MASSIVE longevity.
I was and am a voracious reader – so I have too many favorites to name. However, I’ll speak up in favor of Nancy Drew. I also loved Anne of Green Gables, the Ramona books, Dr. Dolittle, Little House on the Prairie, the Boxcar Children and dozens of others. (I am a Harry Potter fan too – but didn’t recognize many of the others on the list.)
I have an 8 year old and 5 year year old. We have read the cover off Where The Wild Things Are and No David. My 8 year old is getting into the Encyclopedia Brown books and the Choose Your Own Adventure books.
As a retired children’s librarian, and a teacher of Children’s Literature, I think I know a little about the best in children’s books.
His list was o. k., but somewhat dated and British. I can’t imagine my grandchildren reading or enjoying Freddy the Pig. And as far as I am concerned leaving Charlie and the Chocolate Factory off his list was a good choice–I think far more people liked the movie than ever read the book.
I think I will have to do my own list of the 10 Best on my blog Musings soon. Where the Wild Things Are and Charlotte’s Web will certainly be on it.
There are so many factors to consider in trying to make a definitive list like this. I think it is about what engages. I know my daughter loved the series by Haddix, The Shadow Children. My son is starting to get into those. As early elementary (k-1st) readers they loved Magic Tree House. My son consumed Captain Underpants. At different stages, Wayside School series and the hilarious picture books, Black Lagoon have been favorites at our house over the years. So many great choices!
FUN topic!!! As a first grade teacher, one of my favorite authors was Kevin Henkes; you can’t beat Chrysanthamum and Owen! I also love several of Max Lucado’s, including You are Special and The Oak Inside the Acorn. I agree, Magic Tree House books are fabulous as well. Growing up I loved Ramona and Hank the Cowdog.
I always tell my husband “money spent on a book is never wasted.”
He doesn’t agree and tells me that’s why God made libraries.
I will be forever thankful to my (step)grandmother for introducing me to Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was in third grade. Oh how I loved going to visit my grandparents and spending the day in front of her book shelf.
For young children I highly recommend “Little New Kangaroo” and “Am I Beautiful?” Also, the “Alice in Bible Land” series is excellent. Oh, and “Mr. Floop’s Lunch.”
Of course you can’t go wrong with any Berenstein Bears or Dr. Seuss.
I still have two bookshelves full of children’s books in our basement that my heart won’t release because of the sweet, sweet memories in the pages.
I love that you put Captain Underpants on there… It would be on my list, my son’s list, my youngest daughter’s list… not my wife’s though. Enough said. Before I get in trouble with the purists and children’s librarians and my wife.
Say hello to your amigo the rooster. And if they have chicken soup on the menu tomorrow, maybe you’ll be able to give him your final respects!
May God bless your ministry to church leaders in Brazil.
Ken Hines
Spent a good part of a summer in Brazil (Belo, Itu, and Manaus) and loved it.
My two favorite books were Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and the original movie, not the so-called remake) and Where the Red Fern Grows. I would climb the big maple tree in our front yard and sit in a special place and read all day. My mom would send lunch up with a pulley system I devised.
I remember one of my favorite books was published when I was a pre-schooler…Bible A B Cs…and it had short poems for each letter of the alphabet such as
A is for Abraham
Put to the test
That proved he was faithful
And loved God the best!
The book was colorful…I had it memorized when I was 4…I read it to my children…and now I’ve had copies made for each of my grandchildren. That book opened the door for lots of other Bible stories told by my parents and grandparents, and that time spent listening to them share their faith was important.
There were other books as I grew older, and I’ve been able to obtain some of them for my grandchildren (Toodles, Scuffy the Tugboat, etc.)
My Bobbsey Twin and Nancy Drew books were read by my nieces (born 1983 and 1988)…and they shared with me some of their favorites (Laura Engles Wilder, Anne of Green Gables.)
My grandchildren (still pre-schoolers) love the timeless Dr. Seuss and Berenstein Bears. It’s going to be fun as they get older to continue reading with them and talking about what they read.
Mike,
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo
Some of my childhood favorites, gradually being introduced to my kids as appropriate:
The Enormous Crocodile (Roald Dahl)
William Steig’s books (Sylvester and the Magic Pebble; Dr. DeSoto; Roland the Minstrel Pig)
Children’s story books written and illustrated by Bill Peete
The Little House books
Caddie Woodlawn
The Ramona books
Shel Silverstein
E.B. White’s books (esp. Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little)
The Wizard of Oz books
Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew/Trixie Belden
Louisa May Alcott’s books
This is a small sampling…and how pleasant to recall the joy of first reading each of these!
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Junie B. Jones books (esp. to read aloud in character)
For younger kids I like the Bear Snores On series, If You Take A Mouse to School series and Magic Treehouse books.
My son loves the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series too!
At the right age, it’s hard to think of anything better than Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. “Pieces of Eight! Pieces of Eight!”
My children’s favorite was “Marvin K. Mooney, will you please go?” by Dr. Suess.
Being a girl, instead of The Hardy Boys, I read Nancy Drew. Little House on the Prairie, and the Black Beauty books. To my grandchildren, our favorites are The Napping House, How I Became a Pirate, The Almost Bedtime Story, and Peter Pan. They are now old enough for ‘chapter’ books and have enjoyed the Harry Potter books, which their Dad reads to them at bedtime. Now, if I could just get my stepchildren to read…thanks for bringing back some great memories thinking about favorite childhood stories.
Anything by Cynthia Rylant makes a great read-aloud to elementary school children. My favorite by Cynthia is a Christmas story titled Silver Packages. Another delightful author is Patricia Polacco. Almost all of her stories are about someone she knew growing up, and she illustrates all her work herself. Try Chicken Sunday or Mrs. Katz and Tush as good samples of her work.
Ha! My husband is currently reading Treasure Island to our two eldest and my son has run around the house calling out, “pieces of eight!”
I think they should’ve chosen someone else to write this list. He’s got a few nice ones, but this list is seriously dated.
The Chronicals of Narnia. I read a chapter to my boys every night before bed…sometimes it was so exciting we’d read the next chapter just to see what was going to happen. It’s a memory none of us will ever forget.