MORE 'BEST-BOOKS' POSTS
#59 The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (2006) 36 points poignant, tender, lovely like the Velveteen Rabbit and a great read aloud – Charlotte Burrows This deceptively skinny book is full of big ideas: love lost and gained, changing yourself over time and people coming into and out of your life leaving […]
#60 Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999) 35 points When you hear that a book is about an orphan during the Great Depression, you might expect an emotional one-trick-pony – sadness to spare. Give Christopher Paul Curtis credit for bringing this era to life with vibrancy and flashes of surprising humor. Flint, Michigan […]
#61 How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss (1957) 30 points Yes, that’s two Dr. Seuss books on my top ten list. In all honesty, I had trouble not including Horton Hears a Who as well. Between the Lorax’s anti-capitalist, pro-environment stance, Horton’s anti-racism, and this book’s anti-consumerism, Dr. Seuss taught me most of […]
#62 Go Away, Big Green Monster! by Ed Emberley (1992) 30 points This book saved my sanity when I was babysitting my two year old nephew for a week, a nephew I really did not know well. The only time, while conscious, that he stopped crying was when I read this book. So I read […]
#63 The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss (1961) 30 points This book is a perfect sampler of Dr. Seuss stories. The title story and “The Zax” provide some of his powerful and beautifully simple fables. They’re quirky, they’re strange, they roll off the tongue, and they leave you with one simple message that […]
#64 King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood (1985) 30 points My all time favorite, favorite, favorite picture book. I would pore over the illustrations of this book and look at all the details in each page. Stunning artwork and a fun story. – Sarah Don and Audrey are two […]
#65 The Arrival by Shaun Tan 30 points This book is Epic. It doesn’t just “tell” an immigrant’s story, it magically (or I suppose, skillfully) brings us INTO the very experience. – Aaron Zenz Because it’s a richly imagined, beautifully rendered, wordless graphic narrative of immigration, dislocation, and hope. – Phillip Nel #68 then. #65 […]
#66 Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes (1991) 29 points The last time I conducted this poll we ended up with results for Kitten’s First Full Moon, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, even Chester’s Way but NOT Chrysanthemum. That was shocking. This time a great wrong has been righted. Mum’s the word on whether or not the other […]
#67 Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban, illustrated by Garth Williams (1960) 28 points It doesn’t get better than this. Great pictures, good story, good “moral” (but not preachy). – Laurie Zaepfel For every parent who has tried to get a child to sleep, and for every child who has tried to go to sleep. […]
#68 The Three Pigs by David Wiesner (2001) 28 points So meta. It blew my mind the first time I read it, and continues to do so. – Kyle Wheeler I love Weisner’s books, but out of them all, this is my favorite. I love the meta-ness of it, and I never get tired of […]