MORE 'BEST-BOOKS' POSTS
#40 Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann (1994) 41 points This book provides so many moments of glee: the gorilla unlocking the various cages, the animals following the zookeeper into his house, the darkness being filled with a chorus of “good nights”…this is one of those books that appeals to 6-month-olds and three-year-olds alike (and […]
#31 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865) 58 points A full out absurdist assault at the arbitrary nature of language, Carroll challenges everything about the way we speak and write, from homonyms to idioms. When people talk about children’s movies and books being entertaining for both kids and adults, they usually mean that […]
#32 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (1976) 56 points This series took me to a time and place so different from my reality. It opened my eyes and made me think. – Martha Sherod As with all my polls, there is often a shocking derth of authors of color. However, there […]
#33 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien (1971) 56 points My Dad was my 5th-grade teacher, and he read this book to our class. When I re-read it in library school I was still affected by the story. I have such fond memories of this book. – Hilary Writt First […]
#34 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (1961) 55 points I remember crying so much through this book, and even today I tear up thinking of Big Dan and Little Ann. I also loaned this to my (then) children’s librarian, because the library copy was always out. I even marked the pages, “Get […]
#35 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (1972) 54 points Nobody can get the voice of kids quite like Judy Blume. Fudge and Peter are every kid and just as relevant today as they were in 1972. – Stacy Dillon The synopsis from the publisher reads, “Living with his little brother, Fudge, […]
#36 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1958) 53 points Somehow I never read this one as a kid, and that fact hasn’t bothered me. But if you check out the 90-Second Newbery video of this title at the end of this post, you’ll be forced to agree with me when I […]
#37 The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (2007) 53 points Don’t know if this qualifies as a children’s—it’s kind of on the border between middle grade and YA, but it’s one of my favorite books of all time so I’m including it. There’s so much going on, and Schmidt has the wonderful capacity to […]
#38 Frindle by Andrew Clements (1996) 51 points This book touches me as a teacher, and I can relate to it from the perspective of the students. I can’t read this to my students without choking up over the letter from the teacher. – Dee Sypherd If you’re a children’s librarian then you are probably […]
#39 The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (2007) 50 points Perfect and artful blending of prose and illustration. – Dee Sypherd No book like it. It reinvents storytelling. It plays with our notion of “the book.” It takes great advantage of the physical nature of “the book.” In the end, the story celebrates […]