Best 100 Children's Novels

I thought y'all might be interested in Betsy Bird's list of Top 100 Children's Novels. You can find out her methodology by checking the Fuse #8 blog. And you too can predict which novel (that has not yet been listed) will be number one! I'm leaning toward Wrinkle in Time or Charlotte's Web.

Janet

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Betsy Bird’s Top 100 Children’s Novels


100. The Egypt Game by Snyder

99. The Indian in the Cupboard by Banks

98. Children of Green Knowe by Boston

97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by DiCamillo

96. The Witches by Dahl

95. Pippi Longstocking by Lindgren

94. Swallows and Amazons by Ransome

93. Caddie Woodlawn by Brink

92. Ella Enchanted by Levine

91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Sachar

90. Sarah, Plain and Tall by MacLachlan

89. Ramona and Her Father by Cleary

88. The High King by Alexander

87. The View from Saturday by Konigsburg

86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Rowling

85. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Wilder

84. The Little White Horse by Goudge

83. The Thief by Turner

82. The Book of Three by Alexander

81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Lin

80. The Graveyard Book by Gaiman

79. All of a Kind Family by Taylor

78. Johnny Tremain by Forbes

77. The City of Ember by DuPrau

76. Out of the Dust by Hesse

75. Love That Dog by Creech

74. The Borrowers by Norton

73. My Side of the Mountain by George

72. My Father’s Dragon by Gannett

71. An Unfortunate Series of Events: The Bad Beginning by Snicket

70. Betsy-Tacy by Lovelace

69. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Stewart

68. Walk Two Moons by Creech

67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Colville

66. Henry Huggins by Cleary

65. Ballet Shoes by Streatfeild

64. A Long Way from Chicago by Peck

63. Gone-Away Lake by Enright

62. The Secret of the Old Clock by Keene

61. Stargirl by Spinelli

60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

59. Inkheart by Funke

58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Aiken

57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Cleary

56. Number the Stars by Lowry

55. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Paterson

54. The BFG by Dahl

53. The Wind in the Willows by Grahame

52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Selznick

51. The Saturdays by Enright

#50 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (1960)

#49 Frindle by Andrew Clements (1996)

#48 The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall (2005)

#47 Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999)

#46 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (1961)

#45 The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (1995)

#44 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume (1972)

#43 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (1968)

#42 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1935)

#41 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (1958)

#40 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)

#39 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2009)

#38 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (2003)

#37 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor (1976)

#36 Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume (1970)

#35 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (2000)

#34 The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (1995)

#33 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (1961)

#32 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (1971)

#31 Half Magic by Edward Eager (1954)

#30 Winnie-the Pooh by A.A. Milne (1926)

#29 The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (1973)

#28 A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett (1905)

#27 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865)/Alice Through the Looking Glass (1872) by Lewis Carroll

#26 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1989)

#25 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868 & 1869)

#24 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (2007)

#23 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1932)

#22 The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo (2003)

#21 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (2005)

#20 Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (1975)

#19 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)

#18 Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)

#17 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (1990)

#16 Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh (1964)

#15 Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo (2000)

#14 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (1999)

#13 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (1977)

#12 The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien (1938)

#11 The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (1978)

#10 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (1961)

#9 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (1908)

#8 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911)

#7 The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993)

#6 Holes by Louis Sachar (1998)

#5 From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg (1967)

#4 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950)

#3 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (1997)

#2 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (1962)




It looks like Charlotte's Web is number 1!

More possibilities for grades 4 & 5

On Joy's recommendation, I recently read All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn and Kimchi & Calamari by Rose Kent.

All the Lovely Bad Ones was a little creepy for me, but I'm not a big fan of scary books.

I really liked Kimchi & Calamari and think it would be an excellent choice for Joliet Reads. For once, no reservations! The main character is 13, but the book is still appropriate for students in fourth and fifth grade.

The child's fourth grade teacher has been reading Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate out loud to the class, so I decided to read it myself. The book is sad enough that I teared up several times last night. (But then, I cry pretty easily.) More on this book later....

The "To Read" Pile

In addition to books that others have liked, my pile includes:

The Totally Made-up Civil War Diary of Amanda MacLeish by Claudia Mills
How Oliver Olson Changed the World by Claudia Mills
The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech


I also really really want to read Clover Twig and the Magical Cottage by Kaye Umansky, but it is 297 pages so won't work out for Joliet Reads. deep sigh.

What else we've read lately

Here are some other books that committee members have read recently:

Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It by Sundee Tucker Frazier
Flawed Dogs: The Shocking Raid on Westminster by Berkely Breathed
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Camping, Hiking and Other Natural Disasters by Lenore Look
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Wishworks, Inc. by Stephanie Tolan


Joy thought these books looked interesting:

Snoring Beauty by Bruce Hale
Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson by Sue Stauffacher


Committee members began these books but decided they wouldn't work out:

Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew by Ursula Vernon
Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
Wicked Will: A Mystery of Young William Shakespeare by Bailey MacDonald
The Georges and the Jewels by Jane Smiley

My choice for the Caldecott Award

Without question, my favorite picture book of the year. The illustrations are amazing and completely integrated with the minimal text. I will be very upset if it doesn't win the award. VERY UPSET! Not to mention surly. It would be best to avoid me for a day or so if a different book wins the award.

Odd and the Frost Giants

I read Odd and the Frost Giants yesterday.

Loved it! I think most kids in grades 4 and 5 would really enjoy it as a read aloud. My daughter is a sensitive reader/listener/viewer so probably would not like it, but most other kids would.

Hmmmmmm. I think I'll try to get my daughter to read a bit then have one of our book discussions. More later!

Merry Christmas!

I was feeling nostalgic and digitized some of my photos from Christmas past.

Here I am with my cousins Jerry, Bob and Jim Olson in Christmas 1962 (or 1963).

We were all so young. And cute!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!