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looking at this list there seems to be a few notable exceptions, no charlie and the chocolate factory for one
no series of unfortunate events either but maybe that one is more personally nostalgic
[02:41:47] stalkinesthetase man it's scary to read this list of children's books and think to myself
[02:41:53] stalkinesthetase "AWW YEAH THAT'S A GREAT BOOK"
[02:41:58] stalkinesthetase but then i realize i don't have any idea what it's about
[02:42:01] stalkinesthetase or why i liked it
holes, phantom tollbooth, lion witch wardrobe were all books i loved but i can't remember anything about them. some of these books i clearly need to read again. i'm trying to think of books i liked that weren't on the list but i can't fucking remember any....
my favorite roald dahl was the umbrella man but that's probably not a children's book in most senses of the word, which is probably why i remember some of it
I haven't read anywhere close to 100 children's books, so all I can really say is the first Harry Potter book?
Phantom Tollbooth was a great book when I was a kid and I remember exactly why (basically everything in the book was making fun of cliches and visualizing certain literary concepts) but I can't fucking get into it as an adult.
I agree that the books you mentioned are very notable omissions. Matilda is in there, however, and I honestly think it's better than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. That may just be a preference of mine. They're both fantastic. I will address A Series of Unfortunate Events later.
Frankly, the worst omission is Mif... Anne of Green Gables, and that's because it's from 1908, making it five years too old to qualify for this list. The other books weren't quite as amazing but they were still pretty good and I probably would've snuck in one of the ones within the last century in order to include it. Watership Down is also something I would've included personally, although I think I've seen a lot of people here hate on it before (I might be imagining that?).
From this list I've read: Alexander, Bridge to Terabithia (a classic obviously), The Cat in the Hat (who doesn't love Dr. Seuss?), Charlotte's Web (I read this book so much as a kid), Curious George, Frog and Toad Are Friends, The Giver (but only as a teenager), Goodnight Moon (but only as a teenager), Green Eggs and Ham, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (probably would've put The Chamber of Secrets or Prisoner of Azkaban over this, but this works fine too and has a lot of cultural significance), The Hobbit (one of my top three favourite books), Holes, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Little Prince, Madeline (definitely belongs in this list), Matilda, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of the NIMH, The Phantom Tollbooth, Pippi Longstocking, Ramona the Pest, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, The Very Hungry Caterpillar (no list is complete without it, honestly), Where Is the Green Sheep?, Where the Wild Things Are (another one I'm a big fan of), Winnie-the-Pooh, and A Wrinkle in Time.
Might seem a lot, but it's not even a third of the list, and a lot of the other books I'm really unfamiliar with. I read a LOT of children's literature as a child (although I quickly moved onto YA and then adult fiction), but a lot of it was science fiction and fantasy, and maybe I just grew up with different books. A lot of the books I read were old too, like The Swiss Family Robinson (I was really, really fascinated with this book). Thus I can't really judge the other books since I don't know how much my background factors into this. The books I AM familiar with, however, I think were largely very well-chosen (if mostly safe picks). The list would be a disgrace if it didn't feature Narnia, Ramona, Harry Potter, Bridge to Terabithia, etc. There are few 'children's books' I can genuinely get into anymore to be honest so I'm not likely to go back to many of these but most of the books I would be inclined to or actually do go back to are on tis list...
Regarding A Series of Unfortunate Events, I probably would've included The Bad Beginning (although it is not my personal favourite of the series). The series is pretty dark though and a little obscure (not in the sense of being unheard of, in the sense of being arcane and a little inaccessible perhaps) and despite being quite evidently children's literature the list seems to struggle with age level (which is the eternal problem of children's literature, you have picture books and then you have chapter books aimed at seven-year-olds and then you have novellas, and there's definitely a lot to choose from). I don't know, I read A Series of Unfortunate Events from the time between I was about ten and thirteen (when the last book was published).
At least the list wasn't entirely copy/pasted from the Newbery.
eta: speaking of bunny stories, the tale of peter rabbit, but that was 1902, so 11 years too old. :( beatrix potter's books that would qualify are unfortunately mediocre by comparison to the rest of them imo
I remember Alexander's Really Fucking Shitty Day, and that he's some kind of furry hedgehog loser, but nothing beyond that. I have no idea what actually made his day so HORRIBLE. Everything else that I read, I remembered though... sooooooo go me.
I opened the link and looked straightaway for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it on the list. =)
Glancing over the list, other standouts include Because of Winn-Dixie (had me in tears ;_;), Bridge to Terabithia (tears), and The Westing Game (which I only faintly remember, but I know it was a mystery book which I loooved when I was a kid). I've read others, but those are the ones I remember the best. Cool list/topic. Nostalgiaholics, we are.
I'm disappointed but not surprised that Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie, isn't on the list. It's imaginative, hilarious, fascinating and beautifully written. Definitely my favourite children's book and possibly one of my favourite books, full stop. The fact that it was just as enjoyable to read this year as it was when I read it 8 years ago is testament to how great it is.
Rushdie went into hiding after a fatwa (Islamic death sentence) was placed on his head, because of his book The Satanic Verses. While in hiding, he wrote Haroun and the Sea of Stories for his son whom he hadn't seen for years. Keep this in mind while you're reading it.
Amelia bedilia oh my god that was the greatest thing ever. Invention of Hugo Cabret deserves it also.
Yeah seriously where is charlie and the chocolate factory?
Kind of disappointing more great "modern" book series (like beginning 200-004) I love aren't on the list, but I can't expect that from something 99% classics
I loved the Frog and Toad series as a kid. Same with Goosebumps, but I'm not sure if it's on there. The Hobbit is my favorite book of all time so it's nice to see that there too, but it's a classic, so I'm not surprised.
My 2nd grade teacher loved Strega Nona, which I totally forgot existed until I saw the name. Those books were really enjoyable for me too.
This now solidifies my argument that my Elementary school making my class read Where the Red Fern Grows three times for three schoolyears straight was completely unjustified.
me (I was 9-10 on my first read, no older), and me, I've read it >40 times; it's one of my top 3 books
It's not for everyone, but I think it has pretty broad appeal. It's not the most simple read either but it's good fantasy. I like it more than LotR, which I have also read several times. You could also similarly accuse, say, The Chronicles of Narnia of dullness but most kids I knew who read loved the series.
eta: it's true that it doesn't start at the most riproaring pace, but if you're a committed reader it becomes very enjoyable. I don't mind if books start slowly as long as that slowness is good personally, but there are definitely a lot of kids who would get bored by the preamble
The Little Prince as a childrens book is quite interesting since I read it in French as a teen. I still relate it more to a book for adults but my perspective on this would be extremely biased. It's a wonderful story and has some very heartbreaking stuff in it.
i've read a lot of the books on this list, but how the hell does twilightthomas the tank engine not make it in i mean seriously? esperanza rising was also horrible ugh
Did you completely ignore my post saying it's my favorite book of all time? I've read it at least 10 times in my life and loved it every time. First time in the fourth grade and most recently about 2 years ago. It's a good book. It's a classic book. Tolkein was a God.
Winnie-the-Pooh... I don't care if people say it's based on drugs or insanity or whatever... It has the best quotes, a nostalgic art style, memorable characters. Plus, it has the most precious back story. All the characters were based on the Milne's son's (Christopher Robin) toys. It's so sweet.
Last 100 years only limits out some of the best books for children I think -- Kipling alone wrote 2 books that could easily be on any non-time limited top 100.
Also the one Narnia book that did make the list is one of the least interesting in the series IMO.
bridge to terabithia, the cat in the hat, charlotte's web, corduroy, d'aularies book of greek myths, frog and toad are friends, the giver, goodnight moon, green eggs and ham, harold and the purple crayon, harriet the spy, harry potter, hatchet, holes, the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, madeline, mr. popper's penguins, olivia, the phantom tollbooth, tales of a fourth grade nothing, the very hungry caterpillar, the westing game, where the wild things are, winnie-the-pooh
this list brings back so many memories! bridge to terabithia was an emotional bombing i don't think i'll ever be over it. shout out to my cute bears corduroy and pooh (i still have all my stuffed animals that go along with these books) uwu
the giver was always one of my favorite reads and they're making it into a movie!! (with taylor swift in it?? sign me up & f the haters, her role isn't that big) i don't really remember anything from harriet the spy except that i enjoyed it, i liked hatchet but every other book about that character written after made me want to shoot myself in the foot, i liked holes a lot, narnia and hp books are pretty self-explanatory, mr. popper's penguins is such a cute book and the movie was cute too (though nothing at all like the book). the phantom tollbooth is really good, though it's not as entertaining on a second read? i feel like it's one of those books that requires a child's viewpoint to work, idk. tales of a fourth grade nothing and all the fudge books were my life in elementary school tbh. THE WESTING GAME oh my god this book was so great i love stories like these that are very clue-ish.
disappointed that the wayside school books didn't make it in, those were like the staple childhood reads when i was in elementary school!!
i remember resenting the reading program we had in my elementary school because you were essentially pigeon-holed into a difficulty level that you were allowed to read in. you could only read books from that level or a few below, otherwise you weren't challenging yourself enough or you were going to be challenging yourself too much. it was so frustrating because i was in a higher reading level than basically everyone else in my grade, so they never had enough books to read that were interesting, and so i ended up having to bring my own to school (the narnia, series of unfortunate events & hp books were what i read to entertain myself because eventually tiny one-off novellas got pretty boring. i always thought that it was such a flawed system because even if a book is "below your reading level", it doesn't make it any less enjoyable or worthwhile for fostering a love for reading. a lot of my friends detest reading unless it's the Next Big Franchise (twilight, the hunger games, divergent), and i honestly think it's because you can't just limit someone's scope of reading at such a young age without there being some kind of issue. idk where i was going with this but i'm glad this list has a lot of diversity of difficultly level for reading!
