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Top 100 Children’s Novels ~ A Meme

I got this from Barbara, who said she got it from, Teacher Ninja turned the list into a meme, who created the meme from someone else’s survey results.  The question is: which of the Top 100 Children’s Novels have you read?  I have put put the ones I have read on bold print and the ones I know of in italics.  Some have comments beside them

100. The Egypt Game – Snyder (1967) — Part of a series I had in my classroom library.  The students liked them.
99. The Indian in the Cupboard – Banks (1980)
98. Children of Green Knowe – Boston (1954)
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – DiCamillo (2006)
96. The Witches – Dahl (1983)
95. Pippi Longstocking – Lindgren (1950)
94. Swallows and Amazons – Ransome (1930)
93. Caddie Woodlawn – Brink (1935)
92. Ella Enchanted – Levine (1997)  — The book & the movie are very different but both are quite charming.
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School – Sachar (1978) — I read this aloud to my students every year.  They loved it.
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall – MacLachlan (1985)  — We read it every year as a required part of the curriculum.
89. Ramona and Her Father – Cleary (1977)
88. The High King – Alexander (1968)  — I love the entire series!
87. The View from Saturday – Konigsburg (1996) — I kept it in my classroom for 5 years — it remained brand new.  The kids found it much too difficult.
86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Rowling (1999) — I read the entire series.
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek – Wilder (1937)
84. The Little White Horse – Goudge (1946)
83. The Thief – Turner (1997)
82. The Book of Three – Alexander (1964) see #88
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Lin (2009)
80. The Graveyard Book – Gaiman (200 8)
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family – Taylor (1951)
78. Johnny Tremain – Forbes (1943)  — Again, required curriculum for one of the school I taught in.
77. The City of Ember – DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust – Hesse (1997)  — excellent book — one of the few in our reading program the kids didn’t gripe about.
 75. Love That Dog – Creech (2001)
74. The Borrowers – Norton (1953) — again, one of the few in our reading program the kids didn’t gripe about.
73. My Side of the Mountain – George (1959) — my 3rd grade teacher read it to me, and I have read it 20 times since — a couple of times to my own students.
72. My Father’s Dragon – Gannett (1948)
71. The Bad Beginning – Snicket (1999)
70. Betsy-Tacy – Lovelace (1940)
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society – Stewart ( 2007)
68. Walk Two Moons – Creech (1994) — part of the reading curriculum
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher – Coville (1991) — another treasured classroom “read aloud”.
66. Henry Huggins – Cleary (1950)
65. Ballet Shoes – Streatfield (1936)
64. A Long Way from Chicago – Peck (1998)
63. Gone-Away Lake – Enright (1957)
62. The Secret of the Old Clock – Keene (1959) — probably the best loved Nancy Drew story ever.  I’ve read it dozens of times.
61. Stargirl – Spinelli (2000)
60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi (1990) Horrid book.  I would not recommend it!
59. Inkheart – Funke (2003) — I own the series of three books, each of them more dazzling then the one before.
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase – Aiken (1962) — reading curriculum which I never taught (I had the “low” reading group).
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – Cleary (1981)
56. Number the Stars – Lowry (1989)
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins – Paterson (1978) — reading curriculum which I never taught (I had the “low” reading group).
54. The BFG – Dahl (1982)
53. Wind in the Willows – Grahame (1908)
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007)
51. The Saturdays – Enright (1941)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins – O’Dell (1960) reading curriculum.  The kids liked it.  I found it boring & predictable.
49. Frindle – Clements (1996) — reading curriculum which I never taught (I had the “low” reading group).
48. The Penderwicks – Birdsall (2005)
47. Bud, Not Buddy – Curtis (1999)
46. Where the Red Fern Grows – Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass – Pullman (1995)
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing – Blume (1972) — kids favorite reading curriculum
43. Ramona the Pest – Cleary (1968) — kids favorite reading curriculum
42. Little House on the Prairie – Wilder (1935) — kids favorite reading curriculum
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Speare (1958) — reading curriculum which I never taught (I had the “low” reading group).
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Baum (1900) I had the entire series in my classroom.  I did not read them all.
39. When You Reach Me – Stead (2009)
38. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Rowling (2003)
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Taylor (1976) — again, reading curriculum beyond my group’s range.
36. Are You there, God? It’s Me, Margaret – Blume (1970)
35. HarryPotter and the Goblet of Fire – Rowling (2000)
34. The Watsons Go to Birmingham – Curtis (1995) — history curriculum, required reading for the whole 5th grade
33. James and the Giant Peach – Dahl (1961) — again, reading curriculum beyond my group’s range.
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – O’Brian (1971)
31. Half Magic – Eager (1954) — Wonderful fun!  Pure silly!  A great read-aloud. My students loved it.
30. Winnie-the-Pooh – Milne (1926)
29. The Dark Is Rising – Cooper (1973)
28. A Little Princess – Burnett (1905)
27. Alice I and II – Carroll (1865/72)
26. Hatchet – Paulsen (1989) — Another loved read aloud.  Kids hang on the edge of their seats.
25. Little Women – Alcott (1868/9)
24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Rowling (2007)
23. Little House in the Big Woods – Wilder (1932)
22. The Tale of Despereaux – DiCamillo (2003) — Wonderful Story!
21. The Lightening Thief – Riordan (2005) — I recently received a recommendation from a 5th grader, so I may have to read it.
20. Tuck Everlasting – Babbitt (1975) — Don’t judge the book by the film.  Excellent read and kids start talking philosophy!
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Dahl (1964)
18. Matilda – Dahl (1988) — Another classroom favorite.  Had 5 copies and there was always a waiting list.
17. Maniac Magee – Spinelli (1990) — Excellent read!
16. Harriet the Spy – Fitzhugh (1964)
15. Because of Winn-Dixie – DiCamillo (2000)
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Rowling (1999)
13. Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson (1977)
12. The Hobbit – Tolkien (1938)
11. The Westing Game – Raskin (1978) — again, reading curriculum above my group’s level.
10. The Phantom Tollbooth – Juster (1961) — again, reading curriculum above my group’s level.
9. Anne of Green Gables – Montgomery (1908)
8. The Secret Garden – Burnett (1911)
7. The Giver -Lowry (1993) — hate the ending
6. Holes – Sachar (1998) — excellent classroom read aloud — the book is much better than the movie, which leaves out the best parts!
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – Koningsburg (1967) — again, reading curriculum above my group’s level.
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Lewis (1950)
3. Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets – Rowling (1997)
2. A Wrinkle in Time – L’Engle (1962)
1. Charlotte’s Web – White (1952)

23 Comments

  2. Let’s see, I have read some of the Harry Potter books because the series is so damn awesome. I still can’t get over the fact that Hogwarts and Platform 9 3/4 if I rememeber correctly, doesn’t exist.

    1. Mama Zen — I read most of these as an adult teacher! When I was a kid I read Louis L’Amour, Max Bran, Zane Grey — my grandfather’s books! Then I graduated to Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes.

  6. The ones I read are:

    99. The Indian in the Cupboard – Banks (1980) ~ (But I barely remember it)
    95. Pippi Longstocking – Lindgren (1950)
    91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School – Sachar (1978) I remember this being a favourite)
    90. Sarah, Plain and Tall – MacLachlan (1985)
    89. Ramona and Her Father – Cleary (1977) ~Another favourite
    86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Rowling (1999) — .Read up to book 5 but only enjoyed the first and third, found them too dull after that so I did not finish the series
    85. On the Banks of Plum Creek – Wilder (1937)
    66. Henry Huggins – Cleary (1950) ~ I loved Cleary’s books
    65. Ballet Shoes – Streatfield (1936) I KNOW I’ve seen the movie with Emma Watson a few times, and I am 90% sure I read the book, unless that was another book about sister’s taking ballet.
    59. Inkheart – Funke (2003) – A
    57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – Cleary (1981)
    55. The Great Gilly Hopkins – Paterson (1978)
    54. The BFG – Dahl (1982) ~ Read it in school around grade 3 but was not a fan of any of Dahl’s books.
    53. Wind in the Willows – Grahame (1908)
    44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing – Blume (1972)
    43. Ramona the Pest – Cleary (1968)
    42. Little House on the Prairie – Wilder (1935)
    40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Baum (1900)
    38. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Rowling (2003) I think this was the last one I read? I forget the titles though.
    36. Are You there, God? It’s Me, Margaret – Blume (1970)
    35. HarryPotter and the Goblet of Fire – Rowling (2000)
    33. James and the Giant Peach – Dahl (1961)
    30. Winnie-the-Pooh – Milne (1926)
    28. A Little Princess – Burnett (1905) This, along with her other book The Secret Garden, remains one of my favourites even now! And the movies (from Shirley Temple to the new versions) are adorable as well.
    27. Alice I and II – Carroll (1865/72)
    25. Little Women – Alcott (1868/9)
    23. Little House in the Big Woods – Wilder (1932)
    19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Dahl (1964) ~ Definately not a fan haha but we had to read it in school.
    18. Matilda – Dahl (1988) – I think every Dahl book was on our school reading list, this is the only one I enjoyed and I loved it! haha!
    16. Harriet the Spy – Fitzhugh (1964)
    14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Rowling (1999) Of the HP books I read, this was the best one 🙂 I actually read it twice.
    13. Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson (1977)
    12. The Hobbit – Tolkien (1938) ~ Have read this over 20 times, along with the LOTR, The Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin, the Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and the Unfinished Tales. LOVE Tolkiens work.
    9. Anne of Green Gables – Montgomery (1908)
    8. The Secret Garden – Burnett (1911) ~ See comment on A Little Princes
    4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Lewis (1950) ~Amazed that the rest of the series isn’t on here? Can’t figure that one out….
    1. Charlotte’s Web – White (1952)

    Hmm… the rest of the Narnia Series, as well as the Mary Poppins Series should be on this list.

      1. Yes, they could have had room for more though if they’d put series books together 🙂 They should have just clumped all the Harry Potter books together and added the rest of the Narnia books to the one listing and the Little House books and presto! Lots more room :p

        1. Teresa — notice that the Harry Potter books are in very different positions. Had they lumped them all together it wouldn’t have made the survey very accurate, would it? (Not that I know how the survey was controlled. I’m just saying, one doesn’t rearrange data.)

  7. i read weird stuff as a kid

    i was obsessed with disasters – fires, earthquakes, titanic, the holocaust

    i still read the kid fantasy stuff
    but by the time i was 9 or 10
    i read anything i could get my hands on

    i sat in the stacks for hours

    1. Tilden — me, too. And when ordered to go outside and play, it wasn’t unheard of for me to drop a book out my window, then go find some cozy outdoors place to curl up and read!

  8. I actually read quite a few of these, most notedly..
    ‘Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry’, don’t even talk about it, we were forced to read it and I HATE it with a passion
    ‘The Tale of Despereaux’ LOVED it
    ‘Tuck Everlasting’- liked both the book and the film, although the book was definitely (as per usual) better
    ‘The Golden Compass’- the whole series was quite good, but our (Catholic) school (grades K-8) outlawed it because it taught children that “God was dead”
    ‘The Phantom Tollbooth’- loved the wordplay
    ‘ The View from Saturday’ okay but the complicated relationships between the characters were a bit soap-opera-ish
    anything by Dahl gets the thumbs-up
    ‘Frindle’ was quite good I thought, and the one about the novel the girl wrote then sent to her mom an editor for a publishing company and got it published, I can’t remember the name of it

    1. Aoife.Troxel — I actually had a 10 year old student introduce me to Desperaux. She came and told me it was wonderful and I had to read it. She was right!

  9. I’ll steal this one – but I’m not sure when I’ll do it yet! There are a LOT on this list I have not read! But there are many I have loved that are NOT on this list!

    1. Melli — Many of my favorite childhood books are not on this list. There was a book called, “The Wednesday Witch” that I loved. I wish I had a copy now.

  10. i used to read quite a lot as a child (later, too, of course) but it’s frightening how few of these titles i even recognise. we didn’t het a hold of much stuff written outside europe

    1. Polona — no, I suppose not. And PinkLady was surprised by what is missing from our list that would be on hers. Different countries, different authors.

  11. What a BRILLIANT idea for a meme! I’ve read most of them, but love having the list to make sure my kids read (at least) most of them too.

    There’s some great books in kids’ lit.

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