Thursday, July 22, 2010

me + children's literature = love.

{oh, Betsy, Tacy, and Tib. I loved you so!}


By now you know I love a good book.

What you may not know is that I have this ridiculous idea that I can read the 100 best novels of all time before I kick the bucket. (I have a list I'm using, but I can't remember which source I finally decided was most accurate. Maybe this one?)

I must confess, the project isn't really great for my self-esteem. I'm an avid reader (I mean, really, really avid), but I haven't even touched some of those books. Heck, some I don't even recognize. Which is why I was thrilled to see the School Library Journal's list of the top 100 Children's Novels (from here). Finally, a list of books I absolutely adore.

The best part?

I've read 56, a much better percentage than the completion rate on my other list. Maybe I should just conquer children's literature instead?

Here's the overall list; the ones I've read are in bold. What about you? Recognize an old favorite? Are you shocked I've never read The Hobbit? Me too. I also discovered that neither Roald Dahl or Lewis Carroll ever really hit my library list; I guess I could change that, but the desire still isn't really there... Little Women and Anne of Green Gables, on the other hand, I've read at least twice, maybe three times a piece. Does that count double?

(Oh, and this list reminded me: My cousins had never heard of Ramona Quimby until Selena Gomez. I consider this a serious problem; surely I'm not alone...)

--

#1 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

#2 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

#3 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

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

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

#6 Holes by Louis Sachar

#7 The Giver by Lois Lowry

#8 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

#9 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

#10 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

#11 The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

#12 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

#13 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

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

#15 Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

#16 Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

#17 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

#18 Matilda by Roald Dahl

#19 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

#20 Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

#21 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riodan

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

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

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

#25 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

#26 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

#27 A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett

#28 Winnie-the Pooh by A.A. Milne

#29 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland /Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

#30 The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

#31 Half Magic by Edward Eager

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

#33 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

#34 Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

#35 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

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

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

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

#39 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

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

#41 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

#42 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

#43 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary

#44 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

#45 The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

#46 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

#47 Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

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

#49 Frindle by Andrew Clements

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

#51 The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright

#52 The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

#53 Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

#54 The BFG by Roald Dahl

#55 The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

#56 Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

#57 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

#58 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

#59 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

#60 The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

#61 Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

#62 The Secret of the Old Clock (The Nancy Drew mysteries) by Caroline Keene

#63 Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright

#64 A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

#65 Ballet Shoes by Noah Streatfeild

#66 Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

#67 Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville

#68 Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

#69 The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

#70 Betsy Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace

#71 A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

#72 My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

#73 My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

#74 The Borrowers by Mary Norton

#75 Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

#76 Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

#77 City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

#78 Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

#79 All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

#80 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

#81 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

#82 The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

#83 The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

#84 Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge

#85 On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

#86 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

#87 The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg

#88 The High King by Lloyd Alexander

#89 Ramona and her Father by Beverly Cleary

#90 Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

#91 Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

#92 Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

#93 Caddie Woodlawn by C. R. Brink

#94 Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

#95 Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

#96 The Witches by Roald Dahl

#97: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

#98 Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston

#99 The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

#100 The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

8 comments:

Kari said...

I have read 70 of them! I think you would love Roald Dahl. You should really give him a try. The only one of his on this list I haven't read is The Witches. I also haven't read a lot of the animal books on the list, and most of the African-American books on this list came out when I was in high school/college and I haven't caught up yet (which is shameful for a school librarian, but I can't read everything).

Anonymous said...

I'm going to go on record and say Selena Gomez as Beezus is a terrible choice.

Now, you MUST read every single Roald Dahl book ever! They were my life as a child!! The Witches always scared me but I'm sure I read it at least 100 times.

I can also highly recommend Bud, Not Buddy and the Watsons Go to Birmingham. So good. As the daughter of an elementary school librarian, I'm fortunately exposed to all the great new children's books that were written after my childhood. This makes me want to read every single one of these over again.

Anonymous said...

One more thing - read all the Louis Sachar you can get your hands on.

Liz Harrell said...

I've read 55! So many I've missed and didn't know. And the Betsy/Tacy books... I LOOOOVE those!

Jessica said...

love this post! reading was my life as a little girl. i hardly lived in my reality. rather, i lived in the realities of my stories. this list brings back so many memories. bridge to terabithia is an all time favorite. i'm pretty much always reading the little house series. it's a go to when i'm stalled between my "grown-up" books. this makes me want to check off all the ones i haven't read yet. sounds like a good plan!

Jessica said...

love this post! reading was my life as a little girl. i hardly lived in my reality. rather, i lived in the realities of my stories. this list brings back so many memories. bridge to terabithia is an all time favorite. i'm pretty much always reading the little house series. it's a go to when i'm stalled between my "grown-up" books. this makes me want to check off all the ones i haven't read yet. sounds like a good plan!

Carie said...

Sideways Stories from Wayside School was by far my favorite as a child. Wow, that list really brings back memories! And I just read the Percy Jackson series a few months ago, it's great!

Bec said...

The Giver, BFG, and Watson's Go To Birmingham are great! And Roald Dahl= amazing. I still read Matilda and the BFG every couple of years. I also recommend Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech even though it isn't on the list.