top 100 children's novels

jenny posted her list of the top 100 children's books and I decided to copy, because just reading the list filled me with such happy memories. So many fabulous books. I can picture my childhood copies, well-loved with worn bindings from multiple re-readings. I put ones I've read in bold, added an ** if I read it more than once as a child (we lived far away from a library so if I owned a book I re-read it over and over again) and I italicized books that I've used in the classroom.

100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1967)

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)

91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Sachar (1978) **

90. Sarah, Plain and Tall - MacLachlan (1985) **

89. Ramona and Her Father - Cleary (1977) **

88. The High King - Alexander (1968)

87. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg (1996) *

86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling (1999)

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)

81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Lin (2009)

80. The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (2008)

79. All-of-a-Kind-Family - Taylor (1951)

78. Johnny Tremain - Forbes (1943)

77. The City of Ember - DuPrau (2003)

76. Out of the Dust - Hesse (1997)

75. Love That Dog - Creech (2001)

74. The Borrowers - Norton (1953)

73. My Side of the Mountain - George (1959)

72. My Father's Dragon - Gannett (1948)**

71. The Bad Beginning - Snicket (1999)

70. Betsy-Tacy - Lovelae (1940)

69. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Stewart ( 2007)

68. Walk Two Moons - Creech (1994)

67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - Coville (1991)

66. Henry Huggins - Cleary (1950)**

65. Ballet Shoes - Stratfeild (1936)

64. A Long Way from Chicago - Peck (1998)

63. Gone-Away Lake - Enright (1957)

62. The Secret of the Old Clock - Keene (1959)

61. Stargirl - Spinelli (2000)

60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi (1990)

59. Inkheart - Funke (2003)

58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Aiken (1962)

57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Cleary (1981)**

56. Number the Stars - Lowry (1989)**

55. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Paterson (1978)

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)

49. Frindle - Clements (1996)

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)**

43. Ramona the Pest - Cleary (1968)**

42. Little House on the Prairie - Wilder (1935)**

41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare (1958)

40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Baum (1900)

39. When You Reach Me - Stead (2009)

38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling (2003)

37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Taylor (1976)**

36. Are You there, God? It's Me, Margaret - Blume (1970)

35. HP and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling (2000)

34. The Watson's Go to Birmingham - Curtis (1995)

33. James and the Giant Peach - Dahl (1961)**

32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - O'Brian (1971)

31. Half Magic - Eager (1954)

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)

25. Little Women - Alcott (1868/9)

24. HP and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (2007)

23. Little House in the Big Woods - Wilder (1932)**

22. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo (2003)

21. The Lightening Thief - Riordan (2005)

20. Tuck Everlasting - Babbitt (1975)*

19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Dahl (1964)*

18. Matilda - Dahl (1988)**
17. Maniac Magee - Spinelli (1990)*

16. Harriet the Spy - Fitzhugh (1964)***

15. Because of Winn-Dixie - DiCamillo (2000)

14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling (1999)

13. Bridge to Terabithia - Paterson (1977)**

12. The Hobbit - Tolkien (1938)

11. The Westing Game - Raskin (1978)

10. The Phantom Tollbooth - Juster (1961)

9. Anne of Green Gables - Montgomery (1908)

8. The Secret Garden - Burnett (1911)***

7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)***

6. Holes - Sachar (1998)

5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - Koningsburg (1967)

4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis (1950)

3. Harry Potter #1 - Rowling (1997)

2. A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle (1962)

1. Charlotte's Web - White (1952)**

Books I recommend using in the classroom-

1) Charlotte's Web- such a great community building read-aloud as you fall in love with Fern and Wilbur as a class. It also has fabulous passages for teaching imagery.

18) Matilda- I love, love, love Matilda. I love reading it out loud to first graders because they absolutely fall in love with Matilda and her geniusness. It's such a fun, shocking, read aloud.

43) Ramona the Pest- when I was a classroom teacher this was always my first read-loud. The kids love hearing about Ramona's antics and they relate so well to her frustrations. I'm always impressed at how well Beverly Cleary knew 5 year olds. I loved this book as a kid, but it wasn't until I was an adult that I appreciated how much Cleary understood how children learn.

71) The Bad Beginning- great to read with English Language Learners because he explains vocabulary and confusing phrases so well. It's a fun story that lets you have an open vocab discussion.

75) Love that Dog. I love reading this book with first graders in reading group at the end of the year. It's wonderful for those high readers who are beginning to learn that decoding and retelling aren't the only things readers do- they also infer the author's meaning. It's such an easy read that requires kids to do so much deep thinking.

What have you read, and what ones do you use for teaching?