Top 100 Children's Novels

What is it that we love about lists? Elizabeth Bird, who blogs for School Library Journal with her Fuse #8 Production, spent months running a survey among librarians to determine the top 100 children's novels. Her countdown posts included the vote counts, voluminous comments, lively disagreements over what didn't make the list, images of the book covers of various editions, and fun facts about early versions. The suspense drove lots of us crazy. The #1 vote getter was announced yesterday.

My notes: The only ones I haven't read are Harry Potter sequels (I rarely read more than one in a series since I need to help children discover other titles) and Swallows and Amazons. And: I am so thankful for Christopher Paul Curtis. Anyone ever look at another telling list, Stuff White People Like?

So: agree? disagree? gaps? What do you think? Anybody up for some serious summer reading?

And to tantalize, I'm posting them in the order that Elizabeth did.

#100 The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
#99 The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
#98 Children of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston
#97: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
#96 The Witches by Roald Dahl
#95 Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
#94 Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
#93 Caddie Woodlawn by C. R. Brink
#92 Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
#91 Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
#90 Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
#89 Ramona and her Father by Beverly Cleary
#88 The High King by Lloyd Alexander
#87 The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg
#86 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
#85 On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
#84 Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
#83 The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
#82 The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
#81 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
#80 The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
#79 All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
#78 Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
#77 City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
#76 Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
#75 Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
#74 The Borrowers by Mary Norton
#73 My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
#72 My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
#71 A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
#70 Betsy Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
#69 The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
#68 Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
#67 Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville
#66 Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
#65 Ballet Shoes by Noah Streatfeild
#64 A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
#63 Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
#62 The Secret of the Old Clock (The Nancy Drew mysteries) by Caroline Keene
#61 Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
#60 The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
#59 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
#58 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
#57 Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
#56 Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
#55 The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
#54 The BFG by Roald Dahl
#53 Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
#52 The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
#51 The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
#50 Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
#49 Frindle by Andrew Clements
#48 The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
#47 Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
#46 Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
#45 The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
#44 Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
#43 Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
#42 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
#41 The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
#40 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
#39 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
#38 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
#37 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
#36 Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
#35 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire JK Rowling
#34 Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
#33 James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
#32 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
#31 Half Magic by Edward Eager
#30 The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
#29 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland /Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
#28 Winnie-the Pooh by A.A. Milne
#27 A Little Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
#26 Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
#25 Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
#24 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
#23 Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
#22 The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo
#21 Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riodan
#20 Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
#19 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
#18 Matilda by Roald Dahl
#17 Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
#16 Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
#15 Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
#14 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
#13 Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
#12 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
#11 The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
#10 The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
#9 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
#8 The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
#7 The Giver by Lois Lowry
#6 Holes by Louis Sachar
#5 From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
#4 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
#3 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
#2 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
#1 Charlotte's Web by E.B. White