The number one book? Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. Do you agree?
From the Scholastic blog --
In addition to literary merit and popularity, our top 100 includes a variety of genres for different ages, from infants to middle-schoolers. It spans from a Dr. Seuss classic to more recent works such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, from Anne Frank’s compelling account of the Holocaust to J.K. Rowling’s fantastical tale of Hogwarts. A team of literacy experts and mom bloggers suggested almost 500 titles, which we then narrowed down to 100 and went to work on ranking.I have to say that there are a couple of books on the list that must be really popular because they have little to absolutely zero literary merit (see The Adventures of Captain Underpants).
Which are our favorites?
#6 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
#7 Green Eggs and Ham
#11 Anne of Green Gables
#12 The Very Hungry Caterpillar
#14 The Wind in the Willows
#20 Where the Sidewalk Ends (Z is on a HUGE Shel Silverstein kick right now)
#23 The Phantom Tollbooth
#36 The Secret Garden
#44 Good Night, Gorilla
#47 Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
#53 The House at Pooh Corner
#63 The Invention of Hugo Cabret
#80 What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
What is missing from this list? Alice in Wonderland, for one! The Monster at the End of This Book is another. Tom's Midnight Garden and The Children of Green Knowe are two more that should be on the list but there don't seem to be many older British authors on it. What do you think is missing from the list?
Wanting to make my own list again,
K
I agree with you about Tom's Midnight Garden and Alice in Wonderland - they should definitely be on the list! The Wind in the Willows was my absolute favourite when I was young and I insisted on buying a beautiful box set of Winnie the Pooh/ The House at Pooh Corner/Now we are Six/When We Were Very Young for my son shortly after he was born.
ReplyDeleteI know this is a minority opinion, but I truly believe that The Trumpet of the Swan is a better book than Charlotte's Web. I realize it's not as well known but it is SO GREAT. The father swan is one of my favorite characters in all of literature, and I love all the accessories Louis acquires on his search for money and a voice.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about this list. Some of the books really brought back memories, but others I just don't get why they are better than other books. They just don't seem, to me, to be lasting books that many years from now anyone will even be reading.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of E.B. White's books, so I'm happy to see Charlotte's Web top the list. I grew up listening to Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh, and Alice in Wonderland, so they're tops in my eyes. The Little House books seem to be missing, which is unbelievable, frankly. Same with the Anne of GG books. I loved Robert McCloskey books and made sure my kids read One Morning in Maine, Blueberries for Sal, and the incomparable Make Way for Ducklings. Then, of course, what about The Little Princess and The Secret Garden, not to mention the Peter Rabbit stories.
ReplyDeleteMy son's class is reading Charlotte's Web in school and he is loving it. I'm worried about the end though.
ReplyDeleteAnd The Monster At THe End of This BOok isn't included??? WTF!?
I'll have to go look at the list.
Tracy - I'm glad you agree! Tom's Midnight Garden isn't as well known here in the States but to miss Alice? That just seems crazy.
ReplyDeleteJenny - Well, that's one that I will have to read with Z because I don't think I ever read it as a kid. We'll see if we get on your Swan bandwagon and then we can start a Swan revival!
Kailana - Right? Some of them are far too new to judge as "greatest" and others are older but just not that good.
Jane - Yes, later I thought about The Secret Garden and also they didn't include Ferdinand! They seemed to have a couple of classics in chapter books but were a lot newer in picture books/board books. :P
Jenners - My son's class watched the recent film over a few weeks in their music class (don't ask me how it applied to anything) and he pulled out the book on his own. He didn't read it all the way through but maybe it can be our next bedtime story. It does have a sad ending though. :(
Seriously? The Monster at the End of this Book should totally be on this list! Love, love, love that one!! I need to look at the list a bit closer, but I'm not surprised about Captain Underpants. It's absolutely horrible, but my son loves it!
ReplyDeletenow I need to find Monster at the End of this Book! I haven't heard of that one. We did recently pick up Very Hungry Caterpillar and L loves putting her fingers into each little hole.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would think that Alice most certainly needs to be on the list.
Tif - Right?!? Every kid loves it! And I've luckily kept Z away from Captain Underpants. He ended up with the caveman one and I really hate it. :P
ReplyDeleteTrish - Yes, you do! It's Grover! Very Hungry Caterpillar is such a fun one. We spent years with Eric Carle's books.