The 10 or More Best Children's Books Ever

top 10 best books

As a person coming from Europe I would like to add some amazing translated children's books to the top ten

1. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindren

2. Jip en Janneke by Annie M.G. Schmidt, who is often referred to as the uncrowned queen of the Netherlands.

3. The Moomins Tove Jansson

4. Antoine Saint-Exupéry – The little prince

5 Miffy - Dick Bruna

Nice to revisit some of the old favorites

There are certainly some great books that you all have mentioned here, that have been providing inspiration and enjoyment for countless generations, myself included.

Thanks for the list and for reminding me about some I had forgotten about and/or haven't read yet. I must look them up!

Cheers,

Gina

author

http://www.eloquentbooks.com/MoonbeamDreams.html

My Favorites

Hello Mr. Farrell, you cited many of my favorites, Peter Pan being at the TOP of my list, as well as A wrinkle in Time, that whole series I believe was amazing, dont forget C.S Lewis, and even some of the girly classics, such as The Secret Garden, and Little Women!

Return briefly to decency & wonder

Penrod and Sam by Boothe Tarkington,Beautiful Joe by Margaret Saunders & Aesops Fables were my favorites.Read them aloud to your kids before they are stolen by Bradjolenas' lawyers & rewritten as soft X screenplays!

All time Children Favourite Stories

My grandson, when he was able to follow children stories..never got tired to listen to his grandmother tell him the story of "Peter Rabbit"

Favorite Children's Books

Some favorites - George MacDonald's The Story of Little Christmas & The Lost Princess. My daughters would definitely include Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. All my children loved the books and pictures by Jan Brett. I think the most popular were The Wild Christmas Reindeer and The Lost Mitten. There are so many wonderful books for children. Peter Pan, Cinderella, The Prince and the Pauper, Black Beauty, Tom Sawyer, Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates, the many stories by Heratio Alger, The Tales of the Arabian Nights and William Bennett's The Children's Book of Virtues, and the Christmas stories by Charles Dickens are just a few that my children (and I) have enjoyed.

By What Criteria?

When judging children's books I beleive a different criteria may apply than one of just good literature. To my mind, a very valid goal of children's book should be get kids to read and to potentially turn them into lifelong readers. With that in mind, R. L. Stine's Goosebumps books were excellent at capturing early readers. With each chapter its own little mystery, these little page turners keep kid's attention, and keep them reading. Without that, the rest of better books you list just stay on the shelf.

The "best" children's books

would be those that tell children the truth.

Santa Claus, Halloween, The Easter Bunny, fantasy tales, Peter Pan, the "magic" of Potter? Good grief.

Such stuff may sell a lot, but it's not the "best".