Children’s Book Week

Children’s Book Week, sponsored by the Children’s Book Council, runs from November 12-18 this year and celebrates the best in children’s literature.

 What are the best books for children?  Many different organizations and individuals have developed lists to determine this question.  So, in celebration of children’s literature, we will be regularly featuring various children’s book lists throughout the month of November.

In 2002, Publisher’s Weekly created a list of the top-selling children’s books of all-time, through 2000.  While no determination of the value of the book as literature, the list does determine which books have endured through the years.

 Here are the top-ten sellers in Hardcover:

1. The Poky Little Puppy, Janette Sebring Lowrey (1942)
2. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter (1902)
3. Tootle, Gertrude Crampton (1945)
4. Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss (1960)
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling (2000)
6. Pat the Bunny, Dorothy Kunhardt (1940)
7. Saggy Baggy Elephant, Kathryn and Byron Jackson (1947)
8. Scuffy the Tugboat, Gertrude Crampton (1955)
9. The Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss (1957)
10. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling (1999)

Click here for the complete list

They also compiled a list for the best-selling children’s paperbacks:

1. Charlotte’s Web, E. B. White; illustrated by Garth Williams (1974)
2. The Outsiders, S. E. Hinton (1968)
3. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume (1976)
4. Love You Forever, Robert Munsch; illustrated by Sheila McGraw (1986)
5. Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls (1973)
6. Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell (1971)
7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling (1999)
8. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, Judy Blume (1972)
9. Shane, Jack Schaeffer (1972)
10. The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks (1982)

Click here for the complete list.

I’m Not Scared!

Are your children afraid of the dark?  Are you?  Read “I’m Not Scared!” by Jonathan Allen.  This simple, boldly illustrated book features Baby Owl and his stuffed pal, Owly, as they travel alone through the night-time woods.  Baby Owl’s adventures in the dark will reassure your frightened children, and help them realize that it’s okay to be afraid. 

I highly recommend this book for ages 2-5.  The short text and bright pictures make it an ideal read-aloud book.   Jonathan Allen also wrote/illustrated I’m Not Cute and Mucky Moose. 

posted by Dana Z.