Booktrust unveiled their choices for the top 100 books for kids from pre-school age to 14 for Children’s Book Week (October 7-11). They’d like you to have your say about their list. You can download the poster with the whole list here (sample shown below).
Part of Bookstart Poster for the Ultimate 100
Booktrust is an independent reading and writing charity based in the United Kingdom. Many of you will know their Bookstart programme which gives free packs of books for babies and toddlers. They are supported by government, book publishers and the public and donate millions of books every year. They work to inspire a love of reading and writing in everyone.
In compiling their list of 100 books, they have drawn on over 90 years’ experience in choosing books for children, as well as sales figures and recommendations from previous years. The list comprises both traditional classics and modern greats and Booktrust feels all the choices will fire children’s imaginations and inspire a life-long love of reading.
They hope that their choices will encourage everyone to join in the debate. Claire Shanahan, Head of Arts at Booktrust, said: “We know there will be some debate around the list, and we welcome it! Has your favorite childhood read been left out? Would your child whole-heartedly agree with us, or be dismayed by an oversight? We’ve tried to include stories for everyone – whether it’s an old picture book, a classic adventure story, or a modern tale tackling contemporary issues – the emphasis for us is on wonderful, wacky, and world-changing narratives.”
So get involved by voting online for your favourite at: www.booktrust.org.uk/cbw before Friday November 15, 2013. The results from the poll will be announced on the 25th of November.
Herewith, Booktrust’s 100 Books to Read Before You’re 14 List in its entirety:
| Title | Author | Age range |
| The Cat in the Hat | Dr Seuss | 0 – 5 years |
| Where the Wild Things Are | Maurice Sendak | 0 – 5 years |
| The Tiger Who Came to Tea | Judith Kerr | 0 – 5 years |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar | Eric Carle | 0 – 5 years |
| The Elephant and the Bad Baby | Elfrida Vipont | 0 – 5 years |
| Meg and Mog | Helen Nicholl | 0 – 5 years |
| Dogger | Shirley Hughes | 0 – 5 years |
| Each Peach Pear Plum | Allan Ahlberg | 0 – 5 years |
| Would You Rather? | John Burningham | 0 – 5 years |
| The Snowman | Raymond Briggs | 0 – 5 years |
| Not Now, Bernard | David McKee | 0 – 5 years |
| Where’s Spot? | Eric Hill | 0 – 5 years |
| Dear Zoo | Rod Campbell | 0 – 5 years |
| Gorilla | Anthony Browne | 0 – 5 years |
| Hairy Maclary From Donaldson’s Dairy | Lynley Dodd | 0 – 5 years |
| The Jolly Postman | Allan Ahlberg | 0 – 5 years |
| Princess Smartypants | Babette Cole | 0 – 5 years |
| I Want My Potty | Tony Ross | 0 – 5 years |
| We’re Going on a Bear Hunt | Michael Rosen | 0 – 5 years |
| I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato | Lauren Child | 0 – 5 years |
| Room on a Broom | Julia Donaldson | 0 – 5 years |
| Lost and Found | Oliver Jeffers | 0 – 5 years |
| Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears | Emily Gravett | 0 – 5 years |
| Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes | Mem Fox | 0 – 5 years |
| I Want My Hat Back | Jon Klassen | 0 – 5 years |
| Pippi Longstocking | Astrid Lindgren | 5 – 7 years |
| Winnie-the-Pooh | A. A. Milne | 6 – 8 years |
| The Story of Babar | Jean de Brunhoff | 6 – 8 years |
| Little House in the Big Woods | Laura Ingalls Wilder | 6 – 8 years |
| The Enchanted Wood | Enid Blyton | 6 – 8 years |
| Five on a Treasure Island | Enid Blyton | 6 – 8 years |
| Finn Family Moomintroll | Tove Jansson | 6 – 8 years |
| My Naughty Little Sister | Dorothy Edwards | 6 – 8 years |
| Charlotte’s Web | EB White | 6 – 8 years |
| A Bear Called Paddington | Michael Bond | 6 – 8 years |
| Asterix the Gaul | Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo | 6 – 8 years |
| Flat Stanley | Jeff Brown | 6 – 8 years |
| The Worst Witch | Jill Murphy | 6 – 8 years |
| Mister Magnolia | Quentin Blake | 6 – 8 years |
| The Queen’s Nose | Dick King-Smith | 6 – 8 years |
| The True Story of the Three Little Pigs | Jon Scieszka | 6 – 8 years |
| Amazing Grace | Mary Hoffman | 6 – 8 years |
| The Adventures of Milly Molly Mandy | Joyce Lankester Brisley | 6 – 8 years |
| Horrid Henry | Francesca Simon | 6 – 8 years |
| The Sheep-Pig | Dick King Smith | 6 – 8 years |
| Clarice Bean, That’s Me | Lauren Child | 6 – 8 years |
| That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown | Cressida Cowell | 6 – 8 years |
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Jeff Kinney | 6 – 8 years |
| The BFG | Roald Dahl | 6- 8 years |
| The Arrival | Shaun Tan | 6- 8 years |
| The Adventures of Tin Tin | Herge | 9 – 12 years |
| Swallows and Amazons | Arthur Ransome | 9 – 12 years |
| Ballet Shoes | Noel Streatfield | 9 – 12 years |
| The Hobbit | J R R Tolkien | 9 – 12 years |
| The Little Prince | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | 9 – 12 years |
| The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe | C. S. Lewis | 9 – 12 years |
| The Borrowers | Mary Norton | 9 – 12 years |
| The Wolves of Willoughby Chase | Joan Aitken | 9 – 12 years |
| Stig of the Dump | Clive King | 9 – 12 years |
| Carrie’s War | Nina Bawden | 9 – 12 years |
| Goodnight Mr Tom | Michelle Magorian | 9 – 12 years |
| The Witches | Roald Dahl | 9 – 12 years |
| Matilda | Roald Dahl | 9 – 12 years |
| Truckers: The First Book of the Nomes | Terry Pratchett | 9 – 12 years |
| The Story of Tracy Beaker | Jacqueline Wilson | 9 – 12 years |
| Flour Babies | Anne Fine | 9 – 12 years |
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone | J. K. Rowling | 9 – 12 years |
| Skellig | David Almond | 9 – 12 years |
| Holes | Louis Sachar | 9 – 12 years |
| Artemis Fowl | Eoin Colfer | 9 – 12 years |
| Journey to River Sea | Eva Ibbotson | 9 – 12 years |
| Private Peaceful | Michael Morpurgo | 9 – 12 years |
| Millions | Frank Cottrell Boyce | 9 – 12 years |
| Once | Morris Gleitzman | 9 – 12 years |
| A Monster Calls | Patrick Ness | 9 – 12 years |
| I Capture the Castle | Dodie Smith | 12 – 14 years |
| The Fellowship of the Ring | J R R Tolkien | 12 – 14 years |
| The Owl Service | Alan Garner | 12 – 14 years |
| Watership Down | Richard Adams | 12 – 14 years |
| Forever | Judy Blume | 12 – 14 years |
| The Ruby in the Smoke | Philip Pullman | 12 – 14 years |
| Northern Lights | Philip Pullman | 12 – 14 years |
| Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging | Louise Rennison | 12 – 14 years |
| Witch Child | Celia Rees | 12 – 14 years |
| Coram Boy | Jamila Gavin | 12 – 14 years |
| Kite Rider | Geraldine McCaughrean | 12 – 14 years |
| Mortal Engines | Philip Reeve | 12 – 14 years |
| The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | Mark Haddon | 12 – 14 years |
| Looking for JJ | Anne Cassidy | 12 – 14 years |
| Stormbreaker | Anthony Horowitz | 12 – 14 years |
| The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | John Boyne | 12 – 14 years |
| Noughts and Crosses | Malorie Blackman | 12 – 14 years |
| The Graveyard Book | Neil Gaiman | 12 – 14 years |
| The Knife of Never Letting Go | Patrick Ness | 12 – 14 years |
| Revolver | Marcus Segdwick | 12 – 14 years |
| Life: An Exploded Diagram | Mal Peet | 12 – 14 years |
| Maggot Moon | Sally Gardner | 12 – 14 years |
| Junk | Melvin Burgess | 12 – 14 years. At top end of age band |
| How I Live Now | Meg Rosoff | 12 – 14 years. At top end of age band |
| The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | 12 – 14 years. At top end of age band |
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