1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up

by Julia Eccleshare, Quentin Blake (Preface)

This is the best and most authoritative guide to classic and contemporary children’s literature today. It is the latest in the best-selling 1001 series, and its informative reviews are the key to differentiating the "must-read" books from all the rest in the realm of children’s books. Whether you are a parent seeking to instill a love of reading in your child, an educator or counselor looking for inspiration, or a young reader with a voracious appetite, this guide to the best writing for children and young adults covers the spectrum of children’s literature. It is organized by age group—from board books to YA novels and all the gradiations in between. Each entry features evaluations by a team of international critics complete with beautifully reproduced artwork from the featured title. The beloved classics are here, but the guide also takes a global perspective and includes the increasingly diverse contributions from African American and Latino authors and illustrators—not to mention important books from around the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Books About Books, Childrens, Parenting, Adult, Education

960 pages, Hardcover

First published October 27, 2009

About the author

Julia Eccleshare MBE (born 1951) is a British journalist and writer on the subject of children's books. She has been Children's Books editor for The Guardian newspaper for more than ten years, at least from 2000. She is also an editorial contributor and advisor for the website Lovereading4kids.

Eccleshare was born in Cambridge and grew up in North London, the third of four children of Colin Eccleshare, a publisher with Cambridge University Press and Liz, a history teacher.

Eccleshare was children's book editor of the Times Literary Supplement from 1974 to 1978. She served as non-fiction and picture book editor at Penguin Books children's imprint Puffin Books from 1978 to 1980, and as fiction editor at Hamish Hamilton children's books from 1980 to 1984, before returning to freelance book reviewing.
She selected hundreds of books for Children's Books of the Year from 1985 to 1993. The annual exhibition and annotated list had been established circa 1970 by the National Book League (later renamed Booktrust) and had missed one year before its 1985 resumption.

Eccleshare has also served on many book award panels including the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 2001, and chaired the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize panel from 2001 to its conclusion in 2007. In 2000 she co-founded the Branford Boase Award for an outstanding novel for young people by a first-time writer, and continues to chair its panel of judges. At least from 2000 to 2012, she chairs the panel of three children's writers who judge the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
In 2000 she won the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of "her outstanding contribution to children's books".

Eccleshare is currently children's books editor for The Guardian newspaper, and also regularly appears on BBC Radio 4's Open Book and Front Row programmes. In 2014 she was appointed Head of Policy and Advocacy for Public Lending Right. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to children's literature. She was an awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt, Hons) by the University of Worcester in 2014.

She is married and has four children, and lives in London.

Reviews

[Angela Randall]

I've finally made the kids 1001 book list in Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
Plus, I've made all the sub-lists.
Kids 0-3 Years: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
Kids 3+ Years: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
Kids 5+ Years: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
Kids 8+ Years: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
Kids 12+ Years: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
I've done my best to find English versions, but if I couldn't prove an English version existed I have listed the original language. With all this hunting around I may have messed up at some point, too. Let me know!
Hope this makes it easier for other people to find the books - It certainly is an interesting list of books!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll postpone growing up another decade!

In the spirit of Peter Pan, I’ll remain an enthusiastic reader of children’s literature as long as it can give as much delight as it did this afternoon. My children and I spent wonderful hours going through this brick of a book, page for page, book for book. The initial task was to list five favourites and five books to read during the year, and to give each other suggestions.

It ended up being more than five books each, of course, and after hours of wild discussions whether the reading age suggestions were outrageously wrong or not (my children think they are!), we all had filled our papers, and ran back and forth to our spread out bookshelves to look for the books we thought the others HAD to read first. The result was a tremendous journey down memory lane for me, and an end to the never-ending complaints from my children that “they have nothing to read”.

As with all lists, this one has flaws for sure, but those are minor compared to the treasure chest of wondrous reading that is to be found inside. When it is -8°C outside, the snow keeps falling and it is pitch dark at three in the afternoon, there is nothing better than to cuddle up together and try to figure out which are the all time childhood favourites.

Here a compromise we came up with:

My daughter is forever in love with...

Anne of Green Gables
Nesthäkchen
The Little House on the Prairie
Matilda
Mary Poppins

And she wants to read...

Heidi
Robinson Crusoe
The Railway Children
Little Women
The Three Musketeers

My middle son loves...

Mio, my Mio
The Giver
Jim Knopf
Tintenherz
A Wrinkle In Time

And he wants to read...

Five Children and It
The Graveyard Book
The Machine Gunners
Krabat
Haroun and the Sea of Stories

My eldest son didn’t want to choose from the children’s book list, and insisted on listing…

1984,
David Copperfield,
The Children of the Alley (Mahfouz),
Germinal and
Things Fall Apart

… as all time favourites. I think they might be challenged by his to-reads in 2017:

Dostoyevsky’s Double and Karamazov,
Othello,
Great Expectations,
For Whom the Bell Tolls and
Catcher in the Rye.

When asked to choose some favourites from the children’s list, he said (yes, he is a teenager!) Thomas the Tank Engine, and that made us try to come up with “first” favourites.

Here our shared memories of reading time past...

Alfie Atkins (ALL of them, twenty times)
Elsa Beskow, all
Astrid Lindgren, all
Michael Ende, all
Otfried Preussler, all
Paul Maar, all (not on the list, to our horror!)
Sven Nordquist, Findus/Mamma Mu
Moomins, all
Pinocchio
Alice in Wonderland
Nils Holgersson
Peter Pan
Dr Doolittle
The Jungle Book
Winnie The Pooh
Paddington
Babar
Maria Gripe, all

And so on in eternity!

I found some classics I had not read as a child, so I will add my own books to read before I grow up before closing this documentary:

The Call of The Wild
The Hound Of The Baskervilles
Chocky
The Summer Book

This was just the drastically reduced list of books that cannot be left unmentioned. The long list is… well, … LONG!

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes indeed, Julia Eccleshare's 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up absolutely and totally is a good (actually no, pretty well a great, a truly wonderful), balanced and first and foremost an immensely useful reference guide for both English language and international children's books (and also of course a book selection tool, a way of checking which children's books to read either yourself or with and by your children and/or your students, but naturally with the caveat that with its 2009/2010 publication date, 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up will not be featuring any book suggestions post that date, and that it might this and in fact be high time for an update). And while I generally agree with most of Julia Eccleshare's inclusions for 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, well, I would likely have added some and removed others (as these type of tomes are basically always at least somewhat a matter of personal taste and preference). But honestly, but actually, the only real (and rather minor but nevertheless still more than a trifle annoying) issue I personally do have with 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up is that a number of the non English language children's books listed are actually not available (or a best rather difficult to obtain) in English translation (and being of German background, I bien sûr first noticed this with some of the German language children's books that have made Julia Eccleshare's list). And while I most definitely and totally think that all or at least most of the books presented and reviewed in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up absolutely deserve their inclusion, deserve their ranking and their accolades, yes, it really should also be noted by Julia Eccleshare which of the non English language children's books that have been featured and are being celebrated are available in English translation and which are not or not yet (and in fact, in my opinion, any and all translations of a given book presented in 1001 Chidren's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up and in whatever language really should be listed).

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

All rules have exceptions, and here's a stellar example of that principle: other titles I've seen in this series have varied between dull and nauseating, but this one is absolutely terrific.

I spent an hour leafing through it this afternoon, and I was blown away by the brilliant selection. It's wonderfully balanced, and if the editors have any prejudice I didn't spot what it was. They have all the obvious old classics - Alice in Wonderland, Winnie-the-Pooh, Little Women - and all the new ones - Harry Potter, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Twilight. But they've also found an absolute wealth of more or less obscure books, including most of my Swedish favorites. These are people with enough taste and judgement that they don't think it's redundant to include Pippi Långstrump and Bröderna Lejonhjärta, or Kometen Kommer and Hur Gick Det Sen?, or Godnatt Alfons Åberg and Alfons och Odjuret. They have Tomi Ungerer's Crictor, die gute Schlange and la Comtesse de Ségur's Les malheurs de Sophie. They even had 100万回生きたねこ, a book I've unsuccessfully been trying to locate for years. Wow. Impressed doesn't begin to cover it.

I only have one criticism: somehow, they've managed to omit Ainsi va la vie . How is this possible, when they do have the vastly inferior Titeuf?? I will write and ask them. Maybe I can get them to include it in the next edition.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent catalogue of the best of children's literature internationally and over decades. It's a joy to discover old favourites being recommended as well as to find unfamiliar titles to try. It contains summaries/reviews and is organised in age groups from the earliest board/picture books. Every home should have one! This book is superb read. It lists out literally 1001 books and divides them into suitable reading age groups 3+ to 12+, because of this the book is literally massive! Perfect for a parent encouraging their child to read more and rapidly needing ideas to help expand their child's mind and creativity.

With this book, it is more like a directory listing the origins, genre and also providing an excerpt of the book to give the reader an idea of what each book is about. A useful tool for helping primary school teachers find suitable text for their class.

It's not too late to revisit your childhood books, even if you are not a parent and just a grown up. With this 1001 Children's Book, I am sure there are loads that you will remember reading as a child. There are most certainly plenty of enjoyable books to discover now as an adult. And yes Harry Potter books are mentioned too!

Most definitely a Must Read!

[Chantal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book and I am still working on this challenge. Excellent catalogue of children's books. Sometimes it is hard to find a book, some books are to old to even find. Wished it would have been more international

[La Crosse County Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally published April 2010

A couple of months ago, while perusing our recent arrivals, I found a book of hidden treasures: 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up, edited by Julia Eccleshare.

This book is a visual feast: published with heavy paper, beautiful illustrations, current through 2008, and divided into age groups of 0-3, 3+, 5+, 8+, and 12+ that cover birth through teen reads.

Each title, selected from books published around the world, is presented in either full or half-page format with most showing a color picture of the front cover, date published, author, illustrator, their respective nationalities, publisher, and theme of the book.

The synopsis of each usually provides setting, a bit of the storyline, and information regarding the value of the chosen book. Some of the reviews give insights into the authors, illustrators, and their lives and the timeframe in which the book was written.

Initially, I found it fun to flip through the book to see how many of the listed books I had read at some time in my life. Then I began to read this book as you would any book, from the beginning. I realized the treasures it held, and everything I could learn from reading the book itself, and what more I could learn by reading those books it recommends.

The book, The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper (pseudonym) and illustrated by Lois Lenski, copyright 1930, allows me to reflect on the lesson to keep trying when you want to succeed.

Many of us were read this book while growing up or have read this book to our children or grandchildren, but until I read the short description of the book in this text I hadn’t really thought about the “little engine” being a “she” or realized that this story is a version of an earlier story.

Perhaps before I “grow up” I will be able to read or reread all of these books with new insight and perspective.

I would recommend this book to all who love children’s literature, no matter your current age!

Find this book and other titles within our catalog.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A feast. For anyone who wants to revel in childhood nostalgia, or to find new books to read (I am not ashamed to admit that I still read children's books), or to make up a reading wishlist for their kids. This book is full of colour illustrations and selections from other languages (ones that have been translated into English, of course), which I especially enjoyed (I have always wondered what the kids in other countries are reading). Gems, gems gems. A real joy to read. My list of Books I Want to Read to My Child has grown alarmingly! This book, along with kids book blogs like http://www.themarlowebookshelf.blogsp... and http://www.vintagechildrensbooksmykid... and several others, has had me scouring the libraries. A fantastic reference book.

[Ellinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a very good list of children's books. I really like it much better than the adults' version. It's much more international and lists books from much more categories.
There were however a few things that bother me a bit. First, I didn't like that the list loads of books that are very hard to get or only at prices the books are really not worth. So what's the sense of listing them if hardly anyone can read them? Second, I didn't like that the authors didn't take any interest in the availability of the books in other languages. I read books in German, English, French and Spanish and I also don't have a problem with reading picture books in Italian. But many people and especially children (who are the actual target group of this book) don't. I read the German translation of this book. I know that a translation is not supposed to change anything. But it would have been great to have a version with books that are all available in German as well. The last thing I sometimes found very strange was the age certain books were recommended for. E.g. in the 3+ section you can find picture books with hardly any text in them which would as well fit into the 0-3 category. At the same time you have books with a lot of text which are also quite thick (at least for a 5+ child). This might make it difficult for parents who are using this book to found suitable reading material for their children; they just can't rely on the book really being adequate.

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Same as my review for the adult version of this book, but this is a little less applicable for my TBR, since when I got this I was 12 to 13 years old and thus was already too old to find enjoyment in many of the books, and now that I'm nearly 19 years old, all of these are technically too young for me. That's not going to stop me from trying to read all of them, but my parents will look at me weird (not that they don't already lol).

[Tiffany]

Oh, no. More books I "must" read!

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this one from the library. Of course I can't read it all right now, but it is an excellent guide. I will make a list and probably but the book at some point in the future.

[Camille · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pas à jour, mal classé pour les âges. Vraiment oubliable et vite oublié !

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that can't seem to decide if it was meant for academics or regular people (parents, children, teachers, librarians). Most of the books are easily found, but many are not. Some are out of print. Some are not available at all except in a handful of university libraries scatted around the globe. Anyone who actually wants to read all of the titles in this book will be hard pressed to find all of the books. It was a great idea and has a great base of terrific children's books, but as an academic exercise, it is far too short and doesn't include books from a great many countries. As a book geared toward regular readers, it is far too exclusionary and exclusive.

[Annalisa Ponti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mette allegria anche solo sfogliarlo. Le riproduzioni delle copertine originali sono irresistibili, le schede intelligenti e non moralistiche. Fa venir voglia Chissà se ne esiste una versione più aggiornata; la mia è la traduzione di quella del 2009.

[Rebecca Douglass · Rating 4 out of 5]

General Editor, Julia Eccleshare. Over 70 contributors, plus special reviews by more than 30 well-known authors

This amazing volume is a compilation of 1001 half-page (some whole-page) summaries of great children's books, from the earliest picture books through the middle grades and up. It has been the source of a number of books I've read and reviewed this winter, as I've been perusing the suggestions for the 8 and up age ranges. Whatever I can among the books I missed in my own youth, I order from the library.

Because the book was first published in England (and the authors/editors/compilers are English), the selection of books is more international than it might be if produced in the U.S. Though all books are available (with some hunting) in English, many were first written in other languages, and more come from Australia and New Zealand than I was ever aware existed (why did I never think about people in other countries writing books for kids? Probably because you didn't find many of them in our libraries and bookstores). If nothing else, this book showed up my typical American upbringing. Though I read a great many British children's books (Famous Five, anyone? not to mention Narnia and Tolkien), and have known for decades what a torch, jumper, and rug are, and where you will find them if they are in the back of a lorry, I have read almost none of the recommended books from anywhere but the U.S and the British Isles. Not all can be easily found, but I suspect nearly all would be worth the search.

Many of the mini-reviews (just a little more than summaries) are accompanied by the original cover art, and some by illustrations from the book interiors. Some of the art is stunning, some is fascinating just for being so dated, and some is still in use even after many decades while other covers have been redesigned and updated many times.

The book is divided into five sections, for kids from ages 0-3, 3+, 5+, 8+ and 12+. I spent less time in the first three sections, as these were primarily picture books, baby books, and easy readers, though of course my well-beloved Dr. Seuss shows up in all three. A quick look showed many favorites as well as many that I never saw (and some that I discovered only when my own kids were little and hadn't realized had been around since I wasn't much older than 5!). Some of the books in the 8+ and 12+ sections I would definitely say are for the younger end of those age ranges--the final section goes right on up to Young Adult novels, but some in the 8+ section are difficult to read due to either style or content. Some parental judgement may be needed when selecting books for children; fortunately, the story summaries and reviews give you most of what you need to know.

Are all the books listed truly must-reads? Frankly, no (and thus the four stars. It's darned good, but I think there were some slips). I don't think I'll suffer in the least if I grow up (or grow old and die) without having read Twilight. Others are just not that interesting to me. But most of these books will amply repay the time spent finding--and reading them, and many are books we'd never know about without this great resource.

[Louise (A Strong Belief in Wicker) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did actually change my life. Of course, I have the adult version (1001 books you must read before you die) too, and I certainly would like to read most of those books, but I never seriously contemplated doing it. I heard about this book, had to have it, requested it for Christmas 2009, and then immediately began hatching plans to read all the books, and even started a yahoo group dedicated to reading all the books. The only real disappointment with this book is the rather inexplicable inclusion of quite a number of books that have never been published in English. So I'll never get to read all 1001 books- because I'm not fluent in Catalan and Polish, so I guess I'll never grow up either. My tally as of July 2011 is about 160/1001.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of well-known and less well-know influential books in children's literature.

[LauraW · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn't a book you actually read cover to cover; it is a reference book. That said, I have enjoyed looking through it and I am pleased that I have actually read a good portion of the books listed. Yes, there are some books that I would have love to have had included that aren't and some books I wouldn't have listed that are, but it is a good resource. I especially enjoy reading the books for the older children, so now I have an even longer To Be Read list.

[Ale Sandoval Tress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es el libro que me sirvió de guía para los mejores libros que leyeron mis hijos.

https://bibliobulimica.wordpress.com/...

[Marzia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Devo dire, molto onestamente, che da questo libro mi aspettavo di più.
Bella l'idea di dividere i libri per target di lettura anche se, a mio parere, la suddivisione non è stata fatta molto correttamente; alcuni libri sono in sezioni non particolarmente adatte.
Non sono rimasta soddisfatta.

Riconosco comunque 3 stelle per l'impegno e la grande mole di lavoro che è stata fatta.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eccleshare, J. & Blake, Q. 1001 children's books you must read before you grow up. New York: Universe Publishing Company.

Citation by: Margie Findley

Type of Reference: Bibliography

Call Number: Z1037 .A252x 2009

Description: A collection of bibliographies about the best classic and contemporary children’s books.

Relevance and Relationship: The cost is $24.19 and is a superb selection to other similar titles. It is a one stop for selecting the best children’s books to read or to help with collection development for a library.

Purpose: There are many bibliographies of children’s books, but none that combine them as this one does. Teachers and librarians have limited time to select the best books for their elementary students. This resource will help them use this time more efficiently.

Validity: The author is known for publishing the 1001 series. The next version will need to be purchased when available to stay up to date on new titles.

Format: The hardcover includes illustrations of many books.

Arrangement and Presentation: The 960 page book is organized by age allowing for an easier search for a classroom, library, or parent depending on the children’s’ age. It includes lists of silly books, great collections of fables, recommended books about horses, books about granddads, great war books, time-travel tales, and much more with illustrations for a more appealing presentation.

Diversity: Includes a diverse selection of books from around the world.

Professional Review: Julie Just, New York Times

A book I will definitely be checking out!

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lists exist for all kinds of reasons. Groceries, things you gotta do, etc. And with the proliferation of books about things you need to read, see, do, try and hear before you die, well, we've got all the advice we need for a while.

This book is positively gorgeous, with simple, clean layout, and great use of original graphics. It's a doorstop of a book, and wouldn't look bad sitting on the shelf. And you know, I agree with a lot of the books in there. What I disagree with is the way its organized. Would you give a 12 year old Catcher in the Rye ? It's nothing to do with preventing them from being exposed to the content. I just don't think they'd want it at that point in their lives. Catcher in the Rye falls under the 12+ category. 12+ what? The book puts Ramona the Pest in the 5+ category. Let's create more of a base here. A 5 year old could enjoy Ramona, probably. But they couldn't read it. And then on the page before it is a picture book. I don't know. I liked the way it looked, and think it's pretty, and agree with the bulk of what's in there, in terms of forming a slightly modern canon of children's lit. But you couldn't use this book in a real way, not for work. You could use it for reminiscing, which I did.

[Prince William Public Libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are looking for good books for your children (or yourself), here is an excellent resource of suggestions. While some might wonder whether this list is truly the 'perfect' list of books all children should read, I suggest that it doesn't really matter if you think some don't belong on the list while others do. Take the book as it is, a suggestion of good books and find some you think you would enjoy.

- Rebecca H.

Click here to find the book at the Prince William County Public Library System.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally, a book of this scope would merit high(er) ratings from me, but this one is bitterly disappointing in some of the simplest ways. Not just omissions of books that "should" be on the list; It is the errors, the typos, the oversights. Misspelled authors' names: names spelled three different ways in one entry. Titles of books misreported. Where were the bonehead contributors' heads when they were compiling this volume? Let me know when you find them........

[Linda Lipko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightful book with wonderful suggestions for children of all ages. It is a heavy book (960 pages) and well worth the time spent in perusing the wonderful descriptions, well written reviews and stunningly beautiful illustrations.

This was a joy to read and I'm going to buy a copy if I can find one.

Highly recommended!

[Dayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reference book for parents. 1001 books divided by age group. Went through the book and realized I had read 135 which leaves many more new books to discover. Full color features pictures of book covers as well as a write up about each book.

[Robin Blankenship]

The problem with this book is so many of the books are not translated into English, or they are out of print, outdated, racist, misogynistic, too long, or all wrong for the age group suggested, impossible to find. Timeless is not a thing. Books do become dated. The messages become all wrong and it is ok to stop reading. Old does not mean classic. Classic does not mean good. Did they actually read these books? There Is no way a 5-year-old is going to like this crap. As a librarian, I am calling BS on the whole thing. There are so many books in here that are all wrong for the age group—200-page books for 3-year-olds, books written in the 1600s for 5-year-olds. Come On, really? Some you can buy for 500 bucks. Some are 800 pages. This book gets crazier and crazier. Seriously you can not have 800-page books from the 1950s suggested for 5-year-olds. 1000-page books for 8-year-olds olds the same problem. Some translations are unreadable for kids if they are translated at all or if you can find them. They just poorly translated the titles into English it doesn't mean the books are actually available in English or ever were. IT ACTUALLY RECOMMENDS A BOOK WITH THE N WORD IN IT, so yeah there is that. Good god, did they even vet these books? I have found several of the suggested 8+ books in the adult section of the library so super on age level like I thought. So this book sucked, it was not appropriate at all. Most books can't be found. Or you can pay 1000s of dollars to find them all or learn some new languages. I used interlibrary loans and archive.org to read many of them. SO many we outdated, not age-appropriate, just bad. Ignore books like this and just read whatever you want. I thought this would be fun but it was a nightmarish headache.
I thought this book would be fun to read the books listed but honestly I am not impressed. This book is all over the place. Who were they trying to impress? Just in pages 1 to 90 so many of the books were almost impossible to find. There is a bunch of translated books which I love but aren't available widespread here. And the 3+ section are you kidding me? Have you met a 3 year old? Chapter books are not for them for a reason. Attention span, interest, lack of pictures. And sure I like that some old books are included but some of them are so outdated and hurtful. Best left forgotten.
I think someone should have checked availability before this book came out.
I am sure Martine is a great series and the pictures are amazing but I can't read

French and I couldn't find an English version. ☹️
The wonderful Tree can be had for the low low price of $150.00, so yeah I am going to spend that to make sure I read all 1001.
Barbapapa is a super cute character and you can look at the Dutch comic or buy a copy for 60 bucks.
Marigold Garden was too long and boring for the age group it was in.
The Jolly Aunt no where to be seen.
If you want to hear What does the mouse think on Thursday?, A very nice sounding German lady will read it to you on YouTube but no English translation in sight.
Mr. Tickle needs to learn the word consent. This book is to creepy now.
Lotta's Bike was publish in America as "Of course Polly can ride a bike" for 60 bucks.
I found this one I love the author but this one has a terrible message
Little I am I another swing and a miss. You can listen to an awesome Austrian lady
reading it on YouTube but heck if I know what is going on. Sounds cool. But who knows?
Pretty consistently the books skew way older than the section they are in. The Church mouse and The Sea-thing child are listed at reading levels for 8 and up and are in the 3+ section.
Uppo the bear has a disturbing cover but who knows had to listen to it in Finnish. Cool lady with an Uppo, bucket hat and headset read it to me.
Did this dude get a kick back from Shirley Hughes and the Ahlbergs? There is quite a few of theirs on this list.
I wanted it to have old and newer books but it was not a fair mix.
Only way I could "read" is it a monster, Alfie Atkins? Was one weird you tube videos that has weird sound effects.
I am just not sure kids in 2006 or now
could connect to half of these books.
How did they decide what to include?
And of course they put a book from the guy that wrote the preface.
Dogger is a sweet story but the pictures are outdated and racist. In 2006 they should have known better than to include it.
Léo and Popi were no where to be found in English.
Dusty wants to help can be had on Amazon for 150 bucks. Couldn't find it anywhere else.
We are the triplets can be bought on abebooks for 305 dollars. It was a TV show so some of those videos are around.
T'choupi was not available in English at any library. It looks cute and is reasonably priced on Amazon.
I loved the pictures in Okilēlē but could not find it in English.

I will say there are so many with the theme animal stories. The themes honestly are not that diverse.
And again I must say so many of these would not be well reviewed by the under 5 crowd.
I could not find Garden of the little creatures in book or video form. Apparently it is a movie but I didn't find the book
The wide mouthed frog was no where to be found in English
Tatu and patu in Helsinki was not in English anywhere. There is a cool YouTube video of someone reading it on another language. The pictures are interesting.
I seriously was excited about unknown and forgotten princesses. But the English version is actually called the secret lives of princesses and I couldn't find it to read.
I am all for folktales but when you included a collection of them make sure they are actually in a book form. I could not find anything called Tales of Otogizōshi in any kind of collected form. There was one tale that kept coming up that is 90 plus pages and now way age appropriate for 5 year olds.
Much like the one before this one. The adventures of peach boy was not found in any stand alone book. I found it in a cool collection of Japanese folklore but it was long with no pictures. Seriously not for 5 year olds.
Fairy tales from the past, I only found as a scanned copy provided by the library of Congress it French. 191 pages hardly any pictures. Have these people met little kids. This is too much for 5 to 8 year olds.
Fifty fables for children can be bought for 30 bucks but there is a good chance they
all are in German.
Book of nonsense is just that. It is long. Only place I could find it was project Gutenberg. And it was not cute or funny or suitable for ages 5 to 8 in my opinion. Pictures were racist caricature. Style of writing would not be understood by kids today.
Cole's funny picture book is available via project Gutenberg. Seriously outdated.
I love the Andrew Lang fairy books. But not for 5 years old. 8 and up probably more accurate. The Jungle book is great too but 8 and up. Perez the Mouse is old and unrelated to kids today. It is also long. 5 year olds would run away. In my opinion.
The Dutch Twins not age appropriate either. Maybe 8. But it is so old and outdated. Maya the Bee was weird and off putting. Not for 5 year olds either. No pictures at all. Not for beginning readers.
Josephine and her dolls on ebay for 130 bucks.
What the heck is going on in The Magic Pudding? It is not age appropriate either.
Could not find tales of snugglepot and cuddlepie to read but there is a great YouTube video with a guy with a great accent reading it.
Come hither is 500 pages of poems with hardly any pictures. Blah
All about Doggie and Pussycat I could not locate in English.
So many animal stories. There are other themes you know.
Can't find a free copy of The Wonderful Farm.
Elsie Piddock was so unrelatable and hard to read.
The little wooden house can be found under the name Adventures of the little
wooden horse. It is 200 pages and no pictures. 8 plus would be more suited.
Michka, I was unable to find any English version. Looked at the French version and it looked cute.
Couldn't find a copy of Tweet Tweet.
No Tales and Legends Either.
The Dolls house is old and boring and too outdated for kids today.
Apoutsiak for sale for 65 bucks. Couldn't find a copy to read. Will try ILL.
Foxie couldn't find a copy.
No English translation for Roule Galette.
The bears of hemlock mountain and the biggest bear were long and kinda boring in my opinion.
I can get behind Charlotte's web being read to the 5-8 group but not for beginning readers.
Marlaguette could not find in English.
Jip and Janneke no English .
What the what is Going on in Detectives in Togas? Also not for beginning readers. Might be ok to read aloud to a kid but the names are impossible.
A toad who wanted to be a star not in English.
Italian Folktales is 894 pages. I am sure there are some gems in there but lord.
Captain Pugwash can be had for about 40 to 400 dollars. Will try to borrow a copy.
Little Nicholas was outdated and kinda mean in spots. .
The orange cow no English translation.
The dreams of the toad 🐸🐸 nope .
Dailan Kifki nope
Kangaroo for all nope
The battle of bubble and squeak was long and weird.
The prince of motordu not in English
Really a 500 page book for 8 year olds. Dude really
Some of the 8 plus books are too old and outdated got this age group.
Finally found Martine it is Debbie in English. The art is beautiful. Story a bit wordy for the age but all in all pretty good. I liked it.
The cow who fell in the canel was cute but long.
Lotta's bike seems long for the age group it is in.

[Lloyd Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess this is more like a reference book that one delves into rather than something that one reads cover to cover. And, of course, I have not read this cover to cover. As an older reader, I have the advantage of having read books myself when I was young, then having read another generation of books to my children, and then reading books to my grandchildren. So A pretty wide spread of years to cover. I bought the book second hand and was amused to find that the previous owner had done exactly what I was going to do....that is, to count the books there that I have actually read. My totals were not that different from the previous owner. I found that for ages 0-3 years, I had read 14 of the books (out of 35). For ages 3+, I had read 31 of the books. For ages 5+, I had read 29 of the books. For ages 8+ I had read 52 of the books. And for ages 12+ I had read 25 of the books. In total I have read 150 of the 1001 that the authors think I should have read.
I always have some difficulties with books of this nature that simply reflect the experiences or prejudices of the contributors. I wonder if any of the 72 contributors have actually read all the books....or how many of them have they read. Certainly, the editors have tried to put together an international collection of contributors...but it's not really international. I can't complain too much.....my own country (Australia) is heavily represented. There is a clear preponderance of British contributors ...and rather a dearth of American....and very few from Asia (I counted about 3 from Japan) or the Middle East ....and rather few from continental Europe. So, I guess, we have a selection here that has a massive anglo saxon bias with a scattering of other tales. I visit Japan a lot and am very impressed with the wonderful range of illustrated books available there ....but hardly any appear in 1001 Children's books. (Except for Roald Dahl's interpretation of James and the giant peach....which I think probably has some sort of origins in the Japanese folk tale, Momontoro and two other's that I noticed). In some ways, I wanted to buy this book because of the great children's book illustrations and the collection of illustrators...and in this, I was not disappointed. There is a great collection of illustrations ...and many styles.
One issue that I had was that often I had read a version of the book that was different to that illustrated in 1001....for example, "The wide-mouthed frog" where we used to have a pop up version...which was wonderful. (I think I might still have it). So i was half wondering whether one had to read the version that was shown in 1001....and what one was missing if one had read a different version.
Each book has a description and often background information which is interesting and helpful. Will I go out and buy (or borrow) the books that I haven't read. Almost certainly not. They don't even have "The Poky Little Puppy" listed among the 1001. Now this was a favourite of mine and very popular with two later generations of kids.... And, of course.....Johnnie's Machines (a little Golden Book that seems to be out of print.....but I loved it as a chid). And of course......The Fairy Tales of Grimm and Anderson, Illustrated by Anne Anderson, Collins, 1925.
As the editor acknowledges "Any grouping of children's books inevitably raises as many questions as it answers". and this is no exception. It's obviously a great start for somebody who has to buy a present for a child or for a parent looking to educate their children. But it is just one perspective on the issue.
I quite like it and think I will keep it (as opposed to donating it to charity). I give it 4 stars.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great! Now, I did not read all 1001 books, and I'm 18 now, so I'm technically grown up. I got to reconnect with my childhood and have years of memories come flooding back. I think I: drowned, but I'm here now reviewing, so I guess I made it out okay.

My happiest memories of books I read back in the early years were "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", the "Spot" books, and "The Magic Tree house" series.

I went through the book in sections and wrote down all the books I have already read, and the ones I plan to read or re-reread.

So without further adue, I present my list of books from this book:

Read:

* The Little Engine That Could
* Goodnight Moon
* The Very Hungry Caterpillar
* Where’s Spot?
* The Tale of Peter Rabbit
* The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher
* The Cat in The Hat
* A Bear Called Paddington
* Green Eggs and Ham
* Go, Dog. Go!
* The Berenstain Bears
* Clifford the Big Red Dog
* Where the Wild Things Are
* Burglar Bill
* Angelina Ballerina
* Love you Forever
* Guess How Much I Love You
* The Jungle Book
* Velveteen Rabbit
* Charlotte’s Web
* Frog and Toad Are Friends
* Leo The Late Bloomer
* Strega Nona
* The Paper bag Princess
* If You Give A Mouse A Cookie
* The Polar Express
* Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
* Stellaluna
* Farmer Boy
* The Hobbit
* Stuart Little
* The Chronicles of Narnia
* Old Yellar
* The Hundred and One Dalmatians
* The Incredible Journey
* James and the Giant Peach
* Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
* The Mouse and The Motorcycle
* From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
* Bridge to Terebithia
* Sarah, Plain and Tall
* Maniac Magee
* Millions
* The Call of the Wild
* White Fang
* The Fellowship of the Ring
* To Kill a Mockingbird
* Tuck Everlasting
* Holes
* Bud, Not Buddy

Re-Reading:

* We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
* Winne-the-Pooh
* Madeline
* Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
* Curious George
* The Little House
* Harry the Dirty Dog
* Are you my Mother?
* What do People Do all Day?
* Corduroy
* Mr. Popper’s Penguins
* Caps For Sale
* Swimmy
* The Giving Tree
* Matilda
* The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
* A Bad Case of Stripes
* Black Beauty
* The Hardy Boys
* Nancy Drew
* The Wheel on The School
* The Cricket in Times Square
* The Indian in the Cupboard
* Around the World in Eighty Days
* The Westing Game

To-Read:

* Thomas The Tank Engine
* The Runaway Bunny
* The Elephant and the Bad Baby
* Elmer
* The Story of the Root Children
* The Story of Babar
* Little Toot
* The Little Red Lighthouse
* Eloise
* The Cow Who Fell in the Canal
* Ivor the Engine
* Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
* The Snowman
* Freight Train
* Gorilla
* We Are the Triplets
* Fire Engine Lil
* One Snowy Night
* Runaway Train
* The Gruffalo
* Lost and Found
* Fairy Tales from the Past
* Grimms’ Fairy Tales
* The Emperor’s New Clothes
* The Little Mermaid
* The Magic Fishbone
* The House That Jack Built
* Cole’s Funny Picture Book
* The Dutch Twins
* Rupert the Bear
* Tales and Legends
* Pippi Longstocking
* Stone Soup
* The Doll’s House
* My Father’s Dragon
* The Biggest Bear
* Harold and The Purple Crayon
* Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf
* The Three Robbers
* Gumdrop
* Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
* The Giant Jam Sandwich
* Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish
* Where the Sidewalk Ends
* Falling Up
* The Worst Witch
* Miss Nelson is Missing!
* Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
* The Enormous Crocodile
* Haunted House
* Not Now, Bernard
* Jumanji
* Hey, Al
* Else-Marie and Her Seven Little Daddies
* My Friends Percy’s Magical Gym Shoes
* The Stinky Cheese Man
* The Great Escape from City Zoo
* The Death Book
* The Sea Monster
* Leonardo, the Terrible Monster
* Flotsam
* The Adventures of The Dish and Spoon
* Aesop’s Fables
* The Pied Piper of Hamelin
* A Christmas Carol
* The Water-Babies
* Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
* Through The Looking Glass
* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
* The Prince and The Pauper
* Pinocchio
* Treasure Island
* Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
* Moonfleet
* The Story of the Treasure Seekers
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
* Sussi and Biribissi
* The Bobbsey Twins
* Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
* The Wind In The Willows
* The Story of Doctor Dolittle
* The Boxcar Children
* TinTin
* Mary Poppins
* Little House on the Prairie
* The Adventures of the Wishing Chair
* The Sword in the Stone
* Five on a Treasure Island
* The Borrowers
* Half Magic
* The Children on Green Knowe
* Tom’s Midnight Garden
* The Phantom Tollbooth
* How The Whale Became
* Stig of the Dump
* Harriet the Spy
* The Magic Finger
* The Iron Man: A Children’s Story in Five Nights
* Watership Down
* Conrad: The Factory-made Boy
* Ordinary Jack
* Under the Mountain
* Superfudge
* The BFG
* Storm
* Why the Whales Came
* The Snow Spider
* Whipping Boy
* Quirky Tales
* Only You Can Save Mankind
* The Giver
* 45 & 47 Stella Street and Everything that Happened
* The View from Saturday
* Harry Potter
* Skellig
* Just Annoying
* A Series of Unfortunate Events
* Hitler’s Daughter
* Alex Rider
* Mortal Engines
* Artemis Fowl
* The Spiderwick Chronicles
* Inkheart
* The Tale of Despereaux
* The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
* The Arrival
* Robinson Crusoe
* Gulliver’s Travels
* The Three Musketeers
* The Scarlet Letter
* Journey to the Center of the Earth
* Little Woman
* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
* Kidnapped
* Sherlock Holmes
* The Happy Return
* Cue for Treason
* The Otterbury Incident
* Metropolis
* The Catcher in the Rye
* King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
* Fahrenheit 451
* Lord of the Flies
* The Witch of Blackbird Pond
* Marianne Dreams
* Friday’s Tunnel
* A Wrinkle in Time
* The Outsiders
* The Dark is Rising
* The Chocolate War
* Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
* Thunder and Lightnings
* Underground to Canada
* After the First Death
* Neverending Story
* Homecoming
* Hatchet
* Madame Doubtfire
* Strange Objects
* Redwork
* Pagan’s Crusade
* Tomorrow, When the War Began
* Some of the Kinder Planets
* Rowan of Rin
* The Gathering
* Gold Dust
* Dougy
* Switchers
* Whispers in the Grave Yard
* See How They Run
* A Jump into the Other World
* Northern Lights
* I Am Not Esther
* Not Chicago. Not Here.
* The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley
* The Messenger
* Crispin
* The Keys to the Kingdom
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
* Grimpow