Comments on: Top 100 Children’s Novels (#5)

By: Top 100: 2010 Picks for Best Children’s Novels (grades 3-8) : PragmaticMom

Top 100: 2010 Picks for Best Children’s Novels (grades 3-8) : PragmaticMom — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:25:31 +0000

[...] and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling#4 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis#5 From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg#6 Holes by Louis Sachar#7 The Giver by Lois Lowry#8 The Secret Garden by [...]

By: ZackRock

ZackRock — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 11:41:04 +0000

That’s not Meg Hunt’s illustration! Meg Hunt started the great website Picture Book Report where that illustration comes from, but the artist in question is actually Phil McAndrew.

By: marjorie

marjorie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:56:59 +0000

Chiming in: For whatever it’s worth, my 3rd grader also loves it! She was thrilled and horrified by the notion of scooping coins out of a wishing fountain. (She lives in the East Village…which means she could tell you, sadly, that Bamn! the automat on St Marks Place, closed last summer. Dunno why its decomposing web site is still up.)

Charlotte’s Web FTW!

By: Genevieve

Genevieve — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:28:12 +0000

The kiddo says that the kids in his class who are reading Mixed-Up Files like it a lot. Just more samples for you.

By: Els Kushner

Els Kushner — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:19:07 +0000

Susan, I LOVE Father’s Arcane Daughter. In fact, I voted for it, even though I was certain it wouldn’t make it into the top 100. I love it that much. Didn’t know they’d changed the name– how awful!

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver is my next favorite. And then maybe The Second Mrs. Giaconda.

Incidentally, my 4th grader was also crazy about From the Mixed-Up Files. I should note, though, that 1) she didn’t read it herself; I read it to her, and 2) she is the child of two librarians, is being raised on a steady diet of old and/or weird books, and also loves E. Nesbit. So she might not be representative.

(She does, however, live in the suburbs. And, considering her addiction to Club Penguin and her repeated insistence that she NEEDS an iPod, it’s pretty fair to call her a modern-day child. )

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:34:19 +0000

LOVED this book as a kid. I actually had it on tape from the library and would listen to it over and over before I went to bed. I listened to it so much, I had parts of it memorized. I cried when I watched the awful TV movie in 95-my favorite book was ruined! I read this again last semester for my children’s lit class and it still hadn’t lost it’s charm.

By: rockinlibrarian

rockinlibrarian — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:12:50 +0000

That’s what I thought. I mean, about the popularity of this with kids in general nowadays. I thought it had definitely gone down relative to other books– both old books that have stayed popular and new books that have arrived to compete. That was why I kept expecting this to show up lower on the list than #5!

By: Fuse #8

Fuse #8 — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:38:30 +0000

Insofar as I can tell, no child voted for this book. Or, if they did, it was in small numbers.

By: JLD

JLD — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:05:02 +0000

Klonghall, my 5th grader read this book in 3rd grade and loved it. She’s read it a good 3 or 4 more times. This, of course, thrills me, as it’s my favorite book too.

My predictions for the last four match those mentioned above: Socerer’s Stone, LW&TW, A Wrinkle in Time, and Charlotte’s Web. What a surprise it will be if one of those doesn’t make it. I’m so enjoying this list.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 17:35:26 +0000

rams, don’t feel alone….I too, loved B’nai Bagels and Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver. My other top favorite would be Father’s Arcane Daughter…I just HATE that they’ve retitled it My Father’s Daughter….they’ve ruined the way that the word “arcane” fits into the ending, with an almost “easter egg” type goodie for those who know (or care to look up) the etymology. (Yes, I am a word geek :0).