Top 51 books for kids

[Dogwatcher]

Wizardry, Wild Things and War make the cut

Dymocks’ national survey reveals best books of all time for kids and teens

In a national survey conducted by Dymocks, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has been named number one on the 2010 list of the Top 51 best books ever written for children.

The Kids’ Top 51 best books reading list caters to the needs of all age groups from pre-school to young adult and ranges from all-time classics such as Charlotte’s Web and Anne of Green Gables to recent global best-sellers such as Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Voted independently by more than 35,000 Dymocks Booklovers, the survey shows the increasing popularity of the fantasy genre in addition to children’s classics and picture books that dominate the chart.

Unsurprisingly, the Harry Potter series tops the list, with J.K. Rowling's brainchild still a favourite across all age groups - twelve years after the publication of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The series has sold more than 400 million copies worldwide and has been translated into at least 64 languages in print form and 20 languages in audio form, making Rowling the highest-earning novelist in history.

Second on the list is Maurice Sendak’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are, followed closely by Eric Carle’s picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar and John Marsden’s Tomorrow, When the War Began Series; and rounding off the top five is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Australian authors making their debut on the list in 2010, include Andy Griffith’s Just Macbeth!, Matthew Reilly’s Hover Car Racer, Alison Lester’s Magic Beach, Emily Rodda’s Rowan of Rin, Ruth Park’s Playing Beatie Bow, Gabrielle Lord’s Conspiracy 365 Series and Jackie French’s A Rose for the Anzac Boys.

“The Kids’ Top 51 best books list highlights the enduring popularity of Australian authored books,” says Don Grover, Dymocks CEO.

“With perennial classics such as Possum Magic, Where is the Green Sheep?, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy, The Complete Adventures of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, and John Marsden’s acclaimed Tomorrow series leading the charge of home-grown talent.”

“These books have brought enchantment to Australian children for many years.

“Interestingly, some of most popular series-books in the list provide invaluable inspiration to Hollywood, with many developed into screenplays to become blockbuster feature films. In recent years more than ever before, Hollywood has successfully and profitably adapted these books to tap into a loyal reading audience and transfer them to on-screen loyals,” concluded Don Grover.

As a genre, fantasy is the big winner on the list and mirrors the rise of the “Young Adult” reading segment. The craze for fantasy, wizards and vampires shows no sign of abating.

To launch the 2010 Kids’ Top 51, Dymocks bookstores across Australia are offering customers “3 books for the price of 2” across the entire Kids’ Top 51 range from 6 September to 31 October.

Booklovers who shop at any Dymocks store between 6 September and 31 October will be automatically entered into the draw to win the entire 2010 Kids’ Top 51 collection.

Between 13 and 24 September, Dymocks will be running a giveaway on social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter called ‘Who Am I?’ The competition will be a quiz where a succession of up to ten clues will be released each day to reveal a character and a book from the 2010 Kids’ Top 51 list.

The first person to correctly reveal the book and the character will be the winner for ‘Who Am I?’ that day and will win book of their choice from the Kids’ Top 51 list plus a $30 Dymocks gift card. Followers will be able to post a review on Facebook or Twitter on their favourite children’s book to share.

All the books in the Dymocks Booklovers Kids’ Top 51 best books are available online at www.dymocks.com.au and in all Dymocks stores throughout Australia.

2010 Top 10 books from the Dymocks Booklovers Kids’ Top 51 best books ever written list:

1. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
2. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
4. Tomorrow, When the War Began Series by John Marsden
5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
6. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
7. Just Macbeth! by Andy Griffiths
8. Possum Magic by Mem Fox
9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
10. The BFG by Roald Dahl

[Lightning McQueen]

No Lord of the flies, otherwise known as Shiela the great, The turbulent times of Tyke Tyler or Dr Zuess books?

[spell_check]

Most of those 136 books which include that 51 must have been published in the last say 10-12 years. Nowhere can you see Paul Jennings, Roy Pond, Judy Blume or Morris Gleitzman. About the only one I can re-tell the story from is Rowan of Rin. I'm sure there was a sequel to that book I read too. Geoffrey McSkimmings' Cairo Jim novels are a good read too, for the 10-15 age group.

[Hondo]

Our toddlers love the Hungry Catterpillar and reading it to them reminded me of my childhood reading it. An all-time classic.

The Green Sheep never quite cut it with our eldest though.

I must be a child because I just finished the last Harry Potter book. Had it sitting there for ages and finally got to it.

[Footy Chick]

Choose Your Own Adventure

End of thread

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