The Survey

Back in August of this year, I did an informal poll on Facebook. I asked every one of the 801 people on my friends list this question, “What is your favorite childrens’ book?”

No qualifiers, no age restrictions. I wanted to hear from the grown-ups and from the kids. And I did! I got responses from 145 friends… teachers, librarians, moms, dads, grandparents, kids, teenagers, homeschoolers, public schoolers, friends, family, and even a few strangers.

Favorites included picture books and chapter books, old classics and current trends. Many of my favorites made the list. See if yours did, too…

The Results

There were a few authors who made the list, which I assume means some people love all their works, so we should definitely start with those 🙂

• James Herriot
• Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Patricia Pollaco
• Kipling
• Roald Dahl
• Dr. Seuss

And here are the 118 noted books, ranked in order of the number of times they were mentioned.

Drumroll, please…….

 

 

Tied for 4th place with 1 vote a piece were the following 98 books, listed in alphabetical order:

• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman (Reading Rainbow book)
• Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
• An Orange For Frankie by Patricia Polacco
• Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman
• Arrow series by various authors
• Because I’m Your Dad by Ahmet Zappa
• Bird Life in Wington by John Calvin Reid
• Black Stallion by Walter Farley
• Chilton Auto Repair Manuals
• Clementine by Sara Pennypecker
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judy Barrett
• Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini
• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Fernando (I wonder if she meant The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf)
• Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
• Frances by Russell Hoban
• Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
• Fudge and Superfudge by Beverly Cleary
• Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
• Hank the Cowdog by John R. Erickson
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• Hate the Cat by Sharon Creach
• Home Alone
• Howay Fow Wodney Wat by Helen Lester
• I Like You Just the Way You Are  (maybe I Love You Just the Way You Are by Tammi Salzano OR I Like You Just the Way I Am by Jenny Mollen)
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
• Just in Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado
• Kiss Goodnight by Amy Hess
• Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury
• Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle
• Little Critter books by Mercer Mayer
• Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perault
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
• Mandie by Lois Gladys Leppard
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Meet Samantha by Susan S. Adler
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O’Brien
• My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
• My Side of the Mountain Jean Craighead George
• Mystery of the Pipers Ghost by Zillah K. MacDonald
• Oh Say Can You See by Sheila Keenan
• Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
• One by Kathryn Otoshi
• Peek Inside Dinosaurs from Usbourne
• Pie by Sarah Weeks
• Pierre: A Cautionary Tale in 5 Chapters and a Prologue by Maurice Sendak
• Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann
• Princess and the Pea Hans Christian Andersen
• Rain Makes Applesauce by Julian Scheer
• Ramona and Beezus by Beverly Cleary
• Red- A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
• Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
• Sir Scaly Pants the Dragon Knight by John Kelly
• Skippyjon Jones by Judith Schachner
• Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
• Tell Me, Grandma, Tell Me, Grandpa by Shirlee Petkin Newman
• Teeny, Tiny Mouse: A Book About Colors by Laura Leuck
• The Bible
• The Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner
• The Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit by Joel Chandler Harris
• The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds
• The Eleventh Hour by Graeme Base
• The English Roses by Madonna
• The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
• The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (Newbery Honor)
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• The Little Blue Dishes by Jean Warren
• The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
• The Little Red Hen folktale
• The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
• The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone
• The One and Only Ivan by K.A. Applegate
• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
• The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff by Peter Christen Asbjornsen
• The Tree in the Ancient Forest by Carol Reed-Jones
• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
• The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs by Phoebe Gilman
• Thundercake by Patricia Polacco
• Trixie Belden mysteries by Julie Campbell Tatham and other authors
• Trouble for Trumpets by Peter Dallas-Smith
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• We Are in a Book by Mo Willems
• We Show Everything(maybe We Share Everything by Robert Munsch)
• What Kind of Bird is That by Mira Ginsburg
• What Was I Scared Of? by Dr. Seuss
• Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
• Wonder (and We’re All Wonders) by Raquel J. Palacio
• You Are Special by Max Lucado

 

Tied for 3rd place, with 2 votes each, were the following 14 books:

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• Go, Dog, Go! by P.D. Eastman
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
• Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
• Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
• Mr. Peabody’s Apples by Madonna
• Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
• Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka
• The Last Treasure by Janet S. Anderson
• The Pokey Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey
• Weslandia by Paul Fleischman

 

We also had a tie for 2nd place. These 3 classic books were each mentioned 3 times:

• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle
• Curious George by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey
• Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

 

And the number one favorite books of the 801 people on my Facebook friends list who took the time to participate, are these 3 books, which each received 5 votes…

•    Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
•    The Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis
•     The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

 

What books do you think should have made the list? Add your favorites in the comments below. And then, if you love to read children’s books, or you know someone who does, print this page, head to the bookstore, and start at the top. See if you can read every book on the list!

 

Here is a reading of a book from the number 1 spot… Enjoy 🙂