Puffin names its 70 best-ever books

07.05.10 | Benedicte Page in The Bookseller

Roald Dahl, Richard Adams, Eric Carle and Robert Louis Stevenson are among the writers of the 70 best-ever books for children, according to a new list from Puffin.

The publisher has released the list, which are all Puffin's own titles, to mark its 70th anniversary.

Split into categories such as Best Mischief and Mayhem, Best Swashbucklers and Derring-Do, and even Best Alternatives to Twilight, it is being released to coincide with National Puffin Share-A-Story Day, which will be celebrated across the UK tomorrow (Saturday 8th May).

The publisher said that "hundreds" of schools, bookshops and libraries would be marking the day by hosting Puffin parties. The list will also feature in The Puffin Handbook, a new guide to children's books for parents, available free from bookshops and libraries and for download at
www.puffin.co.uk.

Francesca Dow, Puffin m.d., said: "We want to offer parents some expert guidance and help in navigating the potential minefield of choosing books for their children," saying the handbook offered "a range of ideas for wonderful books that we think should be part of every child's
library."

The list in full:

The Best Mischief and Mayhem
1. The Twits by Roald Dahl
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
3. The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong
4. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend

The Best Weepies
1. Watership Down by Richard Adams
2. The Truth about Leo by David Yelland
3. Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman
4. Charlotte's Web by E B White
 
The Best to Cuddle-Up With
1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
2. The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis & Gwen Millward
3. Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
4. Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd

The Best Blood and Guts
1. The Enemy by Charlie Higson
2. Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. Being by Kevin Brooks
4. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Best Swashbucklers and Derring-Do
1. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
2. Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs by Giles Andreae & Russell Ayto
3. Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford
4. Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

The Best Heroes
1. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
2. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
3. Young Bond: SilverFin by Charlie Higson
4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Best Characters
1. Charlie and Lola: Excuse Me But That is My Book by Lauren Child
2. Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll & Jan Pienkowski
3. Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird & Helen Craig
4. Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs

The Best Sugar and Spice
1. Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley
2. The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
3. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
4. The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child & Polly Borland
 
The Best Animals
1. Spy Dog by Andrew Cope
2. The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith
3. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
4. Lionboy by Zizou Corder

The Best Friends and Family
1. Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy
2. The Borrowers by Mary Norton
3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
4. The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett
5. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

The Best Phizzwhizzers
1. The BFG by Roald Dahl
2. Matilda by Roald Dahl
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
4. Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

The Best War and Conflict
1. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
2. Once by Morris Gleitzman
3. Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
4. Carrie's War by Nina Bawden
 
The Best BEST BEST BEST!
1. Stig of the Dump by Clive King
2. Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery
3. Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
4. How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
5. Junk by Melvin Burgess
 
The Best Fantasy and Adventure
1. TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow
2. Dot Robot by Jason Bradbury
3. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
4. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
 
The Best Weird and Wonderful
1. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
2. Five Children and It by E Nesbitt
3. The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
4. Peter Pan by J M Barrie

The Best Rhymes and Verse
1. Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg
2. Michael Rosen's A-Z The best children's poetry from Agard to Zephaniah
3. Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah
4. Bad Bad Cats by Roger McGough

The Best Alternatives to Twilight
1. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
2. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
3. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
4. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen