The Greatest Children's Books and Friendship of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
23 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll 1865 British English
51 The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 1943 French French
81 Little Women Louisa May Alcott 1868 American English
97 Charlotte's Web E. B. White 1952 American English
108 Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson 1883 British English
113 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame 1908 British English
165 Fairy Tales and Stories Hans Christian Andersen 1835 Danish Danish
166 Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone J. K. Rowling 1997 British English
167 Winnie the Pooh A. A. Milne 1926 British English
185 Watership Down Richard Adams 1972 British English
186 The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien 1937 British English
192 A Wrinkle In Time Madeleine L'Engle 1962 American English
197 A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
206 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
246 Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery 1908 Canadian English
259 The Chronicles of Narnia C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
280 Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren 1945 Swedish Swedish
291 Peter And Wendy J. M. Barrie 1911 Scottish English
333 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman 1995 British English
352 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett 1911 British English
390 The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster 1961 American English
398 Household Tales Brothers Grimm 1812 German German
411 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain 1876 American English
501 Harriet the Spy Louise Fitzhugh 1964 American English
525 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum 1900 American English
547 Black Beauty Anna Sewell 1877 British English
673 Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Mildred D. Taylor 1976 American English
750 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban J. K. Rowling 1999 British English
866 Ballet Shoes Noel Streatfeild 1936 British English
993 The BFG Roald Dahl 1982 British English
1003 Aesop's Fables Aesop -560 Greek Ancient greek
1012 The Golden Compass Philip Pullman 1995 British English
1014 Where the Sidewalk Ends Shel Silverstein 1974 American English
1015 Danny The Champion Of The World Roald Dahl 1975 British English
1040 Heidi Johanna Spyri 1881 Swiss German
1085 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling 2005 British English
1157 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader C. S. Lewis 1952 British English
1169 Matilda Roald Dahl 1988 British English
1242 Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones 1986 British English
1259 The Last Battle C. S. Lewis 1956 British English
1371 James and the Giant Peach Roald Dahl 1961 British English
1392 Madeline Ludwig Bemelmans 1939 Austrian English
1505 Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman 2001 British English
1522 A Little Princess Frances Hodgson Burnett 1905 British English
1554 Tom's Midnight Garden Philippa Pearce 1958 British English
1563 The Neverending Story Michael Ende 1979 German German
1568 Lad Albert Payson Terhune 1919 American English
1638 The Velveteen Rabbit Margery Williams 1922 British English
1687 The Wind on the Moon Eric Linklater 1944 British English
1764 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling 2003 British English
1798 Ronia, The Robber's Daughter Astrid Lindgren 1981 Swedish Swedish
1840 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K. Rowling 2007 British English
1977 Mio, My Son Astrid Lindgren 1954 Swedish Swedish
1984 Nobody's Boy Hector Malot 1878 French French
2028 The Mouse And His Child Russell Hoban 1967 American English
2083 The Adventures Of Pinocchio Carlo Collodi 1883 Italian Italian
2110 Momo Michael Ende 1973 German German
2320 Just William Richmal Crompton 1922 British English
2372 Histoire de Babar Jean de Brunhoff 1931 French French
2374 Kristy’s Great Idea Ann M. Martin 1986 American English
2375 The Railway Children Edith Nesbit 1906 British English
2420 Five Children And It Edith Nesbit 1902 British English
2453 The Brothers Lionheart Astrid Lindgren 1973 Swedish Swedish
2482 The Adventures of Captain Underpants Dav Pilkey 1997 American English
2603 The Silver Chair C. S. Lewis 1953 British English
2604 Stuart Little E. B. White 1945 American English
2620 The Adventures Of Cipollino Gianni Rodari 1951 Italian Italian
2621 The Horse and His Boy C. S. Lewis 1954 British English
2622 The Magician's Nephew C. S. Lewis 1955 British English
2632 The Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling 1894 British English
2640 A Bear Called Paddington Michael Bond 1958 British English
2658 Little Nicholas Rene Goscinny 1959 French French
2669 Moominland Midwinter Tove Jansson 1957 Finnish Swedish
2712 Jacob Have I Loved Katherine Paterson 1980 American English
2719 Ozma Of Oz L. Frank Baum 1907 American English
2802 Comet In Moominland Tove Jansson 1946 Finnish Swedish
2807 Finn Family Moomintroll Tove Jansson 1948 Finnish Swedish
2829 A Naughty Boy G'afur G'ulоm 1940 Uzbek Uzbek
2847 The Moomins And The Great Flood Tove Jansson 1945 Finnish Swedish
2852 Moominvalley In November Tove Jansson 1970 Finnish Swedish
2854 The Black Brothers Lisa Tetzner 1941 German German
2859 Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine 1997 American English
2956 My Book House Olive Beaupré Miller 1920 American English
3056 The Snowman Raymond Briggs 1978 British English
3070 Billy Bunter Butts In Frank Richards 1950 British English
3070 We Didn't Mean To Go To Sea Arthur Ransome 1937 British English
3189 Ernest And Celestine Gabrielle Vincent 1981 French French
3246 The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson 1999 British English
3256 American Born Chinese Gene Luen Yang 2006 American English
3265 The Magic Faraway Tree Enid Blyton 1943 British English
3269 The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Howard Pyle 1883 American English
3479 Living Up The Street Gary Soto 1985 American English
3641 The Lives Of Christopher Chant Diana Wynne Jones 1988 British English
3648 King Matt The First Janusz Korczak 1923 Polish Polish
3716 Rules Of Summer Shaun Tan 2013 Australian English
3720 Emil I Lönneberga Astrid Lindgren 1963 Swedish Swedish
3807 Emily of New Moon L. M. Montgomery 1923 Canadian English
3861 Sophie's Misfortunes Countess of Ségur. 1858 French French
3869 Патиланско царство Ran Bosilek 1923 Bulgarian Bulgarian
4001 Diary of a Wimpy Kid Jeff Kinney 2007 American English
4014 Holes Louis Sachar 1998 American English
4136 The Arrival Shaun Tan 2006 Australian English
4174 The Enchanted Wood Enid Blyton 1939 British English
4372 Homecoming Cynthia Voigt 1981 American English
4443 The Miraculous Journey Of Edward Tulane Kate DiCamillo 2006 American English
4446 Dealing With Dragons Patricia C. Wrede 1990 American English
4456 The Story of Tracy Beaker Jacqueline Wilson 1991 British English
4461 Donald Duck Carl Barks, Walt Disney 1942 American English
4472 The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman 2008 British English
4493 My Friend Annie Jane Duncan 1961 Scottish English
4879 The Worst Witch Jill Murphy 1974 British English
5030 Duck, Death And The Tulip Wolf Erlbruch 2007 German German
5084 The Paul Street Boys Ferenc Molnár 1906 Hungarian Hungarian
5118 Stargirl Jerry Spinelli 2000 American English
5242 Tüskevár István Fekete 1957 Hungarian Hungarian
5248 Wonder R. J. Palacio 2012 American English
5275 Kincskereső Kisködmön Ferenc Móra 1918 Hungarian Hungarian
5304 The One And Only Ivan Katherine Applegate 2012 American English
5342 Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Grace Lin, Janet Song 2009 Chinese English
5455 Lassie Come Home Eric Knight 1940 British English