The 100 best easy children's books

No. 11 on this list. The Golden Pot · E.T.A. Hoffmann · 1814

One of the masterpieces of German Romanticism and Hoffmann's most celebrated tale. Widely studied in German literature courses.

No. 12 on this list. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz · L. Frank Baum · 1900

Taught in schools: Common Core text exemplars (Appendix B) (US)

The book is a foundation of American children's literature and fantasy, widely read in schools and shelved in libraries everywhere. Its place in classroom curricula is less central than that of Gatsby or Mockingbird, though it is a staple of children's literature courses.

No. 13 on this list. The Magician’s Nephew · C.S. Lewis · 1955

The Chronicles of Narnia rank among the most widely read children's series of the 20th century, with over 100 million copies sold globally. The Magician's Nephew appears on virtually every major 'best children's books' list and is taught in primary schools worldwide. No syllabus data available in the database, but its foundational place in children's literature curricula — particularly in English-speaking countries — establishes strong canonical status within its sphere.

No. 14 on this list. Anne of Green Gables · L.M. Montgomery · 1908

Anne of Green Gables holds a secure place in the literary canon as one of the most enduring works of children's and young adult fiction. First published in 1908, it has never gone out of print, has been translated into over 36 languages, and has sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. It is widely taught in schools across Canada and globally, and its protagonist Anne Shirley has become a mythic icon of Canadian culture — a figure of comparable recognizability to Alice in Wonderland. While it sits firmly in the popular/children's classics tier rather than the prestige 'Great Books' canon, its canonical standing within its genre and cultural sphere is unassailable.

No. 15 on this list. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader · C.S. Lewis · 1952

The Chronicles of Narnia as a series holds a stable position on children's literature reading lists and required-reading recommendations across the English-speaking world. No syllabus data appears in the database for this specific entry, but Lewis's series figures on virtually every 'essential fantasy' and 'essential children's literature' canon list published since the 1970s.

No. 16 on this list. The Happy Prince and Other Stories · Oscar Wilde · 1888

'The Happy Prince' is a fixture of primary and secondary reading lists and one of the most widely anthologized fairy tales in English, translated into dozens of languages and repeatedly adapted for stage, opera, and animation. It's a children's-literature classic on the order of Andersen's tales rather than a university-syllabus staple like Gatsby or Mockingbird.

No. 17 on this list. Where the Wild Things Are · Maurice Sendak · 1963

Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another until his mother calls him "WILD THING" and sends him to bed without his supper. His room grows into a forest, an ocean tumbles by, and Max sails to the place where the wild things are—huge, yellow-eyed, horn-headed monsters who roar their terrible roars and gnash their terrible teeth. Max tames them with a magic trick of staring into their eyes without blinking, and they make him king of all wild things. The wild rumpus follows: a wordless bacchanal across three double-page spreads of pure, joyous destruction. Then Max smells good things to eat and wants to be where someone loves him best of all. He sails home and finds his supper waiting, still hot. Sendak compressed into 338 words and ten sentences the entire emotional arc of childhood anger: the rage, the fantasy of power, the satiation of wildness, and the return to love. The illustrations expand as Max's fantasy grows—from small vignettes to borderless full pages—and contract as he returns, a visual rhythm that mirrors the emotional one. The book was controversial upon publication for its refusal to punish Max's anger and has since become the most influential picture book of the 20th century.

No. 18 on this list. The Complete Fairy Tales · Oscar Wilde

'The Happy Prince' and 'The Selfish Giant' are staples of school anthologies and children's reading lists worldwide, and they appear in Victorian and Wilde courses. Wilde's plays and Dorian Gray take up more syllabus space than the tales do.

No. 19 on this list. The Cat in the Hat · Dr. Seuss · 1957

Taught in early literacy classrooms everywhere and a staple of children's reading, though rarely studied in literature courses. Its place in children's literature is secure, and Dr. Seuss is universal in schools.

No. 20 on this list. Winnie-the-Pooh · A.A. Milne · 1926

A staple of children's literature worldwide, translated into dozens of languages and on countless reading lists. It is taught as a children's classic rather than in literary theory courses.

No. 21 on this list. The BFG · Roald Dahl · 1982

The BFG is a fixture in UK primary school reading and appears on most 'best children's books' lists, including Waterstone's Children's Books of the Century. The 2016 Steven Spielberg film adaptation confirmed its cultural durability. No syllabus data was found in the database, likely because the book is taught at primary rather than university level.

No. 22 on this list. Holes · Louis Sachar · 1998

The Newbery Medal winner is a staple of middle-school classrooms across the United States and is widely assigned. It is a fixture in children's literature but rarely appears in college canon discussions.

No. 23 on this list. Little House on the Prairie · Laura Ingalls Wilder · 1935

A staple of American children's literature and classroom reading lists across generations, part of the Little House series. It is less often taught at the university level, and its portrayal of Native people is now widely discussed.

No. 24 on this list. Stuart Little · E.B. White · 1945

It is a long-standing fixture of American children's literature, read in classrooms and read aloud at home, though less often on university syllabi than the great novels. It sits well above commercial fiction and below the core adult canon.

No. 25 on this list. Little House in the Big Woods · Laura Ingalls Wilder · 2007

Taught in schools: Common Core text exemplars (Appendix B) (US)

It is a staple of American children's literature, read in classrooms and homes for generations, and the first of a series that is widely taught at elementary level. It is rarely a subject of university literature courses, though, so it sits below the great novels.

No. 26 on this list. The Princess and the Goblin · George MacDonald · 1872

A foundational Victorian fantasy, often named among children's classics and in studies of fantasy, though not a standard school text everywhere.

No. 27 on this list. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 · Christopher Paul Curtis · 1995

It is a widely assigned middle-school novel about the civil rights era, taught across American classrooms. It is less central to university literature courses.

No. 28 on this list. Goodnight Moon · Margaret Wise Brown · 2005

Goodnight Moon is a staple of early-childhood reading lists and nursery shelves across America. It is treated as a classic of the picture-book form, though it appears rarely on university literature syllabi.

No. 29 on this list. A Light in the Attic · Shel Silverstein · 2002

A staple of children's poetry in schools and libraries for decades, though rarely studied as literature in university syllabi.

No. 30 on this list. Farmer Boy · Laura Ingalls Wilder · 2007

Taught in schools: CSEC English B – Caribbean Examinations Council

Part of the Little House series, widely read in schools and libraries, though less often taught as literature than the Great Gatsby sort of canon.