The 100 Best Children’s Books

When it comes to great children’s literature, kids have hundreds of books to choose from – everything from the enduring classics to award-winning, modern-day picture books and novels.

Here, listed by category, title, author and illustrator is our list of the best children’s books on the shelves – stories that will excite your kids and remain in their memories for years to come. This list represents the views of parents, children’s literature experts and our own readers.

While not every classic children’s book is listed, these are the books that strike a special chord and stay with us through adulthood.

Books for Babies 1 Picture Books l Chapter Books l Nonfiction/Poetry

Books for Babies

• Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd

• Have You Seen My Duckling?, by Nancy Tafuri

• Pippo (series), by Helen Oxenbury

• Spot (series), by Eric Hill

• Ten, Nine, Eight, by Molly Bang

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle