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There are those of you who read this livejournal for my own personal real-life chatter. I don't know how many of those of you actually exist, since you have all migrated over to Facebook, where ironically all my public posts show up but all the posts where I chatter about personal matters never arrive, being friends-locked over here, but in theory, those of you who would be reading my locked posts to hear fascinating stories of family gatherings and the like might be wondering if I will ever write such posts again. The truth is I fully intended to write such a post about the children's birthday party last weekend, including lots of lovely pictures. I put all my lovely pictures on my computer. But then in the course of trying to put those pictures on the Internet, my computer decided it did not want to connect to the Internet any more. Ever again. So that post has not happened, and I am not sure when it will happen. (the good news is, at least my computer has not crashed entirely and ERASED all those lovely pictures. And just in case it intended to, I spent yesterday afternoon backing up every personal unique and special file, ie mostly pictures and video, on the computer onto CD and flash drive. So I didn't jinx myself. If the computer crashes entirely now, I don't care. Well, I care less).
But as it happens, I had THIS completely-not-interesting-to-non-bookgeeks post hanging out here as a draft for the past week. So before I can even write about small children who love balloons and trains, I must POST THIS. Yes, you guessed it: it's my ANNOTATED response to the Fuse#8 Top 100 Children's Novels Poll Results!
I copied over the last post where I bolded the ones I read, but now I've SAID STUFF ABOUT IT. Additionally, I have starred the ones on my Big Old Possibilities List, ie All The Books I Might Have Voted For If I'd Been Allowed More Votes, ie Me Attempting To List My Favorite Books And Being Unable to Cut It Down. In addition, I've double-starred and included a number to show the ones I finally DID vote for (the number of course being where on my turned-in-votes they fall, though I'm not entirely sure how much I'm married to that order, in the big picture). So without further ado, before this thing hangs out as a draft here any more weeks:
100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1967) --I liked this, but I LOVED her Stanley books best. There were a few votes for those in the Everything Else lists.
99. The Indian in the Cupboard - Banks (1980) --my brother was into this whole series, but I read it once and pretty much forgot it.
98. Children of Green Knowe - Boston (1954) --I remember images from this but not too many details, even though I read it within the last decade.
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - DiCamillo (2006) --I know almost nothing of this, and you see, it came out in 2005-2006, when I was out of touch with the library world, so there you go.
96. The Witches - Dahl (1983) -liked it, but not my favorite favorite Dahl
95. Pippi Longstocking - Lindgren (1950) -reading the book is nowhere as strong in my memory as the time I watched the movie, overdubbed in German, in a Viennese theater with my professor's 8 year old daughter. But I did read the book way back when, too, it's just not as interesting as watching the movie in German in Vienna with your professor's daughter.
94. Swallows and Amazons - Ransome (1930) --one of those that all my favorite British writers gush over but I've never seen in person
93. Caddie Woodlawn - Brink (1935) -I LOVED Caddie Woodlawn. She was like Laura Ingalls WITH BALLS. I wanted to be her.
*92. Ella Enchanted - Levine (1997) --this was totally on my Possibilities List, my top, uh, 50 or whatever it was that I was trying to draw my top 10 from. Delighted to see enough other people voted for it.
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Sachar (1978) -kids ask for this ALL THE TIME here, still. We have a couple really beat up paperback copies. We really ought to get some better copies, because seriously, it goes out CONSTANTLY.
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall - MacLachlan (1985) --I must have read this as I was getting out of my pioneer-life books phase, because it didn't really stick with me.
89. Ramona and Her Father - Cleary (1977) --possibly my very favorite Ramona book, but I'm not sure.
88. The High King - Alexander (1968) --I never got around to this one because I got bored halfway through Taran Wanderer. I regret this. I actually should probably start the entire Prydian chronicles over from the top, because all I remember are fleeting images now anyway.
87. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg (1996) --I know I enjoyed this but I don't have anything to say about it.
**(6)86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling (1999) --this was one of my ten votes, but ONLY because I was SURE nobody would vote for Order of the Phoenix. As you will see later in this list, I WAS WRONG, and so I was slightly annoyed. But since this book was when the series went from "that was an enjoyable little book" to "BLATANT OBSESSION," I gave my vote here.
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek - Wilder (1937) --this was my very favorite Little House book.
84. The Little White Horse - Goudge (1946) --this is the one everyone knows about because it was JK Rowling's favorite. Reading the descriptions, I really OUGHT to track it down.
83. The Thief - Turner (1997) --I just read the third book in this series the other day. It's a very good series, though I am not as obsessed with it as Everyone Else In The World (who has good taste in books) seems to be.
82. The Book of Three - Alexander (1964) --as I said above, must reread Prydian. So I go over to my shelf to DO this, and I have TWO copies of Black Cauldron and ONE of The High King, somehow. WHY don't I have Book of Three when I need it? I could have sworn I had it, too!
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Lin (2009) - and I just read THIS one last week! It was very sweet, in a good way.
80. The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (2008) -'twas very good, and kind of READ like a classic. But again, I'm like the weird one of the people-who-have-the-same-taste-as-me who doesn't actually worship at Gaiman's feet, though I do follow his blog cheerfully.
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family - Taylor (1951) -I started reading this in a doctor's office once, does that count?
78. Johnny Tremain - Forbes (1943) -I have never had interest in reading this, though I believe it's one of my dad's favorites (not surprising). I remember watching the movie in elementary school. Johnny struck me as annoying.
77. The City of Ember - DuPrau (2003)- mildly interested in reading this, but not enough to actively seek it out. Sam has a kid's meal toy from when the movie came out.
76. Out of the Dust - Hesse (1997) -I have a critique buddy who's writing a verse novel, and while reading I was thinking, "This reminds me of Out of the Dust." People, it is NOTHING like Out of the Dust, that's just how poorly-read I am of verse novels-- they all sound alike!
75. Love That Dog - Creech (2001)-- speaking of verse novels, perhaps this one is different, but I haven't read it.
74. The Borrowers - Norton (1953) --I remember reading this whole series with my mom. By which I mean, she read them to me. But it's very clear and lovely a memory.
73. My Side of the Mountain - George (1959) --never been interested in this one either. Stupid boy protagonist, stupid survival-in-the-wild. I never would have read Hatchet either if I hadn't had to teach it as a sub once.
72. My Father's Dragon - Gannett (1948) --my brother had this one as a child, but I never read it. But this is yet another that this list has convinced me I MUST READ NOW.
*71. The Bad Beginning - Snicket (1999) --Scoff if you will, but I loved this series. I was agast this morning to discover that while about 8 of the 13 books in the series got votes in this poll, NOBODY VOTED FOR PENULTIMATE PERIL. That ACTUALLY would have been the one I'd have voted for. Penultimate Peril was the best! Certainly better than Grim Grotto, and THAT got votes...
70. Betsy-Tacy - Lovelace (1940) --nope, haven't. Does this make me a failure as a girl? I don't know
*69. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Stewart ( 2007) --I have mentioned that I love these for the unpretentious braininess and the fact that you can draw all sorts of weird parallels between the characters in this and in Ian Schafer, haven't I?
68. Walk Two Moons - Creech (1994) --read and didn't really pay attention to it, actually.
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - Coville (1991) --the book I bought at the conference last fall just to get Coville to sign it because he didn't hate my writing. Good choice I made.
66. Henry Huggins - Cleary (1950) --my mother read all the Henry books with me too even though I tried to explain that he was a boy and therefore boring and it wasn't worth waiting for passing Ramona references...
65. Ballet Shoes - Stratfeild (1936) --it was years before I realised this wasn't just a novelty book written to sell shoe charms, though I still haven't read it.
64. A Long Way from Chicago - Peck (1998) --I think I boycotted this because it was comic historical fiction without being about Blossom Culp, which is dumb of me I know. I DO think I skimmed a few chapters once or something.
63. Gone-Away Lake - Enright (1957) --it was also years before I found out this wasn't just some cheap book club title, because I happened to own a cheap book club paperback with a modern-looking cover, and was so surprised later to find out OTHER PEOPLE HAD READ IT
62. The Secret of the Old Clock - Keene (1959) --also, you should know by now the extent and importance of my Nancy Drew collection, right?
61. Stargirl - Spinelli (2000) --this is one of those I probably should have read, but I never did, and there are so many other things I want to read now that it probably lost its window.
*60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi (1990) --yes yes yes this was totally on my Possibilities List, and came VERY close to making my Ten.
**(10)(sortof)59. Inkheart - Funke (2003) --this one DID in fact just squeeze on to my Ten, only because I couldn't decide so I figured I'd go with the Book-Lover's Book. Of course, I actually voted for Inkspell. I did say that MAYBE the vote should could toward Inkheart instead, and until my Inkspell vote showed up on the Everything Else list I was never sure whether or not my vote was counted here or not. So in actuality probably not, but I still feel like it did.
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Aiken (1962) --I picked this up, FINALLY, after many years, just after it made the list here. And I was kind of disappointed, not in the book, but because reading it I KNEW I would have loved it SO MUCH MORE when I was twelve, which was when I'd wanted to first read it in the first place!
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Cleary (1981) --This one is definitely near the top of my favorite Ramonas, too.
*56. Number the Stars - Lowry (1989) --very also on my Possibilities List, though it was also one of the earliest dumped when I decided to go with The Giver instead.
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Paterson (1978) --I was confused when I read this, because I kept expecting it to get funny, and it absolutely wasn't.
*54. The BFG - Dahl (1982) --my very close second-favorite Dahl. Also on my Possibilities List.
53. Wind in the Willows - Grahame (1908) --didn't like this a bit when I read it, but heard a chapter read aloud in library school and it was wonderful. I now have a theory that this is one of those books that requires being read aloud to appreciate it.
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) --I bought this for my mom two chiristmases ago, but I don't know if she's read it yet. It's very her. Not as much her as everything Blue Balliet has written, but still, very her.
51. The Saturdays - Enright (1941) --this is Officially the Only Book On The List I Have Never Heard Of, although this is not strictly true. It seems I'd heard ABOUT it before (from![[info]](https://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
punterschlagen for one) butt had no slot in my brain labeled "The Saturdays = a book," so it made me go "Whoa, wait, one I don't know."
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins - O'Dell (1960) --I read so much Scott O'Dell back in the day (of my historical fiction thing)... but it's all very vague now.
49. Frindle - Clements (1996) --I find myself recommending this book to random people on all sorts of occasions. Well, usually the occasion of people talking about making up words. But it happens often.
48. The Penderwicks - Birdsall (2005) --the one by Nathan's old neighbor! You ever think you'd know somebody whose book'd show up so high up on a list like this, Nathan?
47. Bud, Not Buddy - Curtis (1999) --when I saw this so far up the list I became very distressed that, since this one was the Medalist, Curtis's other books would not have scored higher, and, well, anyway a few days later #34 happened so never mind.
46. Where the Red Fern Grows - Rawls (1961) --see, I have never liked dog books, but I thought I'd give this one a chance once, and I did, and decided I still don't like dog books. It did nothing for me.
45. The Golden Compass - Pullman (1995) --As much as I love disagreeing with everything Philip Pullman has ever said, this is still an amazing book. Not so sure about the rest of the trilogy, but this one's just awe-inspiring.
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Blume (1972) --I expected this one to be much, much higher. Of course, the only reason it isn't is because Judy Blume votes got split badly. If you could see how many of her books got votes, total! Well, you COULD see, just go to the list of all the other votes...
43. Ramona the Pest - Cleary (1968) --you could say Beverly Cleary's votes were pretty severely split too, but you wouldn't notice much. Anyway, I would have put the previously mentioned Ramona books as well as Ramona and Her Mother over this one, personally, but what can you do...
42. Little House on the Prairie - Wilder (1935) --likewise, oh-interesting-series-voting-things, this one may have given its name to the TV show, but it was actually one of my LEAST favorites of the series. Not that that means much, relatively.
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare (1958) --I know I enjoyed this a lot back in the day, but I never outright told a librarian that I was never, never going to give it back to her because I loved it so. That happened to me as a middle school librarian. It made me happy that someone wanted to steal my book, go figure.
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Baum (1900) --I read this back when I was young too confused over the differences between the movie and the book to really enjoy the book. I kept trying to "fix" it in my head. Nonetheless, I kind of appreciate when someone references the book as opposed to the movie nonetheless.
39. When You Reach Me - Stead (2009) --This book hitting this high on the list gave me hope for the main character's favorite book on this list...
*38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling (2003) --When this showed up, and as high up as it did, I about yelled. This is my favorite, the one I am constantly defending to people who don't like its length and angst-Harry-ness, and I actually DIDN'T VOTE for it because I was sure no one else would have (and I voted for one that ended up much LOWER!). If I had it might have even beat out Goblet, which would have thrown everybody, wouldn't it? Well, okay, my vote would have maybe moved it up a slot or two...
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Taylor (1976) --famous for being the book that made me bawl for hours straight.
36. Are You there, God? It's Me, Margaret - Blume (1970) --see, I know I'm the weirdo here, but Blume's YA books never did much for me. I much prefer Peter and Fudge to Margaret
35. HP and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling (2000) --but I might have voted for this one rather than Chamber, but I didn't, and I'm glad because then if I'd seen Phoenix come THIS CLOSE and I'd only widened the gap, I would have been even madder.
*34. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - Curtis (1995) --So like I said, when Bud made the list, I suddenly wished I'd voted for this one. I adore this, the opening paragraph is among my favorite openers ever, and this was totally on my Possibilities list
33. James and the Giant Peach - Dahl (1961) --Never was as into James as some of his later books...
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - O'Brian (1971) --this my mom read me, I don't think I ever read it on my own; and I suspect I may have been too young to appreciate it as much as I could have when she did
31. Half Magic - Eager (1954) --speaking of my mom, this is one of her favorite books, and I liked it quite a lot too. It's the only Eager I've ever read, and, judging from the comments, I suspect I've been missing out... must find the rest if I can!
30. Winnie-the-Pooh - Milne (1926) --Fed up with bad Disney storybooks, I've attempted to read these books to Sam, but so far he just keeps trying to turn pages too soon to find more pictures, so perhaps not ready. The dialogue really is brilliant in these, though.
*29. The Dark Is Rising - Cooper (1973) --Awesomest book in awesome series, totally on my Possibilities List.
28. A Little Princess - Burnett (1905) --Good, but never loved it as much as Secret Garden
**(3)27. Alice I and II - Carroll (1865/72) --Still can't believe this only made it to 27. Of all the really old classic-classics, I would think this would have the most staying power, the most cross-gender appeal, the most continuous media tie-ins, but I guess i'm just biased by its being my number 3 vote!
26. Hatchet - Paulsen (1989) --and beaten by Hatchet? Friggin' HATCHET? Which I ended up not hating as much as I thought I would, but still.
25. Little Women - Alcott (1868/9) --Mostly all I can think of when thinking of this one is how everyone always used to say "Amy! like in Little Women!" to me, completely unpreparing me for the fact that Amy March is one of the most obnoxious brats in all of classic literature. Much prefer Jo or Beth to be named after, as I figured I was a combination of the two.
24. HP and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (2007) -- I am surprised this one is so high. Perhaps because, unlike the rest of the series, I only read it twice, or even once-and-a-half. So it hasn't got the same nice cozy familiarity to me, I guess.
23. Little House in the Big Woods - Wilder (1932) --See, I don't know if this is all on its own merit or how much is default-first-of-series, but it WAS one of my favorites in the series, at that. Not as much as Plum Creek or Long Winter, but still.
22. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo (2003) --don't love it all THIS much, but not bad.
21. The Lightning Thief - Riordan (2005) -- I totally didn't expect it to show up this high in the list, but I certainly wasn't as OFFENDED about it as some of the commenters seemed to be. This is an absolutely delightful series, and I mean that. And I don't know what that movie was thinking, people, but it's also laugh-out-loud FUNNY, don't you know. So give it a break, read it, and love it already.
20. Tuck Everlasting - Babbitt (1975) --Natalie Babbitt is someone whose actual writing I have always RELISHED. And yet, none of her books, not even this one, really stick out in my memory plot-wise. It's just the poetry of the writing that's so nice.
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Dahl (1964) --this was one my mom read to me, and then some time later she found the movie (the first one) in the video store and was very excited and wanted me to come see what she found, and I remember I was at first convinced she was trying to trick me into watching something scary (I was that weird child I've mentioned, you know), and she had to actually point at the title (even called "Willy Wonka and...") before I figured it out. Then I watched it many, many times.
**(9)18. Matilda - Dahl (1988) --SOOO excited, as you know, that this, my Dahl vote, made it up this far. I honestly had no idea it was THAT many other people's favorite, too!
*17. Maniac Magee - Spinelli (1990) --this was so on my Possibilities List, too.
16. Harriet the Spy - Fitzhugh (1964) --even though I have KEPT MY OWN NOTEBOOKS LIKE HARRIET, I was never actually as into the book as many other people seem to be. It was good, but not obsessive, for me.
15. Because of Winn-Dixie - DiCamillo (2000) --I mentioned that I hate dog books, but this is the one glaring exception.
14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling (1999) --Obviously this is the favorite of quite a lot of people. I loved it, but not to that point. I didn't care for the movie much at all, except for a few details.
13. Bridge to Terabithia - Paterson (1977) --maybe because I didn't read it until I was in college, it didn't have the deep effect on me that it seems to be famous for...
12. The Hobbit - Tolkien (1938) --this was a big surprise for me. Perhaps because I associate it with the clearly-not-middle-grade LotR, never even considered it would show up here. But a PLEASANT surprise, yes.
*11. The Westing Game - Raskin (1978) --seriously one of the best mysteries ever. I didn't read this one until college either and I so totally should have read it sooner.
10. The Phantom Tollbooth - Juster (1961) --this is another one I didn't read as a kid and really should have. I thought once of making a list of books that I didn't read as a kid that were OUT then and I really SHOULD have because I would have LOVED them but I didn't read for one reason or another... if I ever got around to THAT...
**(4)9. Anne of Green Gables - Montgomery (1908) --seriously, girl book it may be, but who reads this and just LIKES it? You either don't care much at all, or you LOVE it. Just like Anne herself, it's all about the Extremeness of Emotion!
**(2)8. The Secret Garden - Burnett (1911) --honestly, I'm surprised this ended up higher than Anne. Not saying it doesn't deserve to be, but I had no idea other people were THAT HUGE on it, I mean more than they would be for Anne. All those awkward by today's social mores bits and all. The awesomeness overcomes all, then!
(**7)7. The Giver -Lowry (1993) --higher than I expected, seeing how divisive it can make people. I was interested how many commenters were like, "well, I'd already read a lot of distopian fiction by the time I read this, so it didn't do much for me." As if the distopian aspect was the only thing it has to offer! Brilliant book, period.
**(5)6. Holes - Sachar (1998) --yes, this makes four of my votes in a row. And this is just an extremely all-around good book. Well-crafted, is the best way to put it. It's brilliant, in a way that makes it easy to love. It does everything a book ought to do.
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - Koningsburg (1967) --and honestly I never expected this one to be as high as it is. I loved it myself, and I know it used to be very popular, but it seems largely forgotten by more recent generations. I don't mean they WON'T like it or SHOULDN'T like it, they just don't KNOW about it anymore!
*(actually, Dawn Treader, but still)4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis (1950) --this was also higher than I expected, but that's not a bad thing. I expected more vote-splitting among the Narnia books, which ought to have brought this score down. It turns out there WAS a good bit of Narnia vote-splitting, but apparently not enough to make much of a difference. The series as a whole is popular enough as is.
3. Harry Potter #1 - Rowling (1997) --speaking of popular series, my guess is most of these votes were series-as-whole defaults-- who actually claims this as their favorite of the series? But man, add all those votes together, Harry sure scored high here...
**(1)2. A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle (1962) --YES. ON THE OFF-CHANCE I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS, BUT BY THE WAY, DID YOU KNOW THIS WAS MY NUMBER ONE VOTE? DID YOU? HOW PERCEPTIVE OF YOU.
1. Charlotte's Web - White (1952) --yep. It's still got it.
In my defense, I was not the only person who completely geeked out over this countdown. Here, in fact, is evidence that I could have been much, much geekier. So there.
But as it happens, I had THIS completely-not-interesting-to-non-bookgeeks post hanging out here as a draft for the past week. So before I can even write about small children who love balloons and trains, I must POST THIS. Yes, you guessed it: it's my ANNOTATED response to the Fuse#8 Top 100 Children's Novels Poll Results!
I copied over the last post where I bolded the ones I read, but now I've SAID STUFF ABOUT IT. Additionally, I have starred the ones on my Big Old Possibilities List, ie All The Books I Might Have Voted For If I'd Been Allowed More Votes, ie Me Attempting To List My Favorite Books And Being Unable to Cut It Down. In addition, I've double-starred and included a number to show the ones I finally DID vote for (the number of course being where on my turned-in-votes they fall, though I'm not entirely sure how much I'm married to that order, in the big picture). So without further ado, before this thing hangs out as a draft here any more weeks:
100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1967) --I liked this, but I LOVED her Stanley books best. There were a few votes for those in the Everything Else lists.
99. The Indian in the Cupboard - Banks (1980) --my brother was into this whole series, but I read it once and pretty much forgot it.
98. Children of Green Knowe - Boston (1954) --I remember images from this but not too many details, even though I read it within the last decade.
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - DiCamillo (2006) --I know almost nothing of this, and you see, it came out in 2005-2006, when I was out of touch with the library world, so there you go.
96. The Witches - Dahl (1983) -liked it, but not my favorite favorite Dahl
95. Pippi Longstocking - Lindgren (1950) -reading the book is nowhere as strong in my memory as the time I watched the movie, overdubbed in German, in a Viennese theater with my professor's 8 year old daughter. But I did read the book way back when, too, it's just not as interesting as watching the movie in German in Vienna with your professor's daughter.
94. Swallows and Amazons - Ransome (1930) --one of those that all my favorite British writers gush over but I've never seen in person
93. Caddie Woodlawn - Brink (1935) -I LOVED Caddie Woodlawn. She was like Laura Ingalls WITH BALLS. I wanted to be her.
*92. Ella Enchanted - Levine (1997) --this was totally on my Possibilities List, my top, uh, 50 or whatever it was that I was trying to draw my top 10 from. Delighted to see enough other people voted for it.
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Sachar (1978) -kids ask for this ALL THE TIME here, still. We have a couple really beat up paperback copies. We really ought to get some better copies, because seriously, it goes out CONSTANTLY.
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall - MacLachlan (1985) --I must have read this as I was getting out of my pioneer-life books phase, because it didn't really stick with me.
89. Ramona and Her Father - Cleary (1977) --possibly my very favorite Ramona book, but I'm not sure.
88. The High King - Alexander (1968) --I never got around to this one because I got bored halfway through Taran Wanderer. I regret this. I actually should probably start the entire Prydian chronicles over from the top, because all I remember are fleeting images now anyway.
87. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg (1996) --I know I enjoyed this but I don't have anything to say about it.
**(6)86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling (1999) --this was one of my ten votes, but ONLY because I was SURE nobody would vote for Order of the Phoenix. As you will see later in this list, I WAS WRONG, and so I was slightly annoyed. But since this book was when the series went from "that was an enjoyable little book" to "BLATANT OBSESSION," I gave my vote here.
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek - Wilder (1937) --this was my very favorite Little House book.
84. The Little White Horse - Goudge (1946) --this is the one everyone knows about because it was JK Rowling's favorite. Reading the descriptions, I really OUGHT to track it down.
83. The Thief - Turner (1997) --I just read the third book in this series the other day. It's a very good series, though I am not as obsessed with it as Everyone Else In The World (who has good taste in books) seems to be.
82. The Book of Three - Alexander (1964) --as I said above, must reread Prydian. So I go over to my shelf to DO this, and I have TWO copies of Black Cauldron and ONE of The High King, somehow. WHY don't I have Book of Three when I need it? I could have sworn I had it, too!
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Lin (2009) - and I just read THIS one last week! It was very sweet, in a good way.
80. The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (2008) -'twas very good, and kind of READ like a classic. But again, I'm like the weird one of the people-who-have-the-same-taste-as-me who doesn't actually worship at Gaiman's feet, though I do follow his blog cheerfully.
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family - Taylor (1951) -I started reading this in a doctor's office once, does that count?
78. Johnny Tremain - Forbes (1943) -I have never had interest in reading this, though I believe it's one of my dad's favorites (not surprising). I remember watching the movie in elementary school. Johnny struck me as annoying.
77. The City of Ember - DuPrau (2003)- mildly interested in reading this, but not enough to actively seek it out. Sam has a kid's meal toy from when the movie came out.
76. Out of the Dust - Hesse (1997) -I have a critique buddy who's writing a verse novel, and while reading I was thinking, "This reminds me of Out of the Dust." People, it is NOTHING like Out of the Dust, that's just how poorly-read I am of verse novels-- they all sound alike!
75. Love That Dog - Creech (2001)-- speaking of verse novels, perhaps this one is different, but I haven't read it.
74. The Borrowers - Norton (1953) --I remember reading this whole series with my mom. By which I mean, she read them to me. But it's very clear and lovely a memory.
73. My Side of the Mountain - George (1959) --never been interested in this one either. Stupid boy protagonist, stupid survival-in-the-wild. I never would have read Hatchet either if I hadn't had to teach it as a sub once.
72. My Father's Dragon - Gannett (1948) --my brother had this one as a child, but I never read it. But this is yet another that this list has convinced me I MUST READ NOW.
*71. The Bad Beginning - Snicket (1999) --Scoff if you will, but I loved this series. I was agast this morning to discover that while about 8 of the 13 books in the series got votes in this poll, NOBODY VOTED FOR PENULTIMATE PERIL. That ACTUALLY would have been the one I'd have voted for. Penultimate Peril was the best! Certainly better than Grim Grotto, and THAT got votes...
70. Betsy-Tacy - Lovelace (1940) --nope, haven't. Does this make me a failure as a girl? I don't know
*69. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Stewart ( 2007) --I have mentioned that I love these for the unpretentious braininess and the fact that you can draw all sorts of weird parallels between the characters in this and in Ian Schafer, haven't I?
68. Walk Two Moons - Creech (1994) --read and didn't really pay attention to it, actually.
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - Coville (1991) --the book I bought at the conference last fall just to get Coville to sign it because he didn't hate my writing. Good choice I made.
66. Henry Huggins - Cleary (1950) --my mother read all the Henry books with me too even though I tried to explain that he was a boy and therefore boring and it wasn't worth waiting for passing Ramona references...
65. Ballet Shoes - Stratfeild (1936) --it was years before I realised this wasn't just a novelty book written to sell shoe charms, though I still haven't read it.
64. A Long Way from Chicago - Peck (1998) --I think I boycotted this because it was comic historical fiction without being about Blossom Culp, which is dumb of me I know. I DO think I skimmed a few chapters once or something.
63. Gone-Away Lake - Enright (1957) --it was also years before I found out this wasn't just some cheap book club title, because I happened to own a cheap book club paperback with a modern-looking cover, and was so surprised later to find out OTHER PEOPLE HAD READ IT
62. The Secret of the Old Clock - Keene (1959) --also, you should know by now the extent and importance of my Nancy Drew collection, right?
61. Stargirl - Spinelli (2000) --this is one of those I probably should have read, but I never did, and there are so many other things I want to read now that it probably lost its window.
*60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi (1990) --yes yes yes this was totally on my Possibilities List, and came VERY close to making my Ten.
**(10)(sortof)59. Inkheart - Funke (2003) --this one DID in fact just squeeze on to my Ten, only because I couldn't decide so I figured I'd go with the Book-Lover's Book. Of course, I actually voted for Inkspell. I did say that MAYBE the vote should could toward Inkheart instead, and until my Inkspell vote showed up on the Everything Else list I was never sure whether or not my vote was counted here or not. So in actuality probably not, but I still feel like it did.
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Aiken (1962) --I picked this up, FINALLY, after many years, just after it made the list here. And I was kind of disappointed, not in the book, but because reading it I KNEW I would have loved it SO MUCH MORE when I was twelve, which was when I'd wanted to first read it in the first place!
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Cleary (1981) --This one is definitely near the top of my favorite Ramonas, too.
*56. Number the Stars - Lowry (1989) --very also on my Possibilities List, though it was also one of the earliest dumped when I decided to go with The Giver instead.
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Paterson (1978) --I was confused when I read this, because I kept expecting it to get funny, and it absolutely wasn't.
*54. The BFG - Dahl (1982) --my very close second-favorite Dahl. Also on my Possibilities List.
53. Wind in the Willows - Grahame (1908) --didn't like this a bit when I read it, but heard a chapter read aloud in library school and it was wonderful. I now have a theory that this is one of those books that requires being read aloud to appreciate it.
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) --I bought this for my mom two chiristmases ago, but I don't know if she's read it yet. It's very her. Not as much her as everything Blue Balliet has written, but still, very her.
51. The Saturdays - Enright (1941) --this is Officially the Only Book On The List I Have Never Heard Of, although this is not strictly true. It seems I'd heard ABOUT it before (from
punterschlagen for one) butt had no slot in my brain labeled "The Saturdays = a book," so it made me go "Whoa, wait, one I don't know."50. Island of the Blue Dolphins - O'Dell (1960) --I read so much Scott O'Dell back in the day (of my historical fiction thing)... but it's all very vague now.
49. Frindle - Clements (1996) --I find myself recommending this book to random people on all sorts of occasions. Well, usually the occasion of people talking about making up words. But it happens often.
48. The Penderwicks - Birdsall (2005) --the one by Nathan's old neighbor! You ever think you'd know somebody whose book'd show up so high up on a list like this, Nathan?
47. Bud, Not Buddy - Curtis (1999) --when I saw this so far up the list I became very distressed that, since this one was the Medalist, Curtis's other books would not have scored higher, and, well, anyway a few days later #34 happened so never mind.
46. Where the Red Fern Grows - Rawls (1961) --see, I have never liked dog books, but I thought I'd give this one a chance once, and I did, and decided I still don't like dog books. It did nothing for me.
45. The Golden Compass - Pullman (1995) --As much as I love disagreeing with everything Philip Pullman has ever said, this is still an amazing book. Not so sure about the rest of the trilogy, but this one's just awe-inspiring.
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Blume (1972) --I expected this one to be much, much higher. Of course, the only reason it isn't is because Judy Blume votes got split badly. If you could see how many of her books got votes, total! Well, you COULD see, just go to the list of all the other votes...
43. Ramona the Pest - Cleary (1968) --you could say Beverly Cleary's votes were pretty severely split too, but you wouldn't notice much. Anyway, I would have put the previously mentioned Ramona books as well as Ramona and Her Mother over this one, personally, but what can you do...
42. Little House on the Prairie - Wilder (1935) --likewise, oh-interesting-series-voting-things, this one may have given its name to the TV show, but it was actually one of my LEAST favorites of the series. Not that that means much, relatively.
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare (1958) --I know I enjoyed this a lot back in the day, but I never outright told a librarian that I was never, never going to give it back to her because I loved it so. That happened to me as a middle school librarian. It made me happy that someone wanted to steal my book, go figure.
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Baum (1900) --I read this back when I was young too confused over the differences between the movie and the book to really enjoy the book. I kept trying to "fix" it in my head. Nonetheless, I kind of appreciate when someone references the book as opposed to the movie nonetheless.
39. When You Reach Me - Stead (2009) --This book hitting this high on the list gave me hope for the main character's favorite book on this list...
*38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling (2003) --When this showed up, and as high up as it did, I about yelled. This is my favorite, the one I am constantly defending to people who don't like its length and angst-Harry-ness, and I actually DIDN'T VOTE for it because I was sure no one else would have (and I voted for one that ended up much LOWER!). If I had it might have even beat out Goblet, which would have thrown everybody, wouldn't it? Well, okay, my vote would have maybe moved it up a slot or two...
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Taylor (1976) --famous for being the book that made me bawl for hours straight.
36. Are You there, God? It's Me, Margaret - Blume (1970) --see, I know I'm the weirdo here, but Blume's YA books never did much for me. I much prefer Peter and Fudge to Margaret
35. HP and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling (2000) --but I might have voted for this one rather than Chamber, but I didn't, and I'm glad because then if I'd seen Phoenix come THIS CLOSE and I'd only widened the gap, I would have been even madder.
*34. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - Curtis (1995) --So like I said, when Bud made the list, I suddenly wished I'd voted for this one. I adore this, the opening paragraph is among my favorite openers ever, and this was totally on my Possibilities list
33. James and the Giant Peach - Dahl (1961) --Never was as into James as some of his later books...
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - O'Brian (1971) --this my mom read me, I don't think I ever read it on my own; and I suspect I may have been too young to appreciate it as much as I could have when she did
31. Half Magic - Eager (1954) --speaking of my mom, this is one of her favorite books, and I liked it quite a lot too. It's the only Eager I've ever read, and, judging from the comments, I suspect I've been missing out... must find the rest if I can!
30. Winnie-the-Pooh - Milne (1926) --Fed up with bad Disney storybooks, I've attempted to read these books to Sam, but so far he just keeps trying to turn pages too soon to find more pictures, so perhaps not ready. The dialogue really is brilliant in these, though.
*29. The Dark Is Rising - Cooper (1973) --Awesomest book in awesome series, totally on my Possibilities List.
28. A Little Princess - Burnett (1905) --Good, but never loved it as much as Secret Garden
**(3)27. Alice I and II - Carroll (1865/72) --Still can't believe this only made it to 27. Of all the really old classic-classics, I would think this would have the most staying power, the most cross-gender appeal, the most continuous media tie-ins, but I guess i'm just biased by its being my number 3 vote!
26. Hatchet - Paulsen (1989) --and beaten by Hatchet? Friggin' HATCHET? Which I ended up not hating as much as I thought I would, but still.
25. Little Women - Alcott (1868/9) --Mostly all I can think of when thinking of this one is how everyone always used to say "Amy! like in Little Women!" to me, completely unpreparing me for the fact that Amy March is one of the most obnoxious brats in all of classic literature. Much prefer Jo or Beth to be named after, as I figured I was a combination of the two.
24. HP and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (2007) -- I am surprised this one is so high. Perhaps because, unlike the rest of the series, I only read it twice, or even once-and-a-half. So it hasn't got the same nice cozy familiarity to me, I guess.
23. Little House in the Big Woods - Wilder (1932) --See, I don't know if this is all on its own merit or how much is default-first-of-series, but it WAS one of my favorites in the series, at that. Not as much as Plum Creek or Long Winter, but still.
22. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo (2003) --don't love it all THIS much, but not bad.
21. The Lightning Thief - Riordan (2005) -- I totally didn't expect it to show up this high in the list, but I certainly wasn't as OFFENDED about it as some of the commenters seemed to be. This is an absolutely delightful series, and I mean that. And I don't know what that movie was thinking, people, but it's also laugh-out-loud FUNNY, don't you know. So give it a break, read it, and love it already.
20. Tuck Everlasting - Babbitt (1975) --Natalie Babbitt is someone whose actual writing I have always RELISHED. And yet, none of her books, not even this one, really stick out in my memory plot-wise. It's just the poetry of the writing that's so nice.
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Dahl (1964) --this was one my mom read to me, and then some time later she found the movie (the first one) in the video store and was very excited and wanted me to come see what she found, and I remember I was at first convinced she was trying to trick me into watching something scary (I was that weird child I've mentioned, you know), and she had to actually point at the title (even called "Willy Wonka and...") before I figured it out. Then I watched it many, many times.
**(9)18. Matilda - Dahl (1988) --SOOO excited, as you know, that this, my Dahl vote, made it up this far. I honestly had no idea it was THAT many other people's favorite, too!
*17. Maniac Magee - Spinelli (1990) --this was so on my Possibilities List, too.
16. Harriet the Spy - Fitzhugh (1964) --even though I have KEPT MY OWN NOTEBOOKS LIKE HARRIET, I was never actually as into the book as many other people seem to be. It was good, but not obsessive, for me.
15. Because of Winn-Dixie - DiCamillo (2000) --I mentioned that I hate dog books, but this is the one glaring exception.
14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling (1999) --Obviously this is the favorite of quite a lot of people. I loved it, but not to that point. I didn't care for the movie much at all, except for a few details.
13. Bridge to Terabithia - Paterson (1977) --maybe because I didn't read it until I was in college, it didn't have the deep effect on me that it seems to be famous for...
12. The Hobbit - Tolkien (1938) --this was a big surprise for me. Perhaps because I associate it with the clearly-not-middle-grade LotR, never even considered it would show up here. But a PLEASANT surprise, yes.
*11. The Westing Game - Raskin (1978) --seriously one of the best mysteries ever. I didn't read this one until college either and I so totally should have read it sooner.
10. The Phantom Tollbooth - Juster (1961) --this is another one I didn't read as a kid and really should have. I thought once of making a list of books that I didn't read as a kid that were OUT then and I really SHOULD have because I would have LOVED them but I didn't read for one reason or another... if I ever got around to THAT...
**(4)9. Anne of Green Gables - Montgomery (1908) --seriously, girl book it may be, but who reads this and just LIKES it? You either don't care much at all, or you LOVE it. Just like Anne herself, it's all about the Extremeness of Emotion!
**(2)8. The Secret Garden - Burnett (1911) --honestly, I'm surprised this ended up higher than Anne. Not saying it doesn't deserve to be, but I had no idea other people were THAT HUGE on it, I mean more than they would be for Anne. All those awkward by today's social mores bits and all. The awesomeness overcomes all, then!
(**7)7. The Giver -Lowry (1993) --higher than I expected, seeing how divisive it can make people. I was interested how many commenters were like, "well, I'd already read a lot of distopian fiction by the time I read this, so it didn't do much for me." As if the distopian aspect was the only thing it has to offer! Brilliant book, period.
**(5)6. Holes - Sachar (1998) --yes, this makes four of my votes in a row. And this is just an extremely all-around good book. Well-crafted, is the best way to put it. It's brilliant, in a way that makes it easy to love. It does everything a book ought to do.
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - Koningsburg (1967) --and honestly I never expected this one to be as high as it is. I loved it myself, and I know it used to be very popular, but it seems largely forgotten by more recent generations. I don't mean they WON'T like it or SHOULDN'T like it, they just don't KNOW about it anymore!
*(actually, Dawn Treader, but still)4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis (1950) --this was also higher than I expected, but that's not a bad thing. I expected more vote-splitting among the Narnia books, which ought to have brought this score down. It turns out there WAS a good bit of Narnia vote-splitting, but apparently not enough to make much of a difference. The series as a whole is popular enough as is.
3. Harry Potter #1 - Rowling (1997) --speaking of popular series, my guess is most of these votes were series-as-whole defaults-- who actually claims this as their favorite of the series? But man, add all those votes together, Harry sure scored high here...
**(1)2. A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle (1962) --YES. ON THE OFF-CHANCE I NEED TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS, BUT BY THE WAY, DID YOU KNOW THIS WAS MY NUMBER ONE VOTE? DID YOU? HOW PERCEPTIVE OF YOU.
1. Charlotte's Web - White (1952) --yep. It's still got it.
In my defense, I was not the only person who completely geeked out over this countdown. Here, in fact, is evidence that I could have been much, much geekier. So there.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-04-22 02:50 am (UTC)From:No, but if there were anyone I knew whom I'd want to show up, it wouldn't have been her. {g}
Not geeky at all.
Date: 2010-04-23 11:39 am (UTC)From: (Anonymous)Re: Not geeky at all.
Date: 2010-04-26 11:39 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 04:23 pm (UTC)From:51. The Saturdays, oh, if you like the other Melendy books, then you're so lucky you still have this one ahead of you. (If you still do.) The Four-Story Mistake was the one I read at my elementary-school library and then couldn't find again for years and years, until college or after when they finally reprinted it. (This was before Amazon and I wasn't too handy at ILL.)
I've done that annoying thing of commenting on what you haven't read instead of what you have, but it was fun to read this list!
no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 06:13 pm (UTC)From:I DID finally read (and love) The Saturdays later that year, but I've yet to read any of the sequels, so I still have those to look forward to!