Greatest Young Children’s Books Of All Time

When it comes to raising readers, I feel like we’re living in a time where great picture-book literature has never been more important.

In an age of technology, there is something truly spectacular about introducing growing minds to the beauty of pages that hold adventure, love and wonder. We put our phones down, sniff the heads of our children, listen to their thoughts on the world and end the day on the very best note. So formed this list of The 26 Greatest Young Children’s Books Of All Time.

I hope you find at least one addition to fall in love with and add to your bookshelf.

Of course, there is just as much magic in falling back in love with a book long forgotten. Introducing my children to the stories my parents read me has been one of the best things about motherhood. A thousand worlds I can show my kids, all within the covers of our greatest young children’s books of all time! The best bit is, of course, that we can visit these worlds and have these adventures, all without getting out of our pyjamas.

I’m going to have to share these in no particular order, because I really struggle to play favourites amongst books. So without further ado, I give you The Greatest Young Children’s Books Of All Time!

Each of the books are linked in the titles for ease.

If you would rather skip the details and just see the list instead, I have listed them here (linked)

1. Where the wild things are

A simple story with a big imagination. I imagine most people were read this as a child! I vividly remember pouring over the pages, torch in hand, under my bedsheets. It’s the tale of Max, who is bouncing off the walls of his home in a pretty foul mood.

His mother calls him ‘Wild Thing’ and sends him to bed without any supper. A forest grows in Max’s bedroom, as an ocean appears with a boat ready for Max to sail away.

Max arrives to where the Wild Things are, is declared the most wild thing of all and becomes their king. After a time, Max sends them all to bed and realises that it’s time to return home.

I have such a soft spot for this book. Max arrives home, no longer angry, to find his mother has left him a hot supper after all. It’s such a good way to explain to children how very human we all are.

2. HAROLD SNIPPERPOT’S BEST DISASTER EVER

There’s nothing unlovable about this book. It’s just so… different. It was one of the first I reached for when considering the greatest children’s book of all time!

The stunning illustrations, the way the words feel as they’re read aloud, the message of making the best of a bad situation. It’s a celebration of everything you could want from a picture book!

it begins ‘Some days feel like complete disasters. You feel turned upside down, and it seems impossible that anything good could happen…’

Harold’s parents hate parties, and he’s certain that it’s because they’re so grumpy. They never hug, kiss or even really talk.

So for Harold’s seventh birthday, he decides that he really wants a party. But on the day, animals arrive as guests?! There’s a polar bear, sheep, pigs and an Art Deco chandelier-munching giraffe, among others.

I have a huge amount of love for the fact that, in the middle of this disaster, the parents turn around and give each other a big, passionate kiss – just like in the movies. Children seeing parents being affectionate and happy together is so important, but it’s rarely in books.

Aside from the glass-half-full approach making us fall in love with this book, the illustrations are nothing short of marvellous.

3. The smartest giant in town

Julia Donaldson could take the top spots in most children’s favourite books… show me a child who doesn’t adore The Gruffalo?!

There’s something so incredibly sweet about this book. A giant who is sad that he’s scruffy, until he spots a new shop in the town. George buys himself a whole new outfit, and sets off on his walk home. First, he hears the sniffs of a sad, cold giraffe. George offers him his brand new tie to wear as a scarf for his long neck, then carries on.

As George walks home he meets a number of creatures in need, so he helps each one – which results in him offering up all of his new clothes!

I love George. How wonderfully simple and kind those little acts are. Whenever I think we could do with a little reminder of simple acts of kindness, we break out The Smartest Giant in Town. 

4. The Everywhere bear

This is the story of the class bear, who goes home with each of the children from the class in turn.

While he has lots of adventures with each of the children, from riding the bus to going on swings, none are quite as adventurous as when he gets lost!

A wholesome tale of something wonderfully ordinary from childhood.

5. Winnie the pooh

Another wave of nostalgia… even as a child I dreamt of reading my own children Beatrix Potter and Winnie the Pooh. (My husband is very sure that was just me…)

A true children’s classic, this collection introduces another generation to the world of Christopher Robin, Pooh Bear, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl and Eeyore. While Winnie-the-Pooh may be a bear of very little brain, he and his friends have wonderful soul.

Whether he’s tricking bees in a bid to steal their honey, or stuck in a hole from over-eating, no list of the greatest children’s books of all time would be complete without Winnie-thePooh.

I hope my children will read to their children, and so on.

Full of silly thoughts and great wisdom, these books are magic.

6. Tiny perfect things

These pages hold a very profound message written in a simple way. This book is my favourite to bring out when we need a reminder to be grateful.

A story of a little girl’s walk with her grandfather, as they notice so many tiny, perfect things about nature. A flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk, a yellow wind that the wind blew down, a man with a feather on his hat. ‘The world is full of perfect things when you come and look with me.’

With beautiful illustrations in earthy tones, every page is full of wonder at the simplest things around us.

I also appreciate that the family is mixed race without attention being drawn to that fact. Being mixed race myself, I often wondered why none of the characters in anything I read or watched looked like my dad.

It’s important to provide our children with a diverse bookshelf so all races, cultures and abilities are normalised.

 

7. Love

A story of love knowing nothing of distance, this book is always at the front of our bookshelf. If I was putting this list of the greatest young children’s books of all time in order, this one would be one of the top.

Everyone loves everyone in Tess’s family. Their home is full of love, and she leaves some love at her grandparent’s house too – which is always there when she returns.

Tess is so worried that starting school will mean her family’s love is too far away to find her. Her mum explains that their love is like an invisible string, and will connect them wherever they are and whatever they’re doing.

On her first day of school, Tess learns that everybody has strings, one little boy in her class even has one going up to his dad in the sky.

Perfect for children starting anything new in life, not just school – it’s a glorious book with such special illustrations.

8. This moose belongs to me

This book is the sweet spot between being brilliantly ridiculous and wonderfully sweet.

Oliver Jeffers is one of our favourite authors – our shelves are full of his works. This is Wilfred’s story, and Wilfred owns a moose. A moose, who he has named Marcel.

Now, most of the time Marcel has the decency to abide by Wilfred’s rules on How To Be A Good Pet (Rule 11: Providing Shelter From The Rain.)

A lesson in friendship with fantastically silly pictures, and a classic in the making.

9. Old Bear

Another pang of nostalgia for when this book felt huge in my hands! Old Bear and his friends are a team of teddies held together by more than cotton.

These wholesome, innocent tales of friendship, bravery and imagination are heartwarming beyond words.

10. the same but different too

A colourful and cleverly illustrated picture book on the many ways we are similar while all being wildly different.

‘I am me, and you are you. We’re the same, but different too.’

Going through the animal kingdom in crash-helmets and tutus, we notice the things we might have in common rather than just noticing our differences. It’s an excellent book for introducing conversations surrounding diversity and my children find the pictures hilarious.

11. Franklin’s flying bookshop

I have a bit of a love for books about books.

While this was a book that I bought entirely for it’s book theme and for it’s cover, I was delighted to fall just as in head-over-heels with everything on the pages, too!

Franklin is a kind, helpful and extremely well read dragon. While he longs to make friends, he finds that everybody he introduces himself to is utterly petrified of him. Sad, he returns time after time to sit in his cave reading stories of every kind… full of baking, King Arthur and ballet. Every type of book!

Until one day, he meets Luna, a little girl who is reading. Being an avid reader, she loves dragons – there is one in the adventure she just had her nose in!

He introduces himself and they bond over their love of books. Together they hatch a plan to make new friends and share their love of books with others.

I was utterly smitten with this book when I discovered it, and it still brings me joy whenever we reach for it at bedtime. Definitely a worthy addition to the bookshelf of any young bookworm or child who you’re trying to introduce to the wonders of reading!

12. The paper dolls

If you can read this one without sobbing, you’re made of stronger stuff than me!

The cosiest, warmest and most bittersweet story of them all. The Paper Dolls tells the story of a girl who had tiger slippers, and a ceiling with starts in it, and a nice mother who helped her to come some paper dolls.

These paper dolls go on quite an adventure around her house and into worlds beyond, until…

A boy snipped them into little pieces. ‘You’re gone forever!’

But the paper dolls are not gone. They’re still holding hands and won’t let go. They fly into the little girl’s memory, where they find fireworks and a starfish soap, and a kind granny, and more and more lovely things each day.

With a powerful message about how memories live on in us, and holds the top spot for our favourite of the greatest young children’s books of all time.

13. the keeper of wild words

Brook visits her Grandma, who she calls Mimi. ‘I’m afraid some of my favourite words are disappearing. Some of the wild words that I’ve known my whole life.’ Mimi goes on to explain that words disappear if we don’t use them when we talk, write them in our stories or read them in our books.

If words are forgotten, they disappear.

Passing on this important job to Brook, she enlists her to become The Keeper of Wild Words.

This book is a true celebration of words. It was written by Brooke Smith when she read an article detailing how The Oxford Junior Dictionary removed over 100 words about nature from it’s pages. The decision was made because they felt that they were no longer relevant to today’s children, so were replaced by words like ‘Creep’, ‘MP3 Player’ and ‘Voicemail’.

The thought makes my heart ache. Please celebrate nature and words with children. This book is an excellent start.

14. Brambley Hedge

In this miniature world of the hedgerow, there are little mice who love to have adventures as the seasons come and go.

A community of mice celebrating traditional values, nature, self-sufficiency and the beauty of every time of year, these stunningly illustrated tales from 1980’s are timeless classics.

15. forever

One of the greatest creators of our time, Beatrice Alemanga, shares important messages in the quirkiest ways.

With pages listing the many things that don’t last forever, such as sleep, grazes, soap bubbles, the steam from hot drinks and nits – she reminds children that one thing does.

Parents always adore their children.

In a world where seasons of life change faster than we can keep up with, these pages serve to remind us of what truly matters, and always will.

16. i want my hat back

A bear wants his hat back.

He politely asks each animal whether they have seen his hat.

Each animal denies having seen the hat.

Just when the bear has given up, something triggers his memory and he knows who has his hat!

A simple but hilarious story with a very unexpected twist, this book gets impressive belly-laughs in our house.

17. The story thief

Another book about books to feed the mind and soul.

Olive is an introvert, who only leaves the house to go to the library. When she’s returning home from her latest library trip, one of her books falls into the depths of the ocean, and is discovered by a strange creature. The creature can’t quite figure out the purpose of the book… is it for eating? Wearing? Bashing? Who knows! But further investigation shows the creature that whatever they are used for – people love books?! So he begins stealing books from the townspeople…

18. The heart and the bottle

This is a story of love and the pain of loss.

It’s beautiful, and I feel my heart in my throat every time I read it… in the best way.

One day there was a girl. The girl was like any other, thrilled by discovering everything about the world and full of curiosity.

Until one day, she found an empty chair.

It was so painful, that she decided to put her heart in a bottle to protect it from getting hurt again. Uncomfortable though it was to spend years carrying around the bottle, it wasn’t until she met a little person who was as curious about the world as she had been… that she wanted to take her heart out of the bottle.

This is such an eloquent tale of grief for a children’s book and so incredibly moving.

19. the bear and the piano

This is such a charming story about a little bear cub who discovers a piano in the middle of the forest, but he has no idea what it is. He touches it, and it makes a horrible sound – but he comes back to practice, day after day, year after year.

The bear ends up following his dreams to become a musical sensation in the big city. While he plays to sold-out crowds and receives standing ovations, he misses home so terribly that he travels back to the forest. Though he worries that his friends will have forgotten him or even be angry with him for leaving, he is touched to discover quite the opposite!

A beautiful tale of perseverance and lasting friendship, this story is perfectly complimented by beautiful, distinctive illustrations.

I often pick this one up as a gift for birthdays as it’s impossible to not enjoy!

20. it’s a book

This book is just excellent, pure and simple. (Who has that song in their head now?)

While we’re raising a generation of children who are hugely dependant on technology, this book demonstrates the importance of raising children with a love of books.

‘What do you have there?’

‘It’s a book.’

‘How do you scroll down?’

‘I don’t. I turn the page. It’s a book.’

‘Do you blog with it?’

‘No. It’s a book.’

A short, simple and hilarious work of genius. A very necessary modern addition to the greatest young children’s books of all time!

21. the girl and the dinosaur 

A beautifully written, lyrical story of a little girl who patiently digs up the bones of a dinosaur.

The local fishermen watch Marianne digging alone, and worry that she doesn’t have friends. But Marianne is clever and patient, so that night she makes a special wish. Her dinosaur friend comes to life and they join other children in having a magical adventure together. The memories they make are not for grown ups to know about, but she now has friends and goes to sleep quite content.

Both of my younger children own a copy of this book – it’s something special. The story is so poetic and satisfying to read, and the muted illustrations are magnificent!

22. Home

A glorious picture book celebrating the notion and feeling of home, a place to belong.

With pages of few words but bursting with rustic, earthy illustrations of all homes from flats, clean homes, messy homes, homes of Norse Gods and Kenyan blacksmiths.

This creation is beautiful, inclusive and a reminder that despite our different cultures, we all share a fundamental love for belonging.

Whether this sits on your bookshelf for little hands to flick through or your coffee table for guests to pour over, this book is something unique. While the text is short and very simple, the concept and beautiful illustrations put this firmly in the greatest young children’s books of all time.

‘Sea homes. Bee homes. Hollow-tree homes.’

A true work of art for all ages.

23. the marvellous fluffy squishy itty bitty

I’m trying to resist listing every Beatrice Alemagna creation on this list to allow room for other pieces of literature for little humans… but it’s a struggle!

Her books are heartwarming in the most peculiar fashion, and this one is no exception!

Edith is five and a half years old, with a dad who speaks five languages, a mum who has a lovely singing voice, and a sister who is a brilliant ice-skater. Unfortunately, that leaves Eddie feeling like she isn’t very good at much at all.

That is until she overhears her sister talking about getting her mum’s birthday present… something about a fluffy squishy itty bitty?! She can’t let her sister get her mum the best present and her get a rubbish one, so she runs all over town trying to find one.

With a character so full of good intentions this is an absolute delight to read and food for the soul on any kind of day!

24. The bench

A soft, warm poem about a father and son’s future together from a mother’s perspective.

With remarkably diverse illustrations showing many fathers with their sons, this book makes my heart ache in the most grateful way.

‘He’ll run and he’ll fall, And he’ll take it in stride.

You’ll love him. You’ll listen. You’ll be his supporter.

When life feels in shambles, You’ll help him find order…

He’ll feel happiness, sorrow, one day he’ll be heartbroken.

You’ll tell him ‘I love you’, Those words always spoken.’

25. here we are

This book is the perfect dose of simple perspective in a world where it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.

As with all Oliver Jeffers books, this is a completely unique concept that has been perfectly executed…

It’s nothing short of bloody brilliant.

A book of notes for living on planet earth, it answers everything that a newbie to this world would be wondering. Earth, sea, sky, animals, and how people look and act differently but are all people.

With detailed entertaining and amusing illustrations in his very distinctive style, this is the book I send any new baby when they arrive into our lives.

‘Things can sometimes move slowly, here on earth. More often though, they move quickly, so use your time well. It will be gone before you know it.

Though we have come a long way, we haven’t quite worked everything out, so there is still plenty left for you to do.’

It’s a hand to hold in page form.

Ending with ‘Now, if you need to know anything else… just ask. I won’t be far away. And when I’m not around… you can always ask someone else’ and a picture of generations of family gathering to form a baby’s village.

26. margaret’s unicorn 

This was going to be a list of The 25 Greatest Young Children’s Books Of All Time… but I have spent days trying, and I simply can’t cut out a single one.

While this is not profound, revolutionary or about to turn the next generation’s perspective upside-down, it’s one of my favourites.

A story of Margaret having her world change as she moves far away with her family to be near Grandma. While her parents are sorting the new house, which smells strange and different to the home she knew and now misses, Margaret goes exploring.

Amazingly, she finds a baby unicorn! The unicorn’s mother will not be back until Spring, so Margaret and her family must care for it. A book bound together with cosiness, it’s a story of kindness and unlikely friendship when it’s needed the most.

And there we have it… The Greatest Young Children’s Books Of All Time.

I won’t lie… when I started making this list there were nearly 300 books on it! But I whittled it down to the ones which, if we lost them, we would notice within days and rush off to buy another copy.

These are pages that I would feel my children would be missing from their childhoods if they weren’t there, whether they realised or not. They bring something to our lives, whether it’s a new thought, a new perspective, a smile, a belly laugh or just a spiffing story.

I would love to hear your favourites in the comments – I have made many a wonderful discovery in the comment section of corners of the internet over the years!

Love, Helen

 

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