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100 Books that Shaped the Century
In the January, 2000 issue of School Library Journal, editors selected their choices of the most significant children’s books of the 20th century. Here’s what they said about their list: “We decided that our list should include books with literary and artistic merit, as well as books that are perennially popular with young readers, books that have blazed new trails, and books that have exerted a lasting influence on the world of children’s book publishing. . . You might not come up with the same list, but here’s ours.”
Picture Books

JE/AARDEMA
Aardema, Verna
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

JE/BEMELMANS
Bemelmans, Ludwig
Madeline

JE/BISHOP
Bishop, Claire Huchet
The Five Chinese Brothers

JE/BROWN
Brown, Margaret Wise
Goodnight Moon

JE/BUNTING
Bunting, Eve
Smoky Night

JE/BURTON
Burton, Virginia Lee
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

JE/CARLE
Carle, Eric
The Very Hungry Caterpillar

JE/COLE
Cole, Joanna
The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks

JE/CREWS
Crews, Donald
Freight Train

JE/DEPAOLA
DePaola, Tomie
Strega Nona

JE/GAG
Gag, Wanda
Millions of Cats

JE/HENKES
Henkes, Kevin
Chester’s Way

JE/HOBAN
Hoban, Tana
Shapes and Things

JE/KEATS
Keats, Ezra Jack
The Snowy Day

READER/JE/LOB
Lobel, Arnold
Frog and Toad Are Friends

JE/MARSHALL
Marshall, James
George and Martha

JE/MARTIN
Martin, Bill
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

JE/MCCLOSKEY
McCloskey, Robert
Make Way for Ducklings

JE/MCKISSACK
McKissack, Patricia
Mirandy and Brother Wind

READER/JE/MIN
Minarik, Else
Little Bear

JE/PIPER
Piper, Watty
The Little Engine That Could

JE/POTTER
Potter, Beatrix
The Tale of Peter Rabbit

JE/RASCHKA
Raschka, Chris
Yo! Yes?

JE/REY
Rey, H.A.
Curious George

JE/SCIESZKA
Scieszka, John
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

JE/SENDAK
Sendak, Maurice
Where the Wild Things Are

READER/JE/SEUSS
Seuss, Dr.
The Cat in the Hat

JE/SLOBODKINA
Slobodkina, Esphyr
Caps for Sale

JE/STEIG
Steig, William
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

JE/STEPTOE
Steptoe, John
Stevie

JE/VAN ALLSBURG
Van Allsburg, Chris
The Polar Express

TODDLER/JE/WELLS
Wells, Rosemary
Max’s First Word

JE/YOUNG
Young, Ed
Seven Blind Mice

JE/ZELINSKY
Zelinsky, Paul O.
Rumpelstiltskin

JE/ZOLOTOW
Zolotow, Charlotte
William’s Doll

Nonfiction

J/811/FLE
Fleischman, Paul
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

J/B/FRANK
Frank, Anne
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

J/B/LINCOLN
Freedman, Russell
Lincoln: A Photobiography

J/B/REVERE
Fritz, Jean
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?

J/398.20973/HAM
Hamilton, Virginia
The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales

J/551.21/LAU
Lauber, Patricia
Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of Mt. St. Helens

J/726/MAC
Macaulay, David
Cathedral

J/600/MAC
Macaulay, David
The Way Things Work

——
McCord, David
Far and Few

J/811/SIL
Silverstein, Shel
Where the Sidewalk Ends

Young Adult Fiction

YA/F/CORMIER
Cormier, Robert
The Chocolate War

YA/F/GARDEN
Garden, Nancy
Annie on My Mind

YA/F/MYERS
Myers, Walter Dean
Fallen Angels

Fiction

J/F/ALEXANDER
Alexander, Lloyd
The High King

J/F/AVI
Avi
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

J/F/BABBITT
Babbitt, Natalie
Tuck Everlasting

J/F/BLUME
Blume, Judy
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.

J/F/BOND
Bond, Michael
A Bear Called Paddington

J/F/BURNETT
Burnett, Frances Hodgson
The Secret Garden

J/F/BURNFORD
Burnford, Sheila
The Incredible Journey

J/F/BYARS
Byars, Betsy
Summer of the Swans

J/F/CLEARY
Cleary, Beverly
Ramona the Pest

J/F/COLE
Cole, Brock
The Goats

J/F/COOPER
Cooper, Susan
The Dark is Rising

J/F/CRESSWELL
Cresswell, Helen
Ordinary Jack

J/F/DAHL
Dahl, Roald
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

J/F/FITZHUGH
Fitzhugh, Louise
Harriet the Spy

J/F/FOX
Fox, Paula
The One-Eyed Cat

J/F/GEORGE
George, Jean Craighead
Julie of the Wolves

J/F/GRAHAME
Grahame, Kenneth
The Wind in the Willows

J/F/HAMILTON
Hamilton, Virginia
M.C. Higgins, the Great

J/F/HESSE
Hesse, Karen
Out of the Dust

J/F/HINTON
Hinton, S.E.
The Outsiders

J/F/HOLLING
Holling, Holling C.
Paddle-to-the-Sea

J/F/KERR
Kerr, M.E.
Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack

J/F/KIPLING
Kipling, Rudyard
Just So Stories

J/F/KONIGSBURG
Konigsburg, E.L.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

J/F/LAWSON
Lawson, Robert
Rabbit Hill

J/F/LEGUIN
LeGuin, Ursula
The Wizard of Earthsea

J/F/LENGLE
L’Engle, Madeleine
A Wrinkle in Time

J/F/LEWIS
Lewis, C.S.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

J/F/LINDGREN
Lindgren, Astrid
Pippi Longstocking

J/F/LOWRY
Lowry, Lois
Anastasia Krupnik

J/F/LOWRY
Lowry, Lois
The Giver

J/F/MACLACHLAN
MacLachlan, Patricia
Sarah, Plain and Tall

J/F/MCKINLEY
McKinley, Robin
The Hero and the Crown

J/F/MERRILL
Merrill, Jean
The Pushcart War

J/F/MILNE
Milne, A.A.
Winnie-the-Pooh

J/F/MONTGOMERY
Montgomery, L.M.
Anne of Green Gables

J/F/ODELL
O’Dell, Scott
Island of the Blue Dolphins

J/F/PATERSON
Paterson, Katherine
Bridge to Terabithia

J/F/PAULSEN
Paulsen, Gary
Hatchet

J/F/PEARCE
Pearce, Philippa
Tom’s Midnight Garden

J/F/RASKIN
Raskin, Ellen
The Westing Game

J/F/ROWLING
Rowling, J.K.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

J/F/SINGER
Singer, Isaac Bashevis
Zlateh the Goat

J/F/SLEPIAN
Slepian, Jan
The Alfred Summer

J/F/SUTCLIFF
Sutcliff, Rosemary
The Lantern Bearers

J/F/TAYLOR
Taylor, Mildred
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

J/F/TOLKIEN
Tolkien, J.R.R.
The Hobbit

J/F/TRAVERS
Travers, P.L.
Mary Poppins

J/F/VOIGT
Voigt, Cynthia
Homecoming

J/F/WHITE
White, E.B.
Charlotte’s Web

J/F/WILDER
Wilder, Laura Ingalls
Little House in the Big Woods

J/F/ZINDEL
Zindel, Paul
The Pigman

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