100th Anniversary of Children's Book Week: Top Books from Each Decade

Look who’s turning 100! The longest-running national literacy initiative, Children’s Book Week, continues its centennial celebration this fall with a second dedicated week of reading fun November 4 through November 10. For those who may have missed out on the April 29 through May 5 festivities, here’s your chance to get in on the action. In keeping with this year’s theme, “Read Now. Read Forever,” we’re ringing in a century of reading by rounding up some of the best children’s books from every decade of the last 100 years.

Whether these glorious stories launched a once-unknown author into the spotlight or created time-honored series and characters we’ll never forget, these memorable classics (of old and new) hold a special place in the hearts of children and adults alike. Enjoy this look back through the decades.

1920s

• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (1922)
• Winnie-the-Pooh (series) by A. A. Milne (1926)
• The Tower Treasure (The Hardy Boys series) by Franklin W. Dixon (1927)

1930s

• The Little Engine That Could (series) by Watty Piper (1930)
• The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew series) by Carolyn Keene (1930)
• Little House in the Big Woods (Little House on the Prairie series) by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1932)
• The Story of Babar (series) by Jean de Brunhoff (1931; 1933 English translation)
• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (1936)
• Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater (1938)
• Madeline (series) by Ludwig Bemelmans (1939)

1940s

• Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey (1941)
• Curious George (series) by H. A. Rey and Margret Ray (1941)
• The Boxcar Children (series) by Gertrude Chandler Warner (1942)
• The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown (1942)
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)
• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (1945; 1950 English translation)
• Stuart Little by E. B. White (1945)
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (1947)
• Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (1948)

1950s

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia series) by C. S. Lewis (1950)
• Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White (1952)
• Eloise (series) by Kay Thompson (1955)
• Ramona and Beezus (series) by Beverly Cleary (1955)
• Harold and the Purple Crayon (series) by Crockett Johnson (1955)
• The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (1957)
• Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik (1957)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss (1957)
• A Bear Called Paddington (series) by Michael Bond (1958)

1960s

• Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (1960)
• Are You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman (1960)
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (1961)
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (1961)
• The Big Honey Hunt (Berenstain Bears series) by Stan and Jan Berenstain (1962)
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (1962)
• A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet series) by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)
• Amelia Bedelia (series) by Peggy & Herman Parish (1963)
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (1963)
• Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell (1963)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (1964)
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By Eric Carle (1967)
• Corduroy (series) by Don Freeman (1968)
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (1969)
• The Poky Little Puppy (series) by Janette Sebring Lowrey (1969)

1970s

• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (1971)
• The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone (1971)
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (series) by Judith Viorst (1972)
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Fudge series) by Judy Blume (1972)
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (1974)
• Arthur’s Nose (series) by Marc Brown (1976)
• Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard (1977)
• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Patterson (1977)
• Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett (1978)

1980s

• The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (1980)
• Moo, Baa, La La La! by Sandra Boynton (1982)
• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (series) by Laura Joffe Numeroff (1985)
• Love You Forever by Robert Munsch (1986)
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (1986)
• Owl Moon by Jane Yolen (1987)
• Matilda by Roald Dahl (1988)
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen (1989)
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault (1989)
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka (1989)

1990s

• Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss (1990)
• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes (1991)
• The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka (1992)
• Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (series) by Barbara Park (1992)
• The Rainbow Fish (series) by Marcus Pfister (1992)
• Stellaluna by Janell Cannon (1993)
• Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (1994)
• The Mitten by Jan Brett (1996)
• Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann (1996)
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (series) by J. K. Rowling (1997)
• Holes by Louis Sachar (1998)
• A Bad Case of the Stripes by David Shannon (1998)
• The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson (1999)
• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999)

2000s

• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin (2000)
• Olivia (series) by Ian Woodward Falconer (2000)
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (series) by Mo Willems (2003)
• Llama Llama Red Pajama (series) by Anna Elizabeth Dewdney (2005)
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series) by Jeff Kinney (2007)
• Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes (series) by Eric Litwin (2008)
• Little Blue Truck (series) by Alice Schertle (2008)

2010s

• Press Here by Herve Tullet (2010)
• How Rocket Learned to Read (series) by Tad Hills (2010)
• I Want My Hat Back (series) by Jon Klassen (2011)
• Little Owl’s Night by Divya Srinivasan (2011)
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio (2012)
• The Day the Crayons Quit (series) by Drew Daywalt (2013)
• Wild by Emily Hughes (2013)
  

Inspired by this trip down memory lane? With the right books in hand, you’re off to a good start getting your students to fall in love with reading. Now, check out this guide to designing and implementing a successful literacy program.