50 Favourite Children's Books

On Boxing Day, you may or may not have watched David Walliams and guests count down, read and talk about 50 of the nation's favourite children's books on Channel 4. I did watch it and whilst I agreed with a heck of a lot, it also got me thinking about my 50 favourites, as a child and now.

So without further ado, here's my 50 best!

1. The Harry Potter series (especially The Prisoner of Azkaban which was my first love and Deathly Hallows which I re read the most). - J.K. Rowling.
2. Roald Dahl Stories (most notably Matilda, George's Marvellous Medicine and Fantastic Mr Fox) - Roald Dahl.
3. Jacqueline Wilson Stories (favs including Tracy Beaker, the Girls series, The Lottie Project and Lola Rose) - Jacqueline Wilson.
4. My Naughty Little Sister Stories - Dorothy Edwards.
5. Once There Were Giants - Martin Waddell.
6. The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter - Beatrix Potter.
7. Kipper Collection - Mick Inkpen.
8. Michael Morpurgo books (absolute favs War Horse, Private Peaceful, The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips and Out Of The Ashes) - Michael Morpurgo.
9. The Snowman - Raymond Briggs.
10. The Famous Five Stories - Enid Blyton.
11. Holes - Louis Sachar.
12. The Jolly Postman & The Jolly Christmas Postman - Janet and Allan Ahlberg.
13. Horrid Henry Series - Francesca Simon.
14. This Is Not My Hat - Jon Klassen.
15. The Day The Crayons Quit & The Day The Crayons Came Home - Drew Daywalt.
16. Rosie's Babies - Martin Waddell.
17. Ten Little Fingers & Ten Little Toes - Mem Fox.
18. Owl Babies - Martin Waddell.
19. Peepo! - Janet & Allan Ahlberg.
20. Emma's Lamb - Kim Lewis.
21. Floss - Kim Lewis.
22. The Last Noo Noo - Jill Murphy.
23. Five Minutes Peace - Jill Murphy.
24. The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton.
25. The True Story Of The Three Little Pigs - Jon Scieszka.
26. The Worst Witch - Jill Murphy.
27. Jam Panda Books - Caroline Repchuk.
28. The Queen's Hat - Steve Antony.
29. Grandad's Island - Benji Davies.
30. Sam & Dave Dig A Hole - Mac Barnett.
31. On Sudden Hill - Linda Sarah.
32. The Storm Whale - Benji Davies.
33. When The Dragons Came - Lynne Moore.
34. Ten In The Bed - Penny Dale.
35. Topsy & Tim Series - Jean Adamson.
36. Those Dreadful Children - Enid Blyton.
37. Inky Pinky Plot - Judith Nicholls.
38. Spaghetti With The Yeti - Charlotte Guillain.
39. Yucky Worms - Vivian French.
40. Iggy Peck, Architect - Andrea Beaty.
41. Hattie Peck - Emma Levey.
42. The Pea & The Princess - Mini Grey.
43. Friends - Kim Lewis.
44. The Shepard Book - Kim Lewis.
45. The First Slodge - Jeanne Willis.
46. Wolves - Emily Gravett.
47. How To Wash A Wooly Mammoth - Michelle Robinson.
48. The Dark - Lemony Snicket.
49. The Owl & The Pussycat - Ian Beck.
50. We're Going On A Bear Hunt - Michael Rosen.

You can also read the Channel 4's list below or watch the original programme here.

1. Winnie the Pooh (especially The House at Pooh Corner)
   A.A. Milne (illustrated by E H Shepard)
2. The Chronicles of Narnia (especially The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
   C.S. Lewis (illustrated by Pauline Baynes)
3. Harry Potter (especially Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
   J.K. Rowling
4. Where the Wild Things are
   Maurice Sendak
5. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
   Roald Dahl (illustrated by Quentin Blake)
6. The Wind in the Willows
   Kenneth Grahame (illustrated by E H Shepard)
7. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
   Eric Carle
8. A Bear Called Paddington
   Michael Bond (illustrated by Peggy Fortnum)
9. The Gruffalo
   Julia Donaldson (illustrated by Axel Scheffler)
10. The Hobbit
    J.R.R. Tolkien
11. The Cat in the Hat
    Dr Seuss
12. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
    Lewis Carroll (illustrated by John Tenniel)
13. We're Going on a Bear Hunt
    Michael Rosen (illustrated by Helen Oxenbury)
14. Little Women
    Louisa May Alcott
15. Alfie and Annie Rose (especially Dogger)
    Shirley Hughes
16. Pippi Longstocking
    Astrid Lingren (illustrated by Lauren Child)
17. The Tiger Who Came to Tea
    Judith Kerr
18. Finn Family Moomintroll
    Tove Jansson
19. The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter (especially The Tale of Peter Rabbit)
    Beatrix Potter
20. Journey to the River Sea
    Eva Ibbotson
21. The Story of Tracy Beaker
    Jacqueline Wilson (illustrated by Nick Sharratt)
22. Kensuke's Kingdom
    Michael Morpurgo
23. Goodnight Mr Tom
    Michelle Magorian
24. Rooftoppers
    Katherine Rundell
25. A Monster Calls
    Patrick Ness (illustrated by Jim Kay)
26. The Railway Children
    E. Nesbitt
27. Millions
    Frank Cottrell Boyce
28. The Snowman
    Raymond Briggs
29. The Arrival
    Shaun Tan
30. The Snow Queen
    Hans Christian Andersen
31. Black Beauty
    Anna Sewell
32. Famous Five (especially Five on a Treasure Island)
    Enid Blyton
33. Just William (especially Just William)
    Richmal Crompton
34. Holes
    Louis Sachar
35. Stig of the Dump
    Clive King
36. The Boy in the Dress
    David Walliams (illustrated by Quentin Blake)
37. Charlie and Lola (especially I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato)
    Lauren Child
38. The Jolly Postman
    Allan and Janet Ahlberg
39. Horrid Henry (especially Horrid Henry Strikes it Rich)
    Francesca Simon (illustrated by Tony Ross)
40. How to Train your Dragon
    Cressida Cowell
41. The Wee Free Men
    Terry Pratchett
42. Alex Rider (especially Stormbreaker)
    Anthony Horowitz
43. Mortal Engines (especially Mortal Engines)
    Philip Reeve
44. The Secret Garden
    Francis Hodgson Burnett (illustrated by Inga Moore)
45. Just So Stories
    Rudyard Kipling
46. This is Not my Hat
    Jon Klassen
47. Fortunately, the Milk
    Neil Gaiman (illustrated by Chris Riddell)
48. Charlotte's Web
    E B White (illustrated by Garth Williams)
49. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
    Jeff Kinney
50. Treasure Island
    Robert Louis Stevenson