100 BEST BOOKS

100 Best Books

Here is a list of one hundred books selected by the National Education Association in 1999 as great reading for children and young people. To help make these books more useful, we have added book and author links to any TeachersFirst resources and lesson ideas. For more reading ideas - including books grouped by theme and grade level - check out the hundreds of titles in our Suggested Reading section.

You can see NEA's online survey of best books from 2007 here.

TeachersFirst includes the most recent publications in our monthly TogetheRead themes on our companion site, TeachersAndFamilies. Don't miss these opportunities to promote literacy as a family activity!

# Books for All Ages #

  • Heidi by Johanna Spyri

  • Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

  • The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

  • The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

  • Where the Sidewalk Ends: the Poems and Drawing of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein

# Books for Preschoolers # - More Preschool Titles from TeachersFirst / TeachersAndFamilies

  • Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin, Jr.

  • Corduroy by Don Freeman

  • Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

  • Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

  • The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

  • The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise

  • The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

# Books for Children Ages 4-8 # - More Primary Reading from TeachersFirst / TeachersAndFamilies

  • Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst

  • Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

  • Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish

  • Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman

  • Arthur series by Marc Tolon Brown

  • Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus

  • Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by John Archambault

  • Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

  • Curious George by Hans Augusto Rey

  • Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

  • Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

  • If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff

  • Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

  • Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes

  • Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch

  • Math Curse by Jon Scieszka

  • Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss

  • Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

  • Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola

  • Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig

  • The Art Lesson by Tomie De Paola

  • The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss

  • The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

  • The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

  • The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton

  • The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

  • The Mitten by Jan Brett

  • The Napping House by Audrey Wood

  • The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch

  • The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

  • The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

  • The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

  • Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

  • Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox

# Books for Children Ages 9-12 # - More Books by Grade Level from TeachersFirst

  • A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

  • Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

  • Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

  • Charlotte's Web by E. B. White

  • Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

  • Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

  • Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

  • James and the Giant Peach: A Children's Story by Roald Dahl

  • Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Laura Ingalls Wilder Webquest

  • Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

  • Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

  • Matilda by Roald Dahl

  • Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater

  • Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien

  • My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

  • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

  • Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

  • Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

  • Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

  • Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner

  • Stuart Little by E. B. White

  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

  • The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

  • The BFG by Roald Dahl

  • The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  • The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

  • The Giver by Lois Lowry

  • The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson

  • The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

  • The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

  • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

  • The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

  • The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

  • The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

  • Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

  • Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

# Books for Young Adults # - More Books by Grade Level from TeachersFirst

  • Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

  • The Cay by Theodore Taylor

  • The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

  • The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare

  • Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls