Top 100 Chapter Books: 91-100

WOO HOO!! This is the Stack Report's 100th Post!

Hopefully, readers are finding this blog interesting, informative, amusing, or, at the very least, not boring.

What could be more apropos for the 100th post than a Top 100 list. I am a list person: I make lists, read lists, keep lists, check things off on lists. School Library Journal polled educators, librarians, and parents to create a list of the Top 100 Chapter Books of all time (they also did this for picture books).

I agreed with some of the selections and placements on the SLJ top 100 but, of course, every reader is unique so I disagreed with much of the list too.  Over the next few posts I will countdown my top 100 children's chapter books. Maybe you will think some of my choices are nuts (and please feel free to tell me so). My hope, though, is that you may discover some wonderful books that you have not read before.

Here are the first 10 books on my list (and when I say first I mean starting at the bottom with #100):

100.  Horton Halfpott or The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor or The Loosening of M'Lady Luggertuck's Corset by Tom Angleberger
You may recognize Angleberger as the author of the popular Origami Yoda series, and as good as those are, I think that Horton Halfpott is infinitely better.  Imagine that Roald Dahl (my hero) and Agatha Christie collaborated on a children's book. Horton Halfpott would be the result. Whimsical, funny, and devilishly clever with a delightful and eccentric array of characters. I actually met Tom Angleberger (and he was incredibly nice and a total geek like me) and asked him if he was planning on writing a sequel. He told me that he wants to, but right now there is more demand for the Origami Yoda books. Hopefully, more people will read Horton Halfpott and clamor for further adventures of this hapless hero.

99. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell

Your kids are probably familiar with the 2006 movie, How to Eat Fried Worms, but the book was actually published in 1973.  And if you are a child of the 80s (like me) you may remember the book being made into an episode of CBS Story Break. Does anyone else remember this show? I used to absolutely love it. Anyways back to the book, which despite being published in 1973 does not read as stale or dated. All you need to do is read the title to know that this is a book that kids, especially boys who love to dare each other to do stupid and gross things, will relish. And by relish I mean  ingest all of its squirmy hilarity with delight.

98. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

I wasn't sure if The Velveteen Rabbit counts as a picture book or a chapter book, but I put it on the list anyways. Why? Because I still cry every time I read this page. The Velveteen Rabbit is the orginal Toy Story and every parent should read it with their child.

97. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman, who is a master of writing scary books that are not ridiculous and patronizing to younger readers. The Graveyard Book is a perfect example of this. Don't let the fact that the majority of the book is set in a graveyard and half of the characters are ghosts fool you. This book has plenty of chills, but it is also poignant with several tender, heartrending moments.




96. Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

Ah, another book that harkens back to my 80s childhood. The first of Howe's books narrated by Harold, the Monroe family's dog, is actually still incredibly popular. Unlike The Graveyard Book which I just mentioned, Bunnicula is more spine-tickling than-spine chilling (Yes I know how incredibly corny that sounded). After all, the supposed monster is a vampire bunny that sucks the juice out of vegetables. Harold and Chester, the family's cat, are the hilarious children's book version of The Odd Couple. Younger chapter book readers will happily devour Bunnicula and Howe's other books featuring these likable, furry heroes.


 

95. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

If you are a horse-obsessed tween girl Marguerite Henry is just required reading. What sets Misty of Chincoteague apart from so many other horse books, though, is the spectacular coastal setting. You can imagine being one of the Beebe children watching the wild ponies swim through the ocean waves from the island of Assateague to Chincoteague on the mainland.

94. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

From Misty the wild pony to Shiloh the abused dog, I am really tugging at some heartstrings. I considered not including this one on my list, because mistreatment of animals is something that is hard to read about. Hello, I couldn't even finish Water for Elephants. Shiloh, though, is a beautiful story and (spoiler alert) the dog doesn't die like in every other famous dog book. This Newbery Medal winner is actually the first book in a trilogy and kids will be excited to read more about Shiloh and his boy, Marty.

93. The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
Maybe it is a little premature to include this book on the list since it was only published in May 2014. Oh well, I absolutely loved this Victorian ghost story!  Two Irish orphans flee famine in their homeland and seek employment in England. Desperation sends them to a dreary mansion that could give the House of Usher a run for its money.  The Night Gardener is perfect for kids who love to huddle under the covers with a flashlight and a spooky book.




92. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
The holidays would not be complete without the Herdmans wreaking havoc at the annual Christmas pageant. The Herdmans may be wild, cigar smoking arsonists, but they can teach us all about the meaning of Christmas. I have to read this aloud with my kids every December. My kids also love the movie version, even though, the first time they watched it my son said: "This must be really old. Their phone has a cord." Nothing like having your kids make you feel like you belong in a museum.

91.  Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

Hoot by Hiaasen may have won a Newbery Honor, but I thought that the more recently published Chomp was better. Like most of Hiaasen's books, Chomp takes place in Florida, has an ecological/conservation angle, and teems with sarcasm and acerbic humor. Wahoo Cray (yep that is his name) works alongside his father who is an animal wrangler for television shows. When Wahoo's dad gets a job with a show called Expedition Survival, the unreality of reality television is swiftly exposed.Maybe this book appealed to me because my boys are avid watchers of Bear Grylls, but I thought that it was hilarious. I will warn you that I have had some parents be offended that Wahoo's dad says the word "bleep" (and I actually mean the word "bleep") throughout the book. I grew up in a blue collar home so I heard plenty of F-bombs and I actually found it admirable that Mitch Cray makes the effort not to swear in front of his son.


I have moved and rearranged the books on this list multiple times, but these are the first ten books on my Top 100 list. Feel free to agree, disagree, comment, whatever.  With the next ten I will try to be a bit more succinct so the post is not quite so long. It is hard for me to stop talking about books that I like.