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30 of the greatest children's books of the past 100 years

From "The Velveteen Rabbit" to Judy Blume's oeuvre, everybody has a favorite book from childhood. Did yours make our final cut?
/ Source: TODAY

Some of the fondest memories many of us have from childhood come the books we read (or were read to us). Books open up the imagination in ways nothing else can, all while teaching children valuable communication skills — and heck, they're just plain fun!

So when we learned that storied publishing house HarperCollins (the publisher behind some of the books below) was turning 200 years old, we got to thinking: What are some of the greatest children's' books of the past century?

We steered clear of straight picture books (because otherwise this list would never end) and stopped right before true Young Adult reading years. But even then we had a really difficult time keeping the whole thing manageable! Consider this a totally subjective list (ranked in no particular order) of 30 of our favorites — which ones would be on yours?

1. "The Velveteen Rabbit," by Margery Williams (1922), $10, Amazon

Ages 3-7

A stuffed rabbit aspires to become real, and gets his chance thanks to the love of his owner.

2. "The Wind in the Willows," by Kenneth Grahame (1908), $2, Amazon

Ages 4-Up

Sweet, gentle tales of animals like Frog and Toad, set in a pastoral England of the last century.

3. "Where the Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak (1963), $13, Amazon

Ages 4-8 years

Let the wild rumpus start! Troublemaker Max visits a strange land where the monsters are his greatest playmates.

4. "Esperanza Rising," by Pam Muñoz Ryan (2000), $6, Amazon

Ages 4-Up

Tragedy sends wealthy Esperanza on the road as a farmworker during the Great Depression.

5. "The Lorax," by Dr. Seuss (1971), $13, Amazon

Ages 6-9

The Lorax only wants to save the Truffula Trees from being wiped out, but the forces of commerce array against him.

6. "The Secret Garden," by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911), $7, Amazon

Ages 6-12

Spoiled and neglected simultaneously, invalid Colin's life is changed when his orphaned cousin arrives.

7. "Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye," Edisioni Piemme (2000), $8, Amazon

Ages 7-10

The first in the ongoing Geronimo Stilton series tells the story of a journalist mouse who lives on an island and has endless adventures.

8. "Little House on the Prairie," by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1935), $8, Amazon

Ages 8-12

The best known of the "Little House" series, this is actually the third book published about Wilder's life growing up on the plains and woods of America in the late 1800s.

9. "Blue Willow," by Doris Gates (1940), $7, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Survival during America's Dust Bowl and Great Depression are a challenge for farmworker Janey Larkin, who has one valuable item: a blue willow plate.

10. "The Saturdays," by Elizabeth Enright (1941), $8, Amazon

Ages 8-12

The four members of the Melendy quartet devise a terrific way to spend their Saturdays: together! This is the first in the Melendy Quartet series.

11. "When We Were Very Young," by A.A. Milne (1924), $6, Amazon

Ages 8-12

The delightful book that introduced us to the Best Bear in All the World, Winnie-the-Pooh.

12. "All-of-a-Kind Family," by Sydney Taylor (1951), $7, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Five Jewish girls living with their family at the turn of last century in New York City are about to get a big surprise. The first of four "All-of-a-Kind" books.

13. "Charlotte's Web," by E.B. White (1952), $7, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Rescued by a young girl, Wilbur the pig grows up in a farmyard living under the shadow of imminent slaughter ... until his best friend, a spider, writes him a new story.

14. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," by C.S. Lewis (1950), $7, Amazon

Ages 8-Up

The first in the seven-book "Chronicles of Narnia" series features the Pevensie children escaping Britain during World War II and slipping into a magical land where they become rulers.

15. "The Phantom Tollbooth," by Norton Juster (1961), $8, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Milo is bored, bored, bored ... until a mysterious tollbooth appears in his room and he visits wondrous lands through its portal (and learns all about jumping to conclusions).

16. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," by Roald Dahl (1964), $10, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Willy Wonka opens his amazing chocolate factory to a handful of terrible children ... and one special boy, Charlie.

17. "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankeweiler," by E.L. Konigsburg (1967), $10, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Claudia runs away to New York City with her younger brother Jamie, and the pair take up secret residence in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they uncover a mystery.

18. "Sounder," by William H. Armstrong (1969), $7, Amazon

Ages 8-12

An African-American boy and his family are struggling as sharecroppers when his father is sent to jail, and the young man and his loyal dog Sounder must work to keep the family afloat.

19. "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH," by Robert C. O'Brien (1971), $7, Amazon

Ages 9-12

A widow mouse with four young children makes a pact with intelligent rats from the National Institute of Mental Health to solve all their problems.

20. "Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing," by Judy Blume (1972) $6, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Peter is driven to distraction by his younger brother Fudge, who keeps on getting into scrapes and potentially ruins everything.

21. "Bud, Not Buddy," by Christopher Paul Curtis (1999), $7, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Ten-year-old Bud is orphaned and living in a difficult foster home in 1936 Flint, Michigan when he runs away to discover family he never knew he had.

22. "The Westing Game," by Ellen Raskin (1978), $6, Amazon

Ages 8-Up

A game-loving millionaire invites 16 people to solve a mystery and possibly inherit a great fortune.

23. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," Jeff Kinney (2007), $11, Amazon

Ages 8-12

Middle school is a trial for the undersized Greg and his buddies in this first in an ongoing series.

24. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," by J.K. Rowling (1997), $9, Amazon

Ages 9-12

The Boy Who Lived makes his introduction as a wizard-in-training in this first of seven books that kicked off the whole phenomenon.

25. "Mary Poppins," by P.L. Travers (1934), $11, Amazon

Ages 10-12

A magical nanny is hired to get the Banks' children (and their parents) in line. The first in a series of eight books.

26. "Bridge to Terabithia," by Katherine Paterson (1977), $7, Amazon

Ages 10-Up

Jess and Leslie become fast friends in 5th grade, and invent a special land of their own called Terabithia, until tragedy strikes.

27. "A Wrinkle in Time," by Madeline L'Engle (1963), $7, Amazon

Ages 10-14

This first in the imaginative Time Quintet of books introduces us to a missing father, his intelligent children and tesseracts.

28. "Artemis Fowl," by Eoin Colfer (2001), $13, Amazon

Ages 10-12

Artemis is 12, a millionaire and a genius ... but also a criminal. The first in this 8-book series introduces us to him and his battle with armed fairies.

29. "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry," by Mildred D. Taylor (1976), $9, Amazon

Ages 11-Up

A young girl growing up in Mississippi faces racism, persecution and deliberately-set fires as she grows and learns why land ownership is so important to her family.

30. "The Little Prince," by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943), $9, Amazon

Ages 12-Up

A downed pilot in the desert meets a little prince who regales him with tales of his trips to faraway worlds.

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