Top Children's Books Revealed

A top 70 list of childrens' book titles from publisher Puffin is set to revitalise young readers' interest.

From The Very Hungry Caterpillar to gothic horror Dracula, publisher Puffin has compiled a hotlist of its 70 best books of all time for children.

Fantasy classics Peter Pan and Alice In Wonderland, pirate adventure Treasure Island, and the tear-jerking Watership Down also make the line-up for young people aged from babies to their teens, marking Puffin's 70th anniversary.

The books are split into categories including best mischief and mayhem, weird and wonderful, sugar and spice, best swashbucklers and derring-do, as well as books to cuddle up with.

The "best books to cuddle up with" category included The Very Hungry Caterpillar which still sells one copy every 30 seconds somewhere in the world.

There is also a section on the "best alternatives" to Stephenie Meyer's massively successful Twilight books, which have been turned into a series of films starring Robert Pattinson. Suggestions include Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

Roald Dahl takes up the entire "phizzwhizzers" category on his own, with his classic tales The BFG, Matilda, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, and Fantastic Mr Fox.

Dahl sells more books every year , in both adult and childrens' categories, than any other Puffin author.

Watership Down and Charlotte's Web are among the best weepies, The Borrowers is included in best friends and family, and Alice In Wonderland and Peter Pan are among the best weird and wonderful books.

Meanwhile, the poignant Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank is in the best war and conflict category.

Toddlers' favourites The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis and Gwen Millward; the nostalgic Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg; and Hairy Mclary from Donaldson's Dairy are also among the titles in the section called "best to cuddle-up to".

Modern best-sellers feature, such as Diary Of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney among best mischief and mayhem, and Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan and Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer included in best heroes.

Charlie Higson's thriller The Enemy is also named among the best blood and guts - along with Bram Stoker's classic horror Dracula and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The titles feature in The Puffin Handbook, a new guide to children's books for parents. Published by Puffin, the handbook is being made available for free from UK bookshops, libraries and to download as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations.

(LB/BMcc)