The Nifty 50

WORLD's list of 50 great 20th-Century books for children | Susan Olasky

A year ago WORLD published a list of the top 40 books of the 20th century (with the help of readers, the list later grew to 100). This year WORLD takes a look at the world of children's literature by publishing a Nifty 50 list of children's fiction written since 1900. Picture books come first on our list, in alphabetical order by author, followed by juvenile fiction.

In composing the list I consulted with other moms and with my husband, who has 22 years of bedtime stories under his belt, but since we're the parents of four boys I have to acknowledge that the list is tilted toward boy favorites. (Parents with daughters are welcome to send suggestions for list expansion.) Some books that are written for children seem to appeal more to adults than their intended audience. A favorite like Ouida Sebestyn's Words by Heart, a story of a black family in Oklahoma after the Civil War, deals beautifully with the difference between knowing Scripture and applying it, but it didn't appeal to a focus group of boys.