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written by L. Frank Baum, US
illustrated by W.W. Denslow, US
In Baum's breakout effort, a girl and her dog find themselves transported via tornado to a magical land. Oz was probably the second children's fantasy land to become famous after Lewis Carroll's Wonderland, but is much more structured than its predecessor. The girl, Dorothy, and her new companions, the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion, join a quest to beg favors from an all-powerful wizard, but are basically caught up in Oz's power struggle. The wild success of the book inspired thirteen sequels from Baum and his new illustrator, John R. Neill, plus imitators and many feature film adaptations, some directed by Baum himself.
See also: The Marvelous Land of Oz (Baum/Neill), Ozma of Oz (Baum/Neill), The Emerald City of Oz (Baum/Neill), The Patchwork Girl of Oz (Baum/Neill), The Scarecrow of Oz (Baum/Neill), The Tin Woodman of Oz (Baum/Neill), The Magic of Oz (Baum/Neill), Queen Zixi of Ix (Baum/Richardson), Sky Island (Baum/Neill)
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written by Kenneth Grahame, UK
I think this book is frequently described as "pastoral." If not, it should be, even though it mostly takes place by a river and in a forest. Wind is a supremely charming story featuring the cozy loiterings of Mole, Rat, and Badger, offset by the wild antics of Toad. Wizard of Oz offers a magical, fantasy world, while Willows emphasizes the magic of the real world, especially in the chapter, "Piper at the Gates of Dawn." Grahame never wrote a follow-up, but several writers and filmmakers took it upon themselves to do so.
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Peter and Wendy (1911)
written by J.M. Barrie, UK (based on his play, Peter Pan)
illustrated by F.D. Bedord, UK
The immortal Peter Pan takes a family's children to his Neverland island, populated by pirates, "Indians," fairies, and the Lost Boys. Those that have only seen the movie adaptations may be surprised by the level of violence and the deaths of several of the famous characters; however, the real power of the book is its ability to pull back the curtains on the innocence, forgetfulness, and cruelty of a child's mind. For true heartbreak, you should read Barrie's other Pan effort.
See also: Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens
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written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay, Australia
Lindsay's effort follows a crew of rapscallions and ruffians through a skewered version of Australia. The only thing these rascals have going for them is their possession of a bowl of pudding which can speak, ambulate, and replenish itself indefinitely. The heroes are constantly hounded by a similar group of ne'er-do-wells who want the pudding for themselves and almost seems like a parody of the TV cartoons that came about decades later.
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written by A.A. Milne, UK
illustrated by E.H. Shepard, UK
House is actually the second Winnie the Pooh book but it gets the nod over its predecessor because, like Peter and Wendy, its portrayal of childhood is so honest and lacks empty sentiment that it forces unintended tears from the adult reader. The whole story is essentially the imagined dramas of a boy's stuffed animals, which are typically empty-headed, charming, and nonsensical. Many movie and literary adaptations and sequels have been produced; even the Soviet Union's Soyuzmultfilm animation studio created a movie.
See also: Winnie the Pooh (Milne/Shepard)
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written by C.S. Lewis, UK
illustrated by Pauline Baynes, UK
As in Peter and Wendy, all of the kids from one family make their way to a fantastic land, but this one, Narnia, is pretty menacing and is not exactly full of happy adventures. In this alternate world, the kids are forced to join a rebellion against a wicked witch. Unlike Oz and Wonderland, which are filled with random, wacky creations by their authors, Narnia is populated by talking animals and creatures taken from European folklore. Lion launched a whole series of sequels and has received several movie sequels.
See also: Prince Caspian (Lewis/Baynes), The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Lewis/Baynes), The Silver Chair
(Lewis/Baynes), The Magician's Nephew (Lewis/Baynes), The Last Battle (Lewis/Baynes), The Hobbit (Tolkien)
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written by Roald Dahl, UK
illustrated by Joseph Schindelman, US
Dahl's ingenious story taps into the desire to win a lottery contest, starring an underdog hero that deserves cheering. The impossible chocolate factory is like a fantasy world of its own, full of wild adventures and dark fates for several of the contest winners who are invited for a tour. I grew up in a middle class household and did not grow up dirt-poor like the hero, Charlie, but while reading this book I could imagine how sublime and revelatory the factory tour could be for such a child. The official illustrations have been changed a coupe of times, the most recent being provided by Quentin Blake, who has re-illustrated most of Dahl's children's work. Yes, there are movie adaptations.
See also: Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, Witches, Matilda (all by Dahl, currently published with illustrations by Blake)
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written by J.P. Martin, UK
illustrated by Quentin Blake, UK
Uncle is criminally obscure. I only know about it because the New York Book Review children's line republished it a few years ago. Uncle is an insanely rich elephant who owns a "castle", which seems much more like a town. This place is vast and is full of dwarf tenants, primarily, but also humans and badgers and others. Across from the castle is a dirty complex where Uncle's jealous archenemies, lead by Beaver Hateman, reside. In some ways, the endless war between Uncle's pals and Hateman's crew seems like the best story about gangs ever. An added bonus is Dahl favorite Quentin Blake handling the illustrations. There were five sequels, but only the original and the first sequel have been printed in the last few decades. I had to resort to illegal means to read the third book and I have not read books four through six yet.
See also: Uncle Cleans Up and Uncle and His Detective (both by Martin/Blake).
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The Neverending Story (originally Die unendliche Geschichte, 1979)
written and illustrated by Michael Ende, Germany
Ende's epic is the only book on this list that was not originally written in English. This proves that I am a Philistine, as there must be several more great children's books from the Twentieth Century that were not written in English. In any case, this is yet another book in which a kid leaves our world and makes his way to one full of fantasy. Fantastica, as the world is known, possesses the menace of Narnia as well as the malleable, unpredictable nature of Wonderland/Looking Glass Land. Neverending Story breaks the fourth wall with its protagonist before finally luring him in half-way through the book. The famous 1984 movie adaptation chose to adapt only the first half, as it does seem like an appropriate breaking point. The themes, including dealing with bullying and the death of a family member, are more intense than what one would find in the other books on this list.
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written by Alvin Schwartz, US
illustrated by Stephen Gammell, US
Scary Stories is an anomaly within the context of this list. First, it is not a novel, but rather a collection of short stories, poems, and songs. Second, the prose is really not that breathtaking, but the ILLUSTRATIONS by Stephen Gammell pull the whole package together. These illustrations are full-on creepy and add a lot of power to the sometimes ho-hum stories, which are mostly collected from folklore and urban legends. Unfortunately, the versions with the original illustrations are out of print; the only version you can buy now contains fish-out-of-water, non-scary drawings by Brett Helquist.
See also: More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones (both by Schwartz/Gammell)
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