'Best children's books' list revealed by Puffin
- Published
Eric Carle's classic sells every 30 seconds somewhere in the world
A list of 70 children's books said to be the best of all-time has been compiled by publisher Puffin.
Fantasy classics Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland make the line-up for babies to teens, compiled for the publisher's 70th anniversary.
The pirate adventure Treasure Island and the tear-jerking classic Watership Down also feature.
The classic counting book The Very Hungry Caterpillar tops the list of best bedtime books.
Eric Carle's title sells a copy every 30 seconds somewhere in the world, according to Puffin.
The list is divided up into categories including mischief and mayhem, weird and wonderful, and best blood and guts.
'Phizzwhizzers'
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 among the titles in the section called "best to cuddle-up to".
Alice in Wonderland tops best weird and wonderful
Roald Dahl takes up the entire "phizzwhizzers" category on his own, meanwhile, with his classic tales The BFG, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Fantastic Mr Fox.
Dahl sells more books every year than any other Penguin author in both the adults and children's categories.
And his sales rocketed by 35% in 2009.
Modern best-sellers, such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kenney and Charlie Higson's thriller The Enemy, are also included in the list.
The titles feature in The Puffin Handbook, a new guide to children's books for parents.
Published by Puffin, it is being made available for free from UK bookshops, libraries and to download from the Puffin website as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations.