Saturday, 2 November 2013

The best ever?

Earlier this week I had a class with my masters students about children's literature classics and canons, and among many other things we talked about the numerous recommendation lists of “The best books ever” or “The best books of the year” or “The best books about this and that”. I was sceptical, yet had to admit that I sometimes provide recommendations, as I have done a coupe of times in this blog. I am revising an academic book with many lists, which has made me think about my selection criteria, and they are of course highly subjective. To see them all, you must wait until the book is published, but here are some of the most stimulating children's and young adult books I have read in the past few years, in no particular order.

Gro Dahle & Svein Nyhus, Sinna man (“Angry man”)

Lane Smith, It's a Book

Lucy Christopher, Stolen
 
Oliver Jeffers, Lost and Found, The Heart and the Bottle

Patrick Ness, The Knife of Never Letting Go, A Monster Calls 
 
Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
 
Shaun Tan, The Lost Thing, The Red Tree

Jon Klassen, I Want My Hat Back

John Green, The Fault in our Stars

Jacqueline Wilson, Four Children and It

David Shelton, A Boy and a Bear in a Boat
 
Marcus Sedgwick, Midwinterblood, She Is Not Invisible


No comments: