I’m writing a book “500 best books originally written in English” for Japanese audience, and I have made a tentative list of children’s books I am considering including in the book. I have lists for fiction books,nonfiction books,and classics separately.
This list is not completed and I would like your input. Some of the book’s audience are beginning readers of English and some are native level, so I need a mix of books that would appeal to these various levels that I believe are enjoyable for the Japanese readers. Some are entertaining, and some are mind stimulating, and some of them are informative. The most important thing is that the book gives a Japanese reader a good reading experience. If that experience encourages the reader to pick up another English book, it will be a success.
The following are the criteria I used for the tentative list.
1) The reader feels “ I’m glad I have read this book”.
2) The book has a reasonably wide range of audience.
3) The book must be reasonably well written.
4) The book must be still in print and available in Japan.
I’m including some books I personally do not like very much, because I believe there are many Japanese readers who can learn to enjoy English books from them. Because of the limited number I can list for the book, I decided to chose only one book by each author(for each category).
I separated into several genres, but please keep in mind that some of them are mixture of different genres.
絵本、大人が読んで聞かせる本
Picture books, books for 0 – 4 year old.
Madeline(1939)
Goodnight Moon (1947)
Green Eggs and Ham (1960) and other books by Dr. Seuss
Where the Wild Things Are (1963) by Maurice
Sendak
Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book (1963)and other books by Richard Scarry
Flotsam
Are You My Mother?
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969) by Eric Carle
Corduroy(1976)
Clifford the Big Red Dog (1978)
Chicka Chicka Boom
How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
The Little House
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Going on a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury
Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say
Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Miss Spider’s Tea Party by David Kirk
Olivia by Ian Falconer
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
The Going-To-Bed Book by Sandra Boynton
The Hat by Jan Brett
Eleventh Hour
The Jolly Postman by Allen and Janet Ahlberg
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
The Wheels on the Bus
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Interrupting Chicken
広範囲の年齢層を対象とする詩と絵本(poems & picture books for wide audience)
Where the Sidewalk Ends
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Tales From Outer Suburbia
幼稚園/小学校低学年( 本を自分で読みはじめた頃からふつうの児童書への移行期)
Books for biginning readers
Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie
Henry and Mudge (early readers) by Cynthia Rylant
Owl at Home (I Can Read Book 2) by Arnold Lobel
The Snowman
The American Girls series
Magic Tree House
The Adventures Of The Bailey School Kids
Classic Goosebumps
Judy Moody(小学校1〜4年生向け)
Clementine
The Absent Author (A to Z Mysteries)
CAM Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds
My Father’s Dragon” by Ruth Stiles Gannett
The Ink Drinker by Eric Sanvoisin
The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy (Book 1)
A Bear Called Paddington (1958)
The Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder (read to)
Nancy Drew: All New Girl Detective
小学校高学年から中学生
9 to 12 year old, 4th to 8th grade
SF, ファンタジー、冒険 Sci-fi, fantasy, adventure
Harry Potter Series
Dealing With Dragons
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Artemis Fowl series
Big Red” by Jim Kjeilgaard
Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)
The Ruins of Gorlan (The Ranger’s Apprentice, Book 1)
The Goose Girl (Books of Bayern)
Redwall
Ella Enchanted
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Stormbreaker (Alex Rider)
The Graveyard Book
The Mysterious Benedict Society
The Dark is Rising
The Princess Bride
The Tale of Despereaux
The Giver
Tuck Everlasting
Howl’s Moving Castle
Island of the Blue Dolphins
The Bartimaeus Trilogy
Into the Wild (Worriers, Book 1)
Emily Windsnap series
Cirque du Freak
ミステリー、学校、家族、友情、人間関係、Mystery, school, family, friends, relationships,
Sammy Keyes and the Skeleton Man
The Penderwicks
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Stargirl
Shiloh
Bridge to Terabithia
The Wanderer
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Bad Girls by Jacqueline Wilson
The Princess Diaries
Holes by Louis Sachar
The View from Saturday
When You Reach Me
Wonder
Mockingbird
歴史、その他
Heart of Samurai
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Kira-Kira
One Crazy Summer
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Moon Over Manifest
London Eye
ヤングアダルト(YA), 高校生向け
Young Adults, Teens
青春小説、心理スリラー、ミステリー(Coming of Age novels, psychological thriller, mysteries)
I Capture the Castle (1948)
The Bell Jar* (1963)
The Fault In Our Stars**
A Separate Peace (1959年の作品だが、あまり日本では知られていないのでクラシックではなく、こちらでご紹介)
Jasper Jones**
Speak
Please Ignore Vera Dietz *
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You (Gallagher Girls)
13 Little Blue Envelopes
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Truth About Forever *
Forever . . .
It’s Kind of a Funny Story
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Thirteen Reasons Why
If I Stay
The Sea of Tranquility*
Stolen
Marcelo in the Real World
Go Ask Alice
SF、ファンタジー (Sci-fi and fantasy novels) for teens
Watership Down (1972)
A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle)
His Dark Materials Trilogy
Ice
Stardust(Gaimanの作品は別でもご紹介していますが、ティーン向けとして特におすすめ)
Alanna: The First Adventure (The Song of the Lioness, Book 1)
Leviathan**
Graceling
The Hunger Games trilogy
Divergent
Feed
The House of the Scorpion
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
The Scorpio Races*
The Iron King
Shadowland (The Mediator #1)
Twilight
City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)
Vampire Accademy
Marked: A House of Night Novel
Delirium
A Great and Terrible Beauty (The Gemma Doyle Trilogy)
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone
How We Live Now
The Maze Runner (Book 1)
The Wee Free Men (Discworld series)
その他のテーマ
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Book Thief
Between Shades of Gray
A Monster Calls
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Revolution
ノンフィクション(nonfiction)
Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith
My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell
コミック、グラフィックノベル Comic, graphic novel
Peanuts
Garfield
The Calvin and Hobbes
The Sandman (for teens and adults only)
*****Books which have not made the list.*****
Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall
Flotsam by David Wiesner
Is your Mama a Llama? – Deborah Guarino
Mama, Do You Love Me – Barbara M. Joosee
Picture books by Bill Peet
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Wayside School series (I chose Holes)
The Wind Boy
Tatsinda
Andrew Lang Fairy
Books
Red Sails to Capri
Esther
Max and Ruby series
Each Peach Pear Plum
“Inkheart” by Cornelia Funke
Leon and the Spitting Image by Allen Kerzweil
Monster
Z for Zachariah – Robert C. O’Brien