Top Five So-Called Children's Books

Harriet the Spy: Louise Fitzhugh (1964)
Instruction manual on how to snoop on eccentrics and keep a journal. And appreciate tomato sandwiches.



A Bear Called Paddington: Michael Bond (1958)
Mischief as an artform. What is a duffle coat and where can I get one?



Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Lewis Carroll (1865)
Demented logic. A proto-psychedelic masterpiece.



The Phantom Tollbooth: Norton Juster (1961)
Demented wordplay. Alice for the post-Marx Brothers epoch.



The Fireball Mystery: Mary Adrian (1977)
Dupes its reader into learning about nature and astronomy under the guise of a simple detective yarn. A devious but effective tactic.