Most Loved Elementary Library Books, Series And Authors

Since it is Spring Cleaning season, I've done a little work on a list of the most loved children's book series and authors in the hopes that if folks are cleaning off shelves, they'll think of a library donation.  I've been working on it for school off and on for a couple of weeks now, going through our circulation records and several online and educational book resources.

It occurred to me that my list might be a useful tool for other folks as a jumping off point for their own lists.

I know I'm missing several names, so please chime in with omissions in the comments.

Keeping in mind that every group of kids is different and that likes and dislikes will shift from group to group, year to year, here is what I've come up with as a sort of "wish list" for our own little elementary school library.  Also, I'm still looking for "read aloud" picture book recommendations, if anyone has some favorites to share.

Because our school goes from Pre-K 3 year olds all the way up to 6th graders, it's a fairly wide range of selections and authors:

BOOK SERIES:

-- Any books in the “Great Illustrated Classics” series
-- Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
-- Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
-- Goosebumps series by R. L. Stine
-- Geronimo Stilton and Thea Stilton
-- Magic Treehouse by Mary Pope Osborne
-- Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
-- Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene
-- Hardy Boys by Franklin Dixon
-- Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
-- Biscuit series by Alyssa Satin Capucelli
-- Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel

-- Henry and Mudge series by Cynthia Rylant
-- Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder
-- Clifford by Norman Bridwell
-- The Littles series by John Peterson
-- Bailey School Kids by Marcia Thornton Jones and Debbie Dadey
-- Any of the American Girl series
-- Black Lagoon series by Mike Thaler
-- 39 Clues series
-- Katie Kazoo series by Nancy Krulik
-- Bone series by Jeff Smith
-- Animal Ark or Pet Detective series by Ben Baglio
-- Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner
-- Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
-- Fairy Tale collections
-- Folk Tale collections
-- Myths and Legends collections
-- Curious George books by Margret Rey
-- Winnie the Pooh series by A. A. Milne
-- Spiderwick Chronicles series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

AUTHORS:

-- Dr. Seuss
-- Jerry Spinelli
-- Judy Blume
-- Marguerite Henry
-- Beverly Cleary
-- Patricia MacLachlan
-- Gary Paulson
-- Megan McDonald
-- Robert McCloskey
-- E. B. White
-- Eric Carle
-- Laura Numeroff
-- Todd Strasser
-- David Shannon
-- Matt Christopher
-- Maurice Sendak
-- Shel Silverstein
-- Peggy Parrish
-- Ursula LeGuin
-- Betty MacDonald
-- Louis Sachar
-- Lemony Snicket
-- Beatrix Potter
-- Christopher Paul Curtis
-- Natalie Babbitt
-- Eleanor Estes
-- Pearl S. Buck
-- Madeline L’Engle
-- Christopher Paolini
-- J. R. R. Tolkien
-- Roald Dahl
-- Andrew Clements
-- Avi
-- E. L.. Konigsburg
-- Stephanie Tolan
-- Cornelia Funke
-- Nancy Farmer
-- Deborah Wiles
-- Mary Norton
-- Kathryn Lasky
-- Gail Carson Levine
-- C. S. Lewis
-- Lois Lowry
-- Jane Yolen
-- Margaret Peterson Haddix
-- Elizabeth George Speare
-- Scott O’Dell
-- T. H. White
-- Gordon Kormon
-- Robert O’Brien
-- Mercer Mayer
-- Cynthia Rylant
-- Kate DiCamillo
-- Cressida Cowell
-- Lloyd Alexander

Also, if folks have any good ideas for encouraging book donations or funds donations for libraries, please do share.  A lot of our books are looking seriously ragged after several years of constant use, and I'm trying to figure out how to get a more regular replacement routine in place for them on a budget that is tinier than a shoestring.  Any ideas on that score would be very much appreciated, indeed!

(Photo by Christy Hardin Smith.)