Australia's Top 50 Kids Books 2020: Top titles for early readers

Each year, Better Reading asks young Australian readers, their families, librarians and teachers to vote for their favourite book. In 2020 we’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response! It’s clear that Australian love reading across a broad range of children’s titles in all formats – paperback, hardcovers and board books.

The 2020 list includes old favourites, newcomers, award winners and some anniversary titles that have stood the test of time. As we did last year we have split the list into two sections: the Top 25 for older readers and Top 25 for younger readers.

For younger readers The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle has once again wormed his way to the top, narrowly beating Possum Magic by Mem Fox which came in second place. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson was in third place, a long-term favourite celebrating 21 years on the bookshelves.

A host of Australian authors and illustrators are prominent within the 25 titles for younger readers. Mem Fox, Aaron Blabey and Alison Lester hold three positions each in the list of 25 books. True blue nostalgic dinky-di characters Grug and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie also made an appearance.

Better Reading Director, Cheryl Akle says, ‘It’s clear there is a deep love for picture books. We saw this with the response our readers had to Grug’s 40^th birthday and Spot’s 40^th anniversary this year. There’s a fondness and respect for characters we know from our own childhood that makes us want to share them with the next generation. We also open our hearts to new characters like Thelma the Unicorn.”

“People are always telling me how hard it is to find the right book for a child in their life,” says Akle. “With so many wonderful new books hitting the shelves each month, making a decision can be overwhelming so this list is something you can take with you to the bookshop. When you give a book to a child you want to know it’s a book they’re going to love.”

The 25 titles for younger readers in Australia’s Top 50 kids books are:

1	The Very Hungry Caterpillar	Eric Carle
2	Possum Magic	Mem Fox
3	The Gruffalo	Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
4	Where is the Green Sheep	Mem Fox and Judy Horacek
5	Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy	Lynley Dodd
6	The Very Cranky Bear	Nick Bland
7	Pig the Pug	Aaron Blabey
8	We’re Going on a Bear Hunt	Michael Rosen
9	Where the Wild Things Are	Maurice Sendak
10	Room on the Broom	Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
11	The Wonky Donkey	Craig Smith and Katz Cowley
12	Magic Beach	Alison Lester
13	Piranhas Don’t Eat Bananas	Aaron Blabey
14	The Secret Garden	Frances Hodgson Burnett and Adelina Lirius
15	Meet Snugglepot and Cuddlepie	May Gibbs
16	Thelma the Unicorn	Aaron Blabey
17	Green Eggs and Ham	Dr Seuss
18	Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes	Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
19	Oh The Places You’ll Go	Dr Seuss
20	The Very Noisy Baby	Alison Lester
21	Wombat Stew	Marcia K Vaughan & Pamela Lofts
22	Where’s Spot?	Eric Hill
23	Dear Zoo	Rod Campbell
24	Kissed by the Moon	Alison Lester
25	Grug	Ted Prior