The Better Reading Top 50 Kids and YA books have been announced! While this year’s list is full of fresh new voices, we’re pleased to see a handful of tried-and-true classics still standing the test of time. Read on for seven of our favourites…

Possum Magic by Mem Fox, Illustrated by Julie Vivas

Continuously in print since it was first published in 1983, Possum Magic has been embraced as a timeless Australian tale. One of Australia’s most-loved children’s picture books, the gentle story and gorgeous illustrations guarantee a captive audience for bedtime reading, night after night.

Buy a copy of Possum Magic here.

The Faraway Tree Series #2: The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

A Top 50 mainstay, The Magic Faraway Tree is the second book in the magical Faraway Tree series by one of the world’s most popular children’s authors, Enid Blyton. First published in 1943, this edition contains the original text with expressive inside illustrations by Jan McCafferty, and a cover by Mark Beech.

Buy a copy of Faraway Tree Series #2: The Magic Faraway Tree here.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Matilda is a brilliant child with a magical mind. But her parents have decided she’s just a nuisance who wastes too much time on reading and stories. Now it’s time for Matilda to find the power to change her story, and show them just how extraordinary children can be.

Buy a copy of Matilda here.

The Chronicles of Narnia #2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the second book in C. S. Lewis’s classic fantasy series, which has been drawing readers of all ages into a magical land with unforgettable characters for over sixty years. This is a standalone read, but if you would like to explore more of the Narnian realm, pick up The Horse and His Boy, the third book in The Chronicles of Narnia.

Buy a copy of The Chronicles of Narnia #2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe here.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

The Cuthberts are in for a shock. They are expecting an orphan boy to help with the work at Green Gables – but a skinny red-haired girl turns up instead. Highly spirited Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthberts’ affection with her vivid imagination and constant chatter, and soon it’s impossible to imagine life without her. Mark Twain called Anne ‘the dearest and most moving and delightful child since the immortal Alice’.

Buy a copy of Anne of Green Gables here.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

This is the story of a little girl named Fern who loved a little pig named Wilbur and of Wilbur’s dear friend, Charlotte A. Cavatica, a beautiful large grey spider. With the unlikely help of Templeton the rat, and a wonderfully clever plan of her own, Charlotte saves the life of Wilbur, who by this time has grown up to be quite a pig. A time-honoured classic favourite.

Buy a copy of Charlotte’s Web here.

The BFG by Roald Dahl

One dark, silvery moonlit night, Sophie is snatched from her bed by a giant! Luckily it is the Big Friendly Giant (the BFG), who is no ordinary bone-crunching giant, but instead prefers snozzcumbers and frobscottle to children. But there are other giants in Giant Country. And those giants have a plan to gallop far and wide to find some tasty human beans to eat.

Buy a copy of The BFG here.