Puffin marks 70 years by celebrating best ever books

Huckleberry Finn rubs shoulders with Artemis Fowl, Charlie and Lola with Fungus the Bogeyman, and Dick King Smith's Sheep-Pig with Gerald Durrell's Family and Other Animals. A reading list drawn up to celebrate 70 years of the children's publisher Puffin throws up some odd pairings, but highlights the rich heritage of the list that was founded in 1940 as a series of non-fiction picture books for children. The first fiction book published by Puffin, Worzel Gummidge, in 1941 doesn't make the cut 70 years later, but there is a good sprinkling of other classics among the 70 featured titles, which are organised in categories ranging from Best Swashbucklers and Derring-do and Best Blood and Guts to Best Weird and Wonderful and Best Weepies. Watership Down heads up the latter category while both Dracula and The Hound of the Baskervilles feature in the blood and guts section. Alice in Wonderland and Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl are also on the list. Roald Dahl is honoured with a section of his own – Best Phizzwhizzers – containing The BFG, Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox. "It's great that it flags up classic titles and reminds people that they are out there. It will also probably have a positive effect on sales for the books on the list – things like these lists always do if the publicity is wide enough," said Georgina Hanratty, manager of the Tales On Moon Lane children's bookshop in south London, which is holding a Puffin party in June where staff and customers will dress up as their favourite characters. "In terms of us as booksellers, there are unlikely to be any huge surprises but it's a lovely thing to be able to celebrate the classics again and give the backlist some space at the front of the shop rather than just focusing on the new big-hitters." Newer writers on the list include the Percy Jackson author, Rick Riordan, Young Bond creator Charlie Higson, Lauren Child, the queen of the picture book, and even former Sun editor David Yelland with his recently published novel about a father struggling with alcoholism. There is also a nod to the Edward and Bella phenomenon with a category for Best Alternatives to Twilight. "The Puffin list continues to look remarkably strong. So many of the books it promoted in the seven decades have just gone on and on. They provide a long, robust spine to children's books. And the recent acquisition of authors such as Eoin Colfer, Meg Rosoff and Charlie Higson just adds a fresh new layer. Of course, there are now lots of wonderful authors on other lists too. After all, Puffin no longer has the monopoly it once enjoyed but it is still a byword for interesting, high quality books. Nowadays, that is especially true for its edgy books for ten readers." The showcase of Puffin books is part of a year of birthday celebrations organised by the publisher. Bookshops and libraries have been given packs to host Puffin parties and a series of £3.99 "Pocket Money Puffins" have already proved very popular, creating a buzz with fans of the authors, according to Hanratty. "The categories were picked to show that there's a Puffin for everyone and to suit all tastes from those who love action and adventure to tales of family and friendship and even a vampire or two," said Francesca Dow, managing director of Puffin Books. The Puffin top 70 in full: The Best Mischief and Mayhem The Twits by Roald Dahl Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend The Best Weepies Watership Down by Richard Adams The Truth about Leo by David Yelland Two Weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman Charlotte's Web by E.B. White The Best to Cuddle-Up With The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis & Gwen Millward Peepo! by Janet and Allan Ahlberg Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd The Best Blood and Guts The Enemy by Charlie Higson Dracula by Bram Stoker Being by Kevin Brooks The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Best Swashbucklers and Derring-Do Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Captain Flinn and the Pirate Dinosaurs by Giles Andreae & Russell Ayto Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior by Chris Bradford Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green The Best Heroes Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Young Bond: SilverFin by Charlie Higson The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Best Characters Charlie and Lola: Excuse Me But That is My Book by Lauren Child Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll & Jan Pienkowski Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird & Helen Craig Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs The Best Sugar and Spice Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories by Joyce Lankester Brisley The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child & Polly Borland The Best Animals Spy Dog by Andrew Cope The Sheep-Pig by Dick King-Smith My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell Lionboy by Zizou Corder The Best Friends and Family Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy The Borrowers by Mary Norton Little Women by Louisa May Alcott The Family From One End Street by Eve Garnett Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild The Best Phizzwhizzers The BFG by Roald Dahl Matilda by Roald Dahl Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl The Best War and Conflict The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank Once by Morris Gleitzman Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian Carrie's War by Nina Bawden The Best BEST BEST BEST! Stig of the Dump by Clive King Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff Junk by Melvin Burgess The Best Fantasy and Adventure TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow Dot Robot by Jason Bradbury Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin The Best Weird and Wonderful Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Five Children and It by E Nesbitt The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie The Best Rhymes and Verse Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg Michael Rosen's A-Z The best children's poetry from Agard to Zephaniah Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah Bad Bad Cats by Roger McGough The Best Alternatives to Twilight Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead The Luxe by Anna Godbersen Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen