The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been chosen by readers as Australia’s favourite children’s book in the Better Reading’s 2026 Top 50 Kids’ Books vote.
The Better Reading Top 50 Kids’ list brings readers together to celebrate their favourite stories and shines a light on the books inspiring children across Australia.
Twenty PRH titles featured in this year’s list, with Where is the Green Sheep? and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy joining The Very Hungry Caterpillar in the top three.
We are so proud that the list includes some of our recent much-loved local favourites, including Li Chen's Detective Beans and the Map of Mystery, Tanya Hennessy's Sunny and Storm, Jacqueline Harvey’s Girl and the Ghost and Bluey: Keepy Uppy.
From much-loved picture books and childhood classics to big adventures, laugh-out-loud favourites and page-turning YA, it’s wonderful to see so many stories continuing to capture readers’ hearts.
Better Reading encourages readers to use the Top 50 as an annual reading challenge, working their way through the list at home, with friends, in libraries and school classrooms, sharing their progress on social media using #BRTop50Kids.
A huge thank you to everyone who voted and to the authors, illustrators and creators behind these brilliant books.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle
No. 1
This much-loved classic picture book follows the caterpillar's week while he eats through a range of foods in preparation for his hibernation and subsequent appearance as a beautiful butterfly. With its die-cut pages and holes to explore, this is a richly satisfying book for children. The cuddly caterpillar toy can be pushed through the giant holes as children follow this simple, hopeful story.
Where is The Green Sheep? Mem Fox, Judy Horacek
No. 2
Here is the blue sheep, and here is the red sheep. Here is the bath sheep, and here is the bed sheep. But where is the green sheep?
Mem has never owned a sheep, let alone a green one, but she does admit to having woolly thoughts from time to time. Judy loves drawing things, especially sheep. This is her first flock.
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy Lynley Dodd
No. 3
Hairy Maclary is off for a walk in town, and on the way he's joined by many furry friends of all shops and sizes, from Bottomley Potts (covered in spots) to Schnitzel von Krumm (with a very low tum). But when they suddenly find themselves face-to-face with Scarface Claw - the toughest Tom in town - it's time to run all the way back home!
Charlotte's Web E. B. White
No. 12
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.
Kissed by the Moon Alison Lester
No. 14
May you, my baby, sleep softly at night, and when dawn lights the world, may you wake up to birdsong.
Part poem, part lullaby, this gentle story celebrates a baby's wonder at our beautiful world.
Perfect for bedtime or relaxation, this whimsical picture book takes children on a peaceful and magical journey.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake
No. 15
Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Gold Ticket from Mr Willy Wonka! Tremendous things are in store for you!
Charlie Bucket's life is about to change forever, thanks to one miraculous moment!
Willy Wonka, chocolate maker extraordinaire, has hidden five golden tickets in five ordinary bars of chocolate, and any child who finds one will get the chance to visit his incredible factory.
With a chocolate river, delectable confectionery and mysterious Oompa Loompas, Mr Wonka's factory is the most wondrous place Charlie has ever seen.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes Mem Fox, Helen Oxenbury
No. 16
As everyone knows, nothing is sweeter than tiny baby fingers and chubby baby toes . . .
From two of the most gifted picture book creators of our time, here is a celebration of babies and the joy they bring to everyone, everywhere, all over the world!
Matilda Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake
No. 17
These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: you are not alone.
Matilda is a brilliant child with a magical mind.
Her parents have decided she is a waste of space. And her headmistress Miss Trunchball is a terrible bully, who thinks children are rotten and awful and should be locked up.
But it's time for Matilda to find the power to change her story, and show them just how extraordinary children can be . . .
Detective Beans and the Map of Mystery Li Chen
No. 20
Your favourite kitten detective is back with a new mystery to solve . . . and treasure to find!
When Captain Scuttlebeard gives Beans a treasure map, Beans is determined to find the prize at the end. The clues take him all over Cat Town – to places he doesn’t expect! With Biscuits by his side, and with help from some other familiar faces, can Beans find the treasure . . . and get home in time to clean up his room?
Where The Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak
No. 23
One night Max puts on his wolf suit and makes mischief of one kind and another, so his mother calls him 'Wild Thing' and sends him to bed without his supper.
That night a forest begins to grow in Max's room and an ocean rushes by with a boat to take Max to the place where the wild things are. Max tames the wild things and crowns himself as their king, and then the wild rumpus begins.
But when Max has sent the monsters to bed, and everything is quiet, he starts to feel lonely and realises it is time to sail home to the place where someone loves him best of all.
Are We There Yet? Alison Lester
No. 29
A warm, heartfelt story based on an actual journey undertaken by the much-loved, award-winning author and illustrator, Alison Lester.
Join Grace and her family on their adventurous and sometimes funny expedition. This delightful picture book takes young readers on a journey across Australia, as a family explores the outback, the bush, and the coast. Along the way, kids will learn about the geography, culture, and people of our fascinating country, all through the eyes of a lovable family.
The BFG Roald Dahl
No. 30
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.
Can Sophie and the BFG stop them?
Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1 Jeff Kinney
No. 32
The first book in the phenomenally successful series Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney.
Being a kid can really stink. And no one knows this better than Greg Heffley, who finds himself thrust into high school where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving.
Luckily Greg has his best friend and sidekick, Rowley. But when Rowley's popularity starts to rise, it kicks off a chain of events that will test their friendship in hilarious fashion.
Bluey: Keepy Uppy Bluey
No. 33
Bluey and Bingo are playing Keepy Uppy – but when Dad joins in, can they keep the balloon in the air?
Join Bluey and Bingo for a fun game of Keepy Uppy!But when Dad joins in, he makes the game way too hard!Can they keep the balloon in the air?
The Girl and the Ghost Jacqueline Harvey
No. 37
When almost-thirteen-year-old Josephine Eloise Thomas moves from Sydney to a chateau in the southwest of France, she expects many things – adventures, inspiration for the stories she loves to write and maybe finding out more about her French mother, who tragically died when she was a toddler. What she doesn’t expect is to find a beautiful gold locket with the ghost of Louis XVII trapped inside!
After being accidentally released into the twenty-first century, the young prince proves to be annoying, strange and obviously from another time. He also believes that Josephine is not who she says she is.
Then, there’s Gabriel. The grandson of the local baker – French, beautiful, an artist and definitely not a ghost.
When Josephine and Gabriel venture to the shadowy Chateau Du Lac next door to her home, the secrets become more sinister. With Louis’s help, can Josephine and Gabriel discover what her neighbours are really up to and solve the mystery of Louis and the locket too?
The Inheritance Games Jennifer Lynn Barnes
No. 38
She came from nothing.Avery has a plan: keep her head down, work hard for a better future. Then an eccentric billionaire dies, leaving her almost his entire fortune. And no one, least of all Avery, knows why.
They had everything.Now she must move into the mansion she's inherited. It's filled with secrets and codes, and the old man's surviving relatives - a family hell-bent on discovering why Avery got 'their' money.
Now there's only one rule: winner takes all.Soon she is caught in a deadly game that everyone in this strange family is playing.But just how far will they go to keep their fortune?
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (Book 1) Rick Riordan
No. 40
Look, I never asked to be the son of a Greek god. I was just a normal kid. . . until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher.
Percy Jackson is having a bad week. His life has gone from totally normal to monsters-from-Greek-mythology-randomly-appearing kind of strange. Worse still, the king of the gods thinks Percy has stolen his all-powerful lightning bolt - and it seems making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.
Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to catch the true lightning thief and stop all-out war from erupting on Mount Olympus. . .
What could possibly go wrong?
Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery
No. 47
Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are expecting a strong boy to arrive any day now to help them plough through the work at Green Gables, but to their surprise, a spindly red-haired girl knocks on their door instead.
'Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it. . .yet.'
Anne charms her way into the Cuthberts' hearts with her big imagination and never ending chatter. But it's not long before Anne has talked herself into BIG trouble. . .
Sunny and Storm Tanya Hennessy, Rachael McLean
No. 48
A fun, funny illustrated adventure written by comedian, bestselling author and social media sensation, Tanya Hennessy.
Best friends Sunny and Storm are besticles with a wondermonious talent for creating new words. But now they’re also prime suspects in a crime they didn’t commit. Armed with their diary, their secret language and some very tasty cupcakes, they’ll have to become the best detectives in town to put things right.
Join them as they sidestep icktastic cowpats and dodge biggity trouble to investigate . . . and maybe, just maybe, clear their names!
This book will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will even make you wobblebobble!
Eleanor Jones is Not a Murderer Amy Doak
No. 49
Eleanor Jones has just started at her ninth high school in less than five years. Since she and her mum are always moving on, Eleanor likes to stay on the outer, to stay invisible. So maybe it’s just bad luck that the very first person she talks to at Cooinda Secondary College, Angus Marshall, is stabbed and left for dead the same day. The last message on Angus’s phone is from Eleanor Jones.
After being interviewed by the police, Eleanor realises they don’t have all the facts and decides to investigate. In trying to understand what happened to Angus, Eleanor inadvertently becomes involved with an eclectic group of fellow students – all of whom have their own reasons to want to solve the mystery.
As they slowly unravel Angus’s secrets, Eleanor discovers the true meaning of friendship – and uncovers a danger lurking at the heart of the town . . .
More than a third of the books featured in ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books of All Time are published by Penguin Random House Australia.
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