1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up is a literary reference book compiled by Julia Eccleshare, children's book editor at British newspaper The Guardian. It was published in 2009 by Universe/Rizzoli International.
Noted for listing a variety of international works, 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up features stories originally written in a multitude of languages, which includes Japanese, Slovak, Italian, Chinese, Swedish, Russian and Dutch. Among the commentaries, there are reviews from notable figures such as Wayne Mills and Lorraine Orman, as well as some by famous children's writers such as Michael Morpurgo, Judy Blume, Lois Lowry, Jamila Gavin, Philip Pullman and 25 others. These appear in a different style from the other reviews by contributors. Along with the reviews, there are short excerpts from some of the works, which appear in bold alongside the review. Each listing includes a summary with information on the author as well; each picture book title is accompanied by colourful illustrations. Some of the genres included are fantasy, adventure, history, contemporary life, and others. It appears in hardcover, with 960 pages and weighs roughly . 1001 Children's Books contains preface by children's illustrator and fiction writer Quentin Blake and introduction by editor Julia Eccleshare. There is an index of titles, arranged alphabetically, and an index by author/illustrator, arranged alphabetically by surname. Listings are organized primarily by reading level: age ranges 0âÂÂ3, 3+, 5+, 8+ and 12+.
Julie Just of The New York Times said of 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up that the reader will "be grateful to discover or revisit and many more that have been all but forgotten." Similarly, Meghan Cox Gurdon of The Wall Street Journal said that "and, happily, what the Internet taketh, by tempting children away from reading, it giveth back to parents, by making it easy for them to locate obscure books that might be otherwise be impossible to find." Roger Ebert tweeted about it, saying "with bright pictures and easy prose, this could be the first."