Shudder to Think

The American Scene (an ongoing review of politics and culture) is compiling a list of "most overrated children’s books". The Guardian, commenting on the list, invited nominations from its readers and amongst the titles received were The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis, Valley of Secrets by Charmian Hussey and Frances H. Burnett's Little Lord Fauntleroy.

My list (so far):

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Secret Garden by Frances H. Burnett

Comments

[Mantelli]

How very odd. In its way, I actually prefer The Hobbit to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, for its completeness, for its structural integrity, and for its lack of long-windedness. Most of all, I love it because Tolkien didn't tack on an appendix to that book in which he revealed that none of the characters names were what we thought they were. I remember my teen-aged disappointment and betrayal when I found that appendix as if it were yesterday.