Best-Selling Children’s Books of the 20th Century

This content has been archived. It may no longer be accurate or relevant.

From InfoPlease:

1. The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince), Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943) 140 Million
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J. K. Rowling (1997) 120 Million
3. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll (1865) 100 Million
4. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis (1950) 85 Million
5. The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi (1881) 80 Million
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J. K. Rowling (1998) 77 Million
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J. K. Rowling (1999) >60 Million
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling (2000) >60 Million
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J. K. Rowling (2003) >60 Million
10. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling (2005) >60 Million
11. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J. K. Rowling (2007) >60 Million
12. Heidi, Johanna Spyri (1880) ~50 Million
13. Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery (1908) ~50 Million
14. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell (1877) ~50 Million
15. Charlotte’s Web, E. B. White (1971) ~50 Million
16. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter (1902) 45 Million
17. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle (1969) 43 Million
18. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame (1908) ~25 Million
19. Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak (1963) ~20 Million
20. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl (1964) ~20 Million

Link to the rest at InfoPlease

PG notes that various compilers of best-selling book lists don’t always use the same sources, metrics (number of copies sold vs. number of dollars, euros, etc., earned) or ranking process.