TOP 50 ALL-TIME BESTSELLING 
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
As of January 1, 2001

This list first appeared in the December 17, 2002 issue of Publishers Weekly. The editors explain that the figures in the list cover sales from the original date of publication through the end  of 2000.
"We asked publishers to supply us with figures for hardcover books that have sold more than 750,000 copies and paperback books with sales over one million copies. The lists are based on actual sales as reported by publishers; they reflect domestic sales only, and do not include book club and international sales. Books in the public domain generally are not listed, since aggregate sales figures are not available. Some publishers were unable to supply accurate cumulative numbers, often because the originating publisher was acquired by another. Therefore, some titles had to be left off, and others are ranked according to whatever sales figures were available." Note that in several cases the publishers provided titles but no authors. The Publishers Weekly article listed 376 titles in rank order. We have listed the top 50.

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1 Janette Sebring Lowrey The Poky Little Puppy (Golden, 1942) 14,898,341
2 Beatrix Potter The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) 9,380,274
3 Gertrude Crampton Tootle (Golden, 1945) 8,560,277
4 Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and ham (Random House, 1960) 8,143,088
5 J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Scholastic/Levine, 2000) 7,913.765
6 Dorothy Kunhardt Pat the Bunny (Golden, 1940) 7,562,710
7 Kathryn & Byron Jackson Saggy Baggy Elephant (Golden, 1947) 7,476,395
8 Gertrude Crampton Scuffy the Tugboat (Golden, 1955) 7,366,073
9 Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat (Random House, 1957) 7,220,982
10 J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. (Scholastic/Levine) 6,335,585
11 J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Scholastic/Levine) 6,314,391
12 Shel Silverstein Where the Sidewalk Ends (Harper/Collins, 1975) 6,228,042
13 Dr. Seuss One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (Random House, 1960) 6,164,454
14 Shel Silverstein The Giving Tree (Harper/Collins, 1964) 5,603,187
15 Charles Tazawell The Littlest Angel (Children's Press/Ideals, 1946) 5,471,709
16 Dr. Seuss Hop on Pop (Random House, 1963) 5,420,890
17 Dr. Seuss Oh, the Places You'll Go! (Random House, 1990) 5,353,426
18 Dr. Seuss Dr. Seuss's ABC (Random House, 1960) 5,187,656
19 J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Scholastic/Levine, 1998) 5,087,304
20 Eric Carle The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Philomel, 1969) 4,849,704
21 The Children's Bible (Golden, 1965) 4,281,314
22 Shel Silverstein A Light in the Attic (Harper/Collins, 1981) 4,269,048
23 Beatrix Potter The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (Frederick Warne, 1904) 4,163,244
24 P.D. Eastman Are You My Mother? (Random House, 1960) 4,135,762
25 Marcus Pfister The Rainbow Fish (North-South, 1992) 4,082,500
26 Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (Random House, 1958) 4,043,578
27 Richard Scarry Richard Scarry's Best Word Book (Golden, 1963) 3,981,291
28 Justine Korman, ed. Disney's The Lion King (Golden, 1994) 3,900,150
29 Beatrix Potter The Tale of Jemina Puddle-Duck (Frederick Warne, 1908) 3,839,474
30 Watty Piper The Little Engine That Could (Platt & Munk, 1930) 3,757,178
31 Dr. Seuss Fox in Socks (Random House, 1965) 3,680,135
32 Margaret Wise Brown Goodnight Moon (Board Book) (Harper/Collins, 1991) 3,613,958
33 Blanche F. Wright The Real Mother Goose (Rand McNally, 1916) 3,600,000
34 P.D. Eastman Go, Dog. Go! (Random House, 1961) 3,482,666
35 Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Random House, 1964) 3,446,646
36 Beatrix Potter The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (Frederick Warne, 1907) 3,079,464
37 Beatrix Potter The Tale of Tom Kitten (Frederick Warne, 1907) 3,079,464
38 Judith Levy, ed. Macmillan Dictionary for Children (Macmillan, 1975) 3,054,401
39 A.A. Milne Winnie-the-Pooh (Dutton, 1926) 2,952,331
40 Dr. Seuss My Book About Me (by Me, Myself) (Random House, 1969) 2,923,826
41 Martin Handford Where's Waldo? (Little, Brown, 1987) 2,911,195
42 Just Imagine (Lyrick, 1992) 2,861,949
43 Martin Handford The Great Waldo Search (Little, Brown, 1989) 2,819,598
44 Chris Van Allsburg The Polar Express (Houghton Mifflin, 1985) 
45 Martin Handford Find Waldo Now (Little, Brown, 1989) 2,730,622
46 Anne Akers Johnson Cat's Cradle (Klutz, 1993) 2,609,201
47 P.D. Eastman The Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary (Random House, 1964) 2,524,642
48 Margaret Wise Brown Goodnight Moon (Harper Collins, 1947) 2,441,836
49 Walt Disney Walt Disney's Storyland (Golden, 1962) 2,400,904 
50 Carolyn Keene The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew #5) (Grosset & Dunlap, 1931) 2,347,750

 
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