Let’s start with the list of “the children’s top 100 books” for the early years and it’s as follows:
– The Twits, by Roald Dahl. Mr and Mrs Twit pass the time playing nasty tricks on one another.
– Burglar Bill, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. When Bill accidentally burglarises a baby, it turns out to be a blessing in a stolen basket.
– The tiger who came to tea, by Judith Kerr. The story of a tiger that eats its hosts’ food.
– Where the wild things are, by Maurice Sendack. When Max engages in mischief, he is sent to bed without supper.
– The tale of Samuel Whiskers, by Beatrix Potter. Tom Kitten learnt nothing from his parents about the consequences of curiosity.
– Yertle the Turtle, by Dr Seuss. Yertle commands all the turtles to stack themselves up so he can be top of the heap.
– Fungus the Bogeyman, by Raimond Briggs.
– The story of the little mole who knew it was none of his business, by Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch.
– Room on my broom, by Julia Donaldson. Children chant along as a witch and her animal friends see off a dragon in search of “witch and chips”
– The very hungry caterpillar, by Eric Carle. Its pages drilled with holes as the caterpillar eats his way through the week.
– The cat in the hat, by Dr. Seuss. The cat’s a big show-off, but he knows how to have fun.
– Charlotte‘s web, by EB White . The friendship between a lonely pig and a spider.
– The story of Babar, by Jean de Brunhoff.
– Winnie-the-Pooh, by AA Milne.
(The Daily Telegraph, 19.01.08)
On the other hand, these next ones were chosen by Brewster and Ellis and you can find teaching ideas in their book “Tell it again. The new storytelling handbook for primary teachers”:
– Brown bear, brown bear what do you see? by Bill Martin Jr.
– The kangaroo from Wolloomooloo, by Joy Cowley.
– My cat likes to hide in boxes, by Eve Sutton.
– Mr McGee, by Pamela Allen.
– The very hungry caterpillar, by Eric Carle.
– Megg’s eggs, by Helen Nicoll.
– The clever tortoise.
– The elephant and the bad baby, by Elfrida Vipont.
– Something else, by Kathryn Cave.
– Funnybones, by Janet & Allan Ahlberg.
– Princess smartypants, by Babette Cole.
– Jim and the Beanstalk, by Raymond Briggs.
Now for a more personalized list taking into account advice from my native friends:
– Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? by Bill Martin Jr.
– The very hungry caterpillar, by Eric Carle.
– Green eggs and ham, by Dr. Seuss.
– Chicka chicka boom boom, by Bill Martin Jr.
– Click, clack, moo: cows that type, by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin.
– The Gruffalo, by Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
Now it’s time to start examining them to see if they can be useful in an ESL class and in which level they would be appropiate for.
Ken and Karen 
