The New York Times > Children’s Books: Notable Books of 2004 offers a list of the top nine books for children from age three through twelve and up.

The New York Times > Babes in a Grown-Up Toyland
This article starts by asking if the new interests of children in video games, TV and other electronic diversions are eroding childhood. Then interestingly, it goes on to ask if our belief in a sheltered childhood is incompatible with modern society.
At the end of the piece, a comparison is made between The Secret Garden as a book of yesterday and Harry Potter as a phenomenon of today. But there is still a place for The Secret Garden in libraries and in lives. And there are many of us, including children’s librarians, giving children sheltered childhoods and sharing books that are modern right next to old favorites. It never has to be one vs the other. They can be done side by side. Modern children in a sheltered world.