My Top 10 Underrated Children's Books

10: My Alien Classmate/Sixth Grade Alien by Bruce Coville
There isn't nearly as much children's sci-fi as there is children's fantasy. The books in this series are just fun silly stories as you probably expect, but as far as such books go, they're pretty entertaining and take a few risks. Admittedly it was made into a pretty bad children's TV show, but not that many people nowadays would recognise this book.

9: Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien I know it's been made into a film but the film has practically been forgotten and so has the book, the only people who recognised this book were my first crush's younger brother and my history teacher. It's a GREAT animal story, it's so clever, really intriguing.

8: Rita the Rescuer by Hilda Offen
It's just a really fun picture book for small children that really captures what it's like to be a small kid and then gives them an escape from reality.

7: The Stove Haunting by Bel Mooney
This book is by the author of the also underrated Kitty and Friends books (their about a girl, not a kitten), I really admire how Bel Mooney can just take her writing in a completely different direction. It's more historical fiction than horror and it's really hard-hitting and makes you think how lucky we are to live in the modern day.

6: Grandpa Chatterji

This book gives some insight to Indian culture and it's just a really pleasant story that focuses on the relationships and has a really nice ending.

5: The Zoo in the Attic by Hillary McCay

The characters in this book are really pleasant and relatable and the story has really good morals.

4: The Raven Hill Mysteries by Emily Rodda
I think Emily Rodda writes kids fighting crime better than Enid Blyton. Don't get me wrong, Enid Blyton was a really good children's author, but in Enid Blyton books, there was always one or two characters with little to no personality and didn't contribute much. These books don't have that, all the characters are immensely likeable. The book series is clever, funny and really enjoyable.

3: The Beast of Whixall Moss
This is a really strange and atmospheric children's book. It explores the relationships within the main character's family really well. The main character is flawed and well-developed and it's a great be-careful-what-you-wish-for-story with a great sense of mystery that really had me hooked.

2: The Children's Crusade by Henry Treece

As a fictional retelling of a surprisingly little-known historical event, this book has almost biblical size. It tells a great story, but at the same time there's that historical grit and realism. It shocked me, yet inspired me at the same time. The characters are well developed, the description was pretty good, as were the illustrations and even the action sequences were pretty exciting.

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1: Fanny and the Monsters by Penelope Lively
I adored this book when I was ten, and I'm being very biased here and here's why: it was the first time I fancied a girl in a book. I was obsessed with prehistoric animals at that age. I don't just mean dinosaurs, I mean ancient mammals and mammal-like reptiles, and here was a girl who was obsessed with them as well. It explores Victorian society really well, delving into the religious attitudes and the sexism of the time. This book has a great strong female character as we see so many sides to her, her passions and her interests, her selfish moments and her regrets. It's a wonderful read.

Did you agree with my list? Which children's books do you find underrated?