I’m not sure The Once & Future King or Treasure Island were considered children’s books when they were published. Maybe that is why. I happen to prefer Stuart Little over Charlotte’s Web myself.
I’ve read 91 of the 99 books on the list http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/07/07/top-100-chapter-book-poll-results/#_ The ones I haven’t read are all more recent. I read everything my kids read and a bit more because I was running RIF (Reading is Fundamental) for a few years. Youngest graduated from elementary school in 2002.
I didn’t like Stuart Little as a kid at all. It was too weird. My favorite Zylpha Keatley Snyder was the Under the Root trilogy. The moral lesson was a bit obvious in retrospect, but the first time I’d ever seen that particular twist put out there.
We still love curious George. And though you can’t “read” it, Harold and the Purple Crayon.
Regarding Scholastic books, when my DS2 was in maybe 2nd grade near the height of the Harry Potter craze, a little boy in his class won a Scholastic Books contest and a trip to England to meet JK Rowling and attend the book release for her latest Harry Potter book. Readers were asked to submit an essay about what they would do if they had Harry Potter’s powers. He wrote that he would create an autism cure potion- his youngest sister was autistic and the family was going though a lot at that time. He was an extremely bright, articulate boy and was on the spectrum himself as was his father and one half sister. It was a really big deal- there were 4 winners from around the US.
Not surprised that the E. Nesbit books didn’t make the list as they were written over 100 years ago and not sure they were always widely available. My kids were not that interested in them.
Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Black Arrow, with their tween-boy protagonists, were always books for boys to read. They were originally published in “Young Folks” magazine. Once and Future King is another story – that was probably not originally aimed at the youth market, at least not until popularized by Disney, Lerner & Lowe.
I always thought the 1st half of Once & Future King is amazing, and always felt let down by the 2nd half. I reread as an adult to see if it felt different then. It didn’t…
Every now and then while perusing the soup section of a menu, DH and I find ourselves chanting “sipping once, sipping twice, sipping chicken soup with rice”.
One of my favorite picture books from DS’s childhood was The Day the Goose got Loose. I love the pictures and it’s one of his few books I packed and moved.
@Marilyn, your post brought back a great memory of singing the chicken soup song with my kids and acting out their birthday months . . .
“In June I saw a charming group
Of roses all begin to droop.
I pepped them up with chicken soup.
Sprinkle once, sprinkle twice,
Sprinkle chicken soup with rice!”
OMG - I completely forgot about Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book!” One of my all-time favorites! I guess I didn’t think of it originally because I read it as an adult, not a child, but I loved it. I’d definitely read it again.
@intparent --“I always thought the 1st half of Once & Future King is amazing, and always felt let down by the 2nd half. I reread as an adult to see if it felt different then. It didn’t…”
Read " Le Morte d’Arthur" which are the original stories by Sir Thomas Malory. When “Once and Future King” came out I tried to read it but disliked it and gave up. But I really liked the King Arthur stories so I went back to the original. Not a hard read at all once you get used to the language. And you can get it free from Gutenberg project.
When I read it I found a large illustrated version from the library and it was absolutely wonderful.
I have read them. Also MANY other fictional Arthurian versions (there are many to choose from!). It is one of my favorite stories, so I find something to like in most variations. 
“Hatchet” is on the 100-best list but I like Gary Paulsen’s “My Life in Dog Years” even more.
There’s a huge body of Arthurian stories in French 300 years before Malory. Malory brought them into English and compiled them into a single, almost consistent narrative. It’s a great work of art and of imagination, but hardly “the” original.
After watching movie version of “The Four Musketeers” back in the seventies I read all the books. Started with “The Three Musketeers” plus “Man in the Iron Mask” and anything related. Loved it all.
That’s when I started researching a bit about “classic” books and realized those were the “best sellers” of their day. That was a whole new spin on what was being required in class. Not so boring then…
Well, there are classic books and classic books. Dumas (like, say, Dickens in English) was immensely popular. So much so that, while he plotted his books quite carefully, he maintained a significant staff to do the actual writing to meet the constant demand for new “episodes.” Not unlike a show-runner on a popular TV series today.
Children’s books I’ll pick up and re-read to myself:
The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley
A Ring of Endless Light - Madeleine L’Engle
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Harry Potter - reading and re-reading for a decade.
The Dark Is Rising - perfect Christmas time read, the sense of impending evil in an English village so well done.
Over Sea Under Stone - a favorite summer-time read. Exploring the sea captain’s house on a rainy day and finding a secret passageway and then a map–classic. I love Greenwitch too (wild magic, Jane’s simple kindness). Would love to go to Mevagissey, the village in Cornwall which Trewissick is based on.
Books mentioned in this thread that I also loved as a kid and read to my kids:
Anne of Green Gables - we went to PEI-great trip!
From the Mixed up Files - great before heading to the Met.
The Egypt Game - sparked an interest in ancient Egypt which kids share and led to more trips to the Met.
The Great Brain - my husband discovered the author wrote an autobiographical book called Poppa Married a Mormon.
Half-Magic and all Edward Eager–whoever asked, my kids loved them. We read aloud at about age 7.
The Penderwicks - but my tenderhearted D21 sobbed through the 4th and won’t read the 5th.
Miss Twiggley’s Tree - loved this for children who march to a different drummer, thanks, @CMB625!
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - belly laughs every year.
The Secret Garden
Books I don’t think were mentioned yet, which have been deeply loved by three generations of my family:
The Wheel on the School - Meindert DeJong
The Mad Scientists’ Club – Bertrand R. Brinley (took this to sleep away camp and read it every night)
The Sign of the Beaver – Elizabeth George Speare
The View from Saturday – E.L. Konigsburg
The Sherwood Ring - Elizabeth Marie Pope
The Westing Game - Ellen Raskin
Danny the Champion of the World - Roald Dahl
Two books by Betty Smith that I read over and over again were Maggie Now and Tomorrow Will be Better. I don’t think they are nearly as well known as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Joy in the Morning.
I’ve been trying and trying to remember the name of the first historical romance I read (many many times). The author’s name just popped into my head, so I looked it up. Knight’s Honor by Roberta Gellis. I think I was in junior high at the time. I remember finding and buying a copy of it as an adult, I just wish I could remember what I did with it.
The Hound of Ulster