Nicholas Kristol has posted his list of the best kids books in Sunday's Times here. But he's also opened up his blog to comments – which is to say, 1600 other folks' lists of the best kids books ever (so far). There is a mountain of great reading here. Of course, the quantity is so high that it now constitutes informational overload. But what's the worst thing that happens? You spend $500 on Amazon and you and your kids have the best reading summer ever!
On a vaguely related noted, I highly, and I mean highly, recommend that everyone - regardless of age - considers listening to the Harry Potter books on audio CD. The reader, Jim Dale, is extraordinary. If you're a long car commuter who's ready to switch off NPR or music for a while, pony up the money and give them a try. And if you're a non-parent who thinks Harry Potter is just for kids, think again. The books, particularly as imagined by Dale, are delicious stories for any age.
In Britain, Stephen Fry narrates them and is arguably ever better.
growing up, i had a taped version of the Wind in the Willows. I listened to it for years, when ever we were ill, we got the tapes. As I got older, I could follow along with the book. I listened to those tapes till I was a teenager. I wish I knew who read them, because I can hear the voice whenever I pick the books up now, every "plop"; "canary yellow"; "buttered toast". The sounds are as much a part of my experience of the book as the words.