Specialists in the field of children's literature, who publish research and decide on awards for individual books, should give serious study to what children themselves choose to read. Among the children's books that were not originally awarded top honors by critics but that have proved extremely popular with children are the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White, and the Henry Huggins Books written by Beverly Cleary. Donald J. Sobol's books about Encyclopedia Brown, a boy detective, are bestsellers that have also received acceptance by critics; one of the world's all-time bestsellers is the series about Tintin, also a boy detective, that was created by the Belgian cartoonist Herge (Georges Remi). Childhood's heroes are important, and no study of children's literature is adequate that focuses on the prestigious to the exclusion of the popular. (GW)