Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten All-Time Favourite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten All-Time Favourite Authors.  Actually, I think this topic will be easier than if I had to pick my favourite authors from, say, the past five years.  Because here I can include some of the authors of my favourite children's books... and I have such fond memories of some of those.

Top Ten All-Time Favourite Authors:

1. Beverly Cleary - Of course she wrote all those super-fun Ramona books, but she also wrote a number of other titles about different characters (including some animals).  I read quite a few of those, too, and enjoyed many of them when I was a child.
2. Roald Dahl - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory may be one of his most famous books, but I actually liked some of his funnier titles such as The Twits, The Witches, and Matilda more.  His two autobiographical books are also amazingly entertaining (they read almost like fiction... and you can see where he got ideas for some of his more outlandish characters).
3. Charles de Lint - While a few of the middle grade and young adult titles I've read recently by this author haven't impressed me, I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of quite a few of his books for adults.  Jack of Kinrowan, Trader, and Yarrow are all quite good and introduced me to the urban fantasy genre long before it became as mainstream and popular as it is today.
4. Diana Wynne Jones - I've only read a couple of her books that I didn't really, really enjoy.  Some of my favourite titles are Howl's Moving Castle, Fire & Hemlock, and Deep Secret.
5. Gail Carson Levine - I've read five books by this author so far, and I've liked all of them.  The Two Princesses of Bamarre is my favourite, though; I like it even better than the more well-known Ella Enchanted.
6. A. A. Milne - I've read four of this author's books, and I hope that lots of other people have as well.  After all, they are classics.  Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner are both full of charming stories about the animals that live in the Hundred Acre Wood.  When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six are books of unforgettable poems.  I was read the books when I was little, and I re-read them myself as an adult... and I still love them.
7. Lauren Oliver - I've read two books by this author, and I can't wait to read more.  I know I can rely on her for really strong writing, which is something that can be difficult to find.  Before I Fall is one of my all-time favourite young adult titles.
8. Beatrix Potter - I didn't own very many of this author's little books when I was a kid, but they came home from the library with me on a regular basis.  I probably read most of them (or had them read to me) at one time or another.  All those cute little animals with their funny names and old-fashioned clothes...  What's not to love?  My favourites were probably about the family of rabbits.
9. Mary Rayner - Have you ever heard of The Pig Family series?  Unfortunately, many people haven't because these books never seem to be in print for long.  But they are so funny.  There are ten piglets in the family, and it's fun to try to remember all of their names: Sorrel and Bryony and Hilary and Sarah and Cindy and Toby and Alan and William and Benjamin and Garth.  Whew!  Their stories combine hilarious situations with good messages for kids.  Garth Pig and the Icecream Lady (where Garth gets himself kidnapped by a wolf) and Mrs. Pig's Bulk Buy (where the piglets want copious amounts of ketchup on everything) are a couple of my favourites.
10. Laura Whitcomb - Like Lauren Oliver, this author is one of those whose writing is so amazing, you'd want to read their retelling of the phone book.  A Certain Slant of Light is one of my favourite ghost stories.

Who are your all-time favourite authors?