The nation’s favourite children’s book is…

OK, so it probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone… anywhere… but after polling over 24,000 people The Book Trust has reveled that the nation’s favourite children’s book is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

The poll was carried out as part of Children’s Book Week – which ran from October 7th – October 11th throughout Schools and Libraries all across the UK – and each voter was asked to pick which book they would encourage an under 14 year old to read from a list of over 100 titles all released over the course of the last century.

Although Harry Potter winning could have been predicted and doesn’t really tell us much, the top 10 list makes interesting reading. It really is the perfect blend of modern greats and beloved classics that could serve as an ideal reading list for parents looking to encourage their children to become enthusiastic readers:

The final top ten is as follows:

1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J K Rowling
2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
3. The BFG by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake
4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
5. Winnie-the-Pooh by A A Milne, illustrated by E H Shepherd
6. The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss
7. The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien
8. Charlotte’s Web by E B White
9. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
10. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis

In addition, as Claire Shanahan, Head of Arts, Booktrust, says: “Lists such as this are a great way of celebrating the outstanding quality of past and present authors and illustrators. Plus Christmas and the New Year is a fantastic time to get our children excited about books!”

If you’re thinking that perhaps your child is too young for the top two titles on that list, which topped the ages 9-11 and 12-14 categories, you may be interested to know that The Very Hungry Caterpillar won the 0-5 age group, and Roald Dahl’sThe BFG took the 6-8 year olds one by a considerable margin.

The Book Trust concluded their article with a thoughtful summary that: “The most popular titles show that although classic storytelling remains popular with younger children, modern franchises have had a real impact on older readers. Of the books in the top ten, nine have since been made into huge film adaptations.

So, you’ve seen what a relatively small sample of the British public felt is our nation’s best children’s book, but what about you? What do you think?

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