Two interesting surveys this week, one relating to children’s top reading choices and parents’ views, the other to teachers’ favourite books.
In a survey for International Children’s Book Day, Harry Potter came first in the children’s vote for the best ever fictional character. It was a close run between him and the Gruffalo: 38% of the votes went to Harry Potter, 34% to Julia Donaldson’s wonderful creation. The Cat in the Hat was not far behind, with 28%. Best ever children’s author in the children’s view was Roald Dahl. He got half the votes, while J K Rowling got 30%. Surprisingly, Beatrix Potter came third, with 20%. Parents also put Dahl first, with Enid Blyton in second place and Rowling third. They too voted for Harry Potter as the best character, followed by the Famous Five (I’m not sure how five individuals count as one best character), then the BFG. Another interesting finding related to e-readers. 29% of parents said their children owned them, but 88% still read printed books.
Today, the TES has published a survey of 500 primary and secondary teachers’ top 100 reads. Their choices feature plenty of staples of the English curriculum, including lots of children’s books. It’s hard to avoid the question, and indeed Adi Bloom’s commentary explores it: are these the books teachers really read, or the ones they think should be read? This is the top 25:
- Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
- To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
- Harry Potter (series) J K Rowling
- Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte
- Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
- Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
- The Lord of the Rings (series) J R R Tolkien
- The Book Thief Markus Zusak
- The Hobbit J R R Tolkien
- The Great Gatsby F Scott Fitzgerald
- The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
- The Hunger Games (series) Suzanne Collins
- The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger
- The Chronicles of Narnia (series) C S Lewis
- Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
- Birdsong Sebastian Faulks
- His Dark Materials (series) Philip Pullman
- The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
- The Catcher in the Rye J D Salinger
- Life of Pi Yann Martel
- Tess of the Durbervilles Thomas Hardy
- Rebecca Daphne du Maurier
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon
- Lord of the Flies William Golding
- Matilda Roald Dahl
