A new study by charity Plan UK has found the top five favourite children’s books are:
- The Famous Five series – Enid Blyton
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – CS Lewis
- Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
- Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
It’s heartwarming to see good old Enid Blyton at the top, and the wickedly funny Roald Dahl just behind. Obviously nostalgia plays a bit part in this list with adults having fond memories of their favourite authors, and it would be fascinating to revisit this study in fifty years’ time to see if JK Rowling, Susanna Collins, Jeff Kinney and other current authors survive the test of time (Harry Potter and the Philosospher’s Stone is currently at number nine).
To see how many of the top fifty children’s books you have read, you can download a special app on Facebook which has been created by Plan UK. It’s part of their new campaign to spread the word and raise money to help fund education for girls in poorer countries. Eighty million young women around the world between the ages of 15 and 24 can’t read or write and encouraging girls to stay in school will make a huge difference in their lives in terms of the choices they make about their futures. The app is really fun to use; you can tick off any of the top fifty books you have read and choose your favourite one. You then get the option to buy, for a £3 donation, a virtual book with your name on the spine to sit on the shelf in their virtual library. (It could be the nearest I get to seeing my name on a book cover!) It’s a great cause and I’m happy to spread the word.
Lou Treleaven 
Well, if WordPress allows me to comment, I have to say that I read four of the five top books as a child. Think I am too old for charlie and choc factory!
You’re never too old for Charlie! I read them all too but I would probably have put Charlie first, then TLTWATW, then Famous Five, Pooh and then Black Beauty.
Definitely `Little Women`, closely followed by `The Famous Five` and the `Secret Seven`! I loved reading Noddy stories to my children, and was dismayed when the media portrayed some of the characters as “sexual” beings! We had a list of 24 books to read in our last term before Secondary school, and names like Black Beauty, Gulliver’s Travels, Northanger Abbey, Jane Eyre etc were `must reads` but have stood me in good stead to appreciate the great authors behind such classics. Of course Dickens has really come into his own through the big screen but yes….we have been very blessed with quality scribes. Let’s hope we can do the craft justice ourselves!!
Yes, maybe one day our names will be up there!
Interesting! Growing up as a kid in the States, I enjoyed almost all the books on this list as well, especially A.A. Milne and Roald Dahl. A big favourite of mine was Shel Silverstein’s ‘The Giving Tree’. I love it to this day and read it to my kids often. (It’s never too early to teach kids to be tree-huggers!)
I’ve never heard of The Giving Tree or Shel Silverstein – must check it out.