LONDON, 2015-3-4 — /EPR Retail News/ — To celebrate World Book Day, Sainsbury’s has published a list of 50 books which every child should read by the age of 16, with Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory taking top spot!
The magical story about Charlie Bucket’s golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory proves to be the most loved for children, with Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland finishing runner up.
The study of 2,000 reading enthusiasts was created to determine the ultimate list of the top 50 books that should be on every child’s reading list, encouraging bedtime reading for British families.
The list covers a range of traditional classics and more modern tales – The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter adventures also featured. C.S. Lewis’ adventures in Narnia are no less thrilling today – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe finished third in the list of 50 books, while Winnie the Pooh and Black Beauty rounded off the top five.
10 books which every child should read by the age of 16Click to Tweet
- Charlie and The Chocolate Factory- Roald Dahl
- Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- C.S. Lewis
- Winnie The Pooh- A.A.Milne
- Black Beauty- Anna Sewell
- James and The Giant Peach- Roald Dahl
- The BFG-Roald Dahl
- A Bear Called Paddington- Michael Bond
- Treasure Island- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
Mavis Sarfo, from Sainsbury’s Book Team, said: “The 50 books show a much-cherished collection of some of the finest children’s writing that has delighted readers and transported them to other worlds for generations.
“It’s fantastic to see that so many parents get involved in reading bedtime stories by putting on character voices and wearing costumes to bring characters to life. Encouraging children to role play through dress up and becoming ‘The Gruffalo’ or ‘Elsa from Frozen’ is crucial in developing imaginations from an early age and a love of reading.
“Encouraging role play by dressing up as favourite book characters further fuels this and Sainsbury’s has a great selection of children’s costumes and books to celebrate World Book Day – we look forward to welcoming book lovers of all ages in our stores.”
Tony Robinson, actor, comedian and author, who worked with Sainsbury’s on the campaign, added: “The response from parents and the lengths they go to in bringing these stories to their children as vividly as possible is amazing.
“It shows that the power of make believe is so important in the development of a child and a key role in parents bonding with their young ones.”
To celebrate the nation’s week of reading, Sainsbury’s is encouraging children to read more by exploring the world of books and dress up as their favourite fictional characters.
From Monday 2 March, Sainsbury’s will be hosting in-store ‘Make Believe’ events nationwide, to support the nation’s reading week complete with reading corners and activities to encourage children to read more and inspire parents to get involved.
The 50 books every child should read by age 16Click to Tweet
- Charlie and The Chocolate Factory- Roald Dahl
- Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- C.S. Lewis
- Winnie The Pooh- A.A.Milne
- Black Beauty- Anna Sewell
- James and The Giant Peach- Roald Dahl
- The BFG-Roald Dahl
- A Bear Called Paddington- Michael Bond
- Treasure Island- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
- Matilda- Roald Dahl
- The Railway Children- E. Nesbit
- Oliver Twist- Charles Dickens
- Five on a Treasure Island- Enid Blyton
- The Wind in the Willows- Kenneth Grahame
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar- Eric Carle
- The Jungle Book- Rudyard Kipling
- Charlotte’s Web- EB White
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit- Beatrix Potter
- Watership Down- Richard Adams
- The Hobbit -J.R.Tolken
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- J.K. Rowling
- Lord of the Flies- William Golding
- The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 ¾ Sue Townsend
- Great Expectations- Charles Dickens
- The Cat in the Hat- Dr Seuss
- The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson-Burnett
- The Diary of a Young Girl- Anne Frank
- The Twits – Roald Dahl
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- L. Frank Baum
- The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
- Anne of Green Gables- L.M.Montgomery
- The Tiger Who Came to Tea- Judith Kerr
- Green Eggs and Ham-Dr Seuss
- The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
- Bambi- Felix Selten
- Tom’s Midnight Garden- Phillipa Pearce
- Little House on the Prairie- Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Funny Bones- Janet and Allan Ahlberg
- Where The Wild Things Are- Maurice Sendak
- Carrie’s War- Nina Bawden
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
- The Magician’s Nephew- C.S. Lewis
- The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman
- The Story of Doctor Dolittle- Hugh Lofting
- The Story of Tracy Beaker – Jacqueline Wilson
- The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
- Curious George- H.A.Ray
- Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
The top 20 best-loved children’s book charactersClick to Tweet
- Paddington Bear
- Winnie the Pooh
- The Hungry Caterpillar
- Postman Pat
- Thomas the Tank Engine
- The Gruffalo
- Harry Potter
- Cinderella
- Mr Men
- Peter Rabbit
- Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Peter Pan
- The BFG
- Alice in Wonderland
- Noddy
- Willy Wonka
- Matilda
- Mog the Cat
- Toad from Wind in the Willows
- Pinocchio
Survey conducted by Census Wide and polled 2,000 parents in February 2015
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