World Book Day – 50 Books Every Child Should Read by the age of 16
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.
With six in ten parents choosing to read stories to their children that their own parents once read to them.
Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of parents said bedtime reading is one of the most important bonding experiences with their child, with 75 per cent putting on voices to bring their children’s favourite characters to life.
You’ll find the top 50 below along with the top 20 Best-Loved Children’s Book Characters. Enjoy!
50 Books Every Child Should Read by the age of 16
1. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory- Roald Dahl
2. Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll
3. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe- C.S. Lewis
4. Winnie The Pooh- A.A.Milne
5. Black Beauty- Anna Sewell
6. James and The Giant Peach- Roald Dahl
7. The BFG-Roald Dahl
8. A Bear Called Paddington- Michael Bond
9. Treasure Island- Robert Louis Stevenson
10. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn- Mark Twain
11. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
12. Matilda- Roald Dahl
13. The Railway Children- E. Nesbit
14. Oliver Twist- Charles Dickens
15. Five on a Treasure Island- Enid Blyton
16. The Wind in the Willows- Kenneth Grahame
17. The Very Hungry Caterpillar- Eric Carle
18. The Jungle Book- Rudyard Kipling
19. Charlotte’s Web- EB White
20. The Tale of Peter Rabbit- Beatrix Potter
21. Watership Down- Richard Adams
22. The Hobbit -J.R.Tolken
23. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- J.K. Rowling
24. Lord of the Flies- William Golding
25. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged 13 ¾ Sue Townsend
26. Great Expectations- Charles Dickens
27. The Cat in the Hat- Dr Seuss
28. The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson-Burnett
29. The Diary of a Young Girl- Anne Frank
30. The Twits – Roald Dahl
31. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz- L. Frank Baum
32. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
33. Anne of Green Gables- L.M.Montgomery
34. The Tiger Who Came to Tea- Judith Kerr
35. Green Eggs and Ham-Dr Seuss
36. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
37. Bambi- Felix Selten
38. Tom’s Midnight Garden- Phillipa Pearce
39. Little House on the Prairie- Laura Ingalls Wilder
40. Funny Bones- Janet and Allan Ahlberg
41. Where The Wild Things Are- Maurice Sendak
42. Carrie’s War- Nina Bawden
43. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon
44. The Magician’s Nephew- C.S. Lewis
45. The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman
46. The Story of Doctor Dolittle- Hugh Lofting
47. The Story of Tracy Beaker – Jacqueline Wilson
48. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
49. Curious George- H.A.Ray
50. Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Top 20 Best-Loved Children’s Book Characters
1. Paddington Bear
2. Winnie the Pooh
3. The Hungry Caterpillar
4. Postman Pat
5. Thomas the Tank Engine
6. The Gruffalo
7. Harry Potter
8. Cinderella
9. Mr Men
10. Peter Rabbit
11. Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
12. Peter Pan
13. The BFG
14. Alice in Wonderland
15. Noddy
16. Willy Wonka
17. Matilda
18. Mog the Cat
19. Toad from Wind in the Willows
20. Pinocchio
*Survey conducted by Census Wide and polled 2,000 parents in February 2015
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