Top kids’ books chosen by parents

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Published on Monday, 03 February 2014 14:14

Last Updated on 03 February 2014

Monica Costa

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Roald Dahl’s classic book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has been crowned the UK’s favourite story.

The tale of Charlie Bucket’s magical tour around Willy Wonka’s awe-inspiring chocolate factory has just the right mix of humour, characters, rhyme, intrigue and morality for British families, who have named it their favourite in a poll conducted by Venture Photography for National Storytelling Week (1-8 February 2014).

I am not surprised at all to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the top of people’s choice. It is a great story and so incredibly ingenious that has universal appeal. In 2014 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory celebrates its 50th anniversary and is at the epicentre of marketing and promotional activities for Roald Dahl’s literary estate, publishers and other partners throughout the year. I will certainly make the most of it and I will also cover all sorts of Roald Dahl special events and publications.

At the end of the day Roald Dahl is the world’s number one storyteller. Here are some interesting facts:

total worldwide book sales are in the region of 10 million a year

the three official Roald Dahl Facebook pages collectively have 700,000 likes which are rising on a daily basis

the West-End Sam Mendes stage adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is always sold out – check our show review.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has sold over 20 million copies in over 50 languages.

Other Classic family favourites such as The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the Winnie the Pooh series and Alice in Wonderland all make an appearance in the top 10.

In celebration the top 10 favourite stories, Venture Photography has recreated famous scenes from the books, using 10 babies as models. These babies are incredibly cute! Who is your favourite?

The survey asked 2,000 parents what their favourite classic story is. The most popular choices were:

· Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; Roald Dahl (31 per cent)

· The Harry Potter series; J K Rowling (24 per cent)

· The Winnie the Pooh series; A A Milne (12 per cent)

· The Cat in the Hat; Dr Seuss (10 per cent)

· Peter Pan; J M Barrie (7 per cent)

· The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; C S Lewis (5 per cent)

· Alice in Wonderland; Lewis Carroll (4 per cent)

· The Frog Prince; Brothers Grimm (3 per cent)

· The Wizard of Oz; L Frank Baum (2 per cent)

· The Borrowers; Mary Norton (2 per cent)

What’s your favourite kids’ book of all time?