Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been named the nation’s favourite children’s book in our survey for the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Press.

Despite being nearly 50 years old, the Roald Dahl classic 40% of those polled felt the book had stood the test of time and was just as good now as it was when it was originally published. In fact, Dahl had a clean sweep, taking the top three places with the 1964 classic being followed by his later works The BFG and Matilda in second and third.

The most recent book of the top 15 was the first of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books, The Philosopher Stone, from 1997 down in 6th.  The majority of the books chosen were considerably older though, going back as far as The Hobbit published in 1937.  The survey found that 53% of the 2,000 parents* polled felt that books for children written 20 years ago or more were typically better than those written today. 65% also claim to read books to their children that they fondly remember from their own childhood.

The survey was commissioned by CILIP to mark the 80th anniversary of the Carnegie Medal and the 60th anniversary of the Kate Greenaway Medal which are awarded to outstanding books written for Children.

The survey achieved widespread media coverage landing in The Guardian and The Metro, as well as securing digital coverage on the Metro, Hello Magazine, The Bookseller and more!

The Top 15 Children’s Books

  1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (now published by Puffin) by Roald Dahl (1964)
  2. The BFG (Puffin)  by Roald Dahl (1982)
  3. Matilda (Puffin) by Roald Dahl (1988)
  4. A Bear called Paddington (HarperCollins Children’s Books) by Michael Bond (1958)
  5. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Puffin) (1969)
  6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Bloomsbury) (1997)
  7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (HarperCollins Children’s Books) by C.S. Lewis (1950)
  8. Charlotte’s Web (Puffin) by E.B. White (1952)
  9. The Cat in the Hat (HarperCollins Children’s Books) by Dr. Seuss (1957)
  10. The Hobbit (HarperCollins Children’s Books) by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
  11. Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell (Macmillan Children’s Books) (1982)
  12. The Tiger Who Came to Tea (HarperCollins Children’s Books) by Judith Kerr (1968)
  13. The Snowman (Puffin) by Raymond Briggs (1978)
  14. The Borrowers (Puffin) by Mary Norton (1952)
  15. Father Christmas (Puffin) by Raymond Briggs (1973)

*Survey of 2,000 parents of children aged 1-12