Potter pips Pooh to the post in poll of children’s 10 favourite characters

Amazon recruits mummy blogger to help parents and their kids dress up as their favourite character to celebrate World Book Day on 2 March

LONDON – 27th February 2017  – A new poll ahead of World Book Day coming up on 2 March, has revealed Harry Potter as the nation’s favourite children’s book character, coming ahead of classic characters like Winnie the Pooh and The Big Friendly Giant in a survey of 2,000 children and their parents.

Other characters making the top 10 include Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo, Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracey Beaker and Roald Dahl’s Charlie Bucket. The survey by Amazon UK found that 56 per cent of parents read to their children every night and children spend an average of 27 minutes a day reading on their own.  Over one in three children (42%) said they even preferred reading on their own to reading with parents.

British Children’s Top 10 Favourite Book Characters

  1. Harry Potter (Harry Potter Series, JK Rowling)
  2. The Gruffalo (The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson)
  3. Matilda (Matilda, Roald Dahl)
  4. The BFG (The BFG, Roald Dahl)
  5. Winnie The Pooh (Winnie The Pooh, A.A. Milne)
  6. Tracey Beaker (Tracey Beaker Series, Jaqueline Wilson)
  7. Paddington Bear (Paddington Bear, Michael Bond)
  8. Charlie Bucket (Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl)
  9. Peter Rabbit (Peter Rabbit Series, Beatrix Potter)
  10. Alice In Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)

Over half of parents (55%) said they have introduced their children to the same books they read when they were young, such as novels by Enid Blyton, while The Very Hungry Caterpillar was revealed to be the first book most children read on their own.

The survey also revealed that despite his first book being published in 1943, Roald Dahl is still the nation’s favourite children’s author, ahead of Julia Donaldson and David Walliams.  Dahl’s popularity also comes through in the top 10 children’s book characters with Matilda, the BFG and Charlie Bucket all featuring.

The survey also found that there is no substitute for a good read, with 1 in 3 children saying they prefer to imagine their favourite character rather than see them in film or TV. Over a quarter of parents (27%) said that their children spend more time reading than they do watching television.

To help children bring the characters  to life and dress up on World Book Day on Thursday 2nd March, Amazon UK has teamed up with blogger Toby&Roo to show parents and their kids how to ‘get the look’ for the top 10 children’s book characters using everyday household materials.

Harriet Shearsmith, founder of Toby&Roo and mum commented: “World Book Day is celebrated in schools across the country every year but there is always pressure on the parents to make great costumes for their children. I hope my fun and easy suggestions will give mums and dads inspiration to create head-turning character costumes on a budget that can help kids immerse themselves in the joy of reading.”

“I liked dressing up as Harry Potter the best,” said Reuben, Hannah’s five year old son who got to try on the costumes. “It was fun helping my mummy make my glasses and doing lots of magic with my wand. I wish I could dress up like him every day."

Amy Worth, UK Kindle Content Director, Amazon commented: “There really is nothing like getting lost in a good book, and it’s particularly important for children to experience this from a young age. It’s fantastic to learn that children prefer the characters they imagine whilst reading rather than the ones they see in films, and our research shows that parents understand the importance of instilling a love of reading in their children from an early age.”
ENDS

Notes to editors

An UK online survey was fielded to 2,000 children aged 4 - 11 and their parents and guardians between 15 – 21st February with Fly Research. 

For more information please contact the Amazon press office at Shine Communications on 020 7100 7100 or kindle@shinecom.com.