Sunday, April 7, 2013

Harry Potter beats the Gruffalo in children's vote for best character



Poll for International Children's Book Day also sees Roald Dahl declared best author
Harry Potter and the Gruffalo

Doing it for the kids ... Harry Potter and the Gruffalo. Photograph: Allstar/PR
The magic of Harry Potter has narrowly edged out the charms of the Gruffalo to see the boy wizard named the best ever fictional character by children.
JK Rowling's creation won 38% of kids' votes in a survey of 1,037 parents and their children, with Julia Donaldson's monster picking up 34%, and the Cat in the Hat 28%. But Rowling missed out in the competition to be named best ever children's author, with kids voting instead for Roald Dahl. Dahl took half of children's votes, with Rowling voted for by 30%. A surprise success for Beatrix Potter saw the Peter Rabbit creator come in third, with 20% of the vote from children.
Parents also chose Dahl as their favourite children's author, with 45% voting for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory creator, but Enid Blyton came in second for adults (30%), and Rowling third (25%). Harry Potter was parents' favourite character, taking 40% of votes, followed by the Famous Five with and the BFG.
The survey was carried out by discount book chain The Works to mark International Children's Book Day. "It's great to see classic children's books and characters are still holding favour with kids throughout Britain, with parents' own preferences presumably swaying their little ones' reading habits," said chief executive Kevin Keaney. "More than half (51%) of the parents polled said their children read the same books as they did, showing tastes haven't changed and classics remain popular."
Keaney revealed that 29% of parents surveyed said their children owned e-readers, but 88% still read paper books. "It's also great to see that ebooks aren't taking over," said Keaney.
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