2014’S FAVOURITE BEDTIME STORIES REVEALED
The Gruffalo has been voted the UK’s favourite children’s bedtime story.
In a poll by bedroom retailer Betta Living to find out what children aged 10 or under love reading at bedtime, the nation’s list of Top 10 favourite children’s stories revealed a great mix of modern literature as well as some bedtime classics, one more than 140 years old!
The Top 10 Titles are:
1 The Gruffalo – Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
2 The BFG – Roald Dahl
3 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C. S. Lewis
4 Charlotte’s Web – E. B. White
5 The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
6 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J. K. Rowling
7 What Katy Did – Susan Coolidge
8 The Tiger who Came to Tea – Judith Kerr
9 The Cat in the Hat – Dr Seuss
10 Room on the Broom – Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
A celebrity with children and parents alike, Julia Donaldson (and illustrator Axel Scheffler) topped the table of favourites with The Gruffalo, but also appeared again with Room on the Broom at number 10. Both books were published in the last 15 years, making them new reads to discover for parents rather than titles from their own childhoods.
The other title in the top 10 written less than 20 years ago is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. One of the biggest selling books of all time, it’s popular with adults and children alike.
But classic titles, many having been published over 40 years ago, are still going strong with today’s youngsters, with The Cat In The Hat, The Tiger who Came to Tea, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Charlotte’s Web and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe all in the top 10.
Barry Rourke from Betta Living said: “The best bedtime stories will always be hotly debated, but our poll of 2,000 parents with children under 10 years showed a great mix of more recently written bedtime stories as well as classics.
“And although these newer titles are published in a high tech era, the book rather than the Kindle or iPad, remains the most popular way to read children’s bedtime stories. 87% of parents return to low tech parenting at bedtime.
“Everything that encourages adults to read to children and enjoy books is a positive and everyone at Betta Living is really excited about the activities and events we have planned throughout September and October to support bedtime reading.”
“Every year new stories will join the must-read list, with so many great stories to read there will never be enough bedtimes.”
ITV’s Good Morning Britain recently launched its Just Read campaign, supported by a number of high profile famous faces, authors, and literacy organisations. Geri Halliwell, Terry Wogan and Pamela Stephenson are just a few of the familiar faces that have shared photos on the campaign hashtag #Take10 encouraging parents to #Take10 minutes to read to their child.
For showroom locations, or to arrange a free design consultation, visit www.bettaliving.co.uk or call 0800 269 945