The recommendation by teachers in the U.K. has been made via survey by the teaching union National Association for the Teaching of English, with the results published in the Times Education Supplement magazine.
BBC News has presented the full list of books recommended by teachers. These are, in descending order:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Matilda by Roald Dahl
The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
Dogger by Shirley Hughes
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Roald Dahl is the only author to have two entries in the top 10. Roald Dahl wrote novels and stories for both children and adults, as well as screenplays. Although his creepy Tales of the Unexpected adult stories still sell, it is books for children that continue to sell high numbers, 25 years after his death. Other popular works by Dahl include James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Twits,and BFG.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has a solid place in popular culture. Not only as a novel, with a sequel, but as two successful movie versions, and as a musical. The book was first published in 1964. The story is a cautionary tale, covering themes of poverty, greed, and the importance of carrying out kind acts for the sake of being, well, kind.
Noting that the top 10 contains a range of subjects from death to monsters, abandonment to abuse, Ann Mroz, who edits the Times Education Supplement, said in her publication: “Not what you’d think the average primary child would want to read. But these books serve an important purpose, giving children a safe place where they can take control of troubling subjects, where evil can be glimpsed and then shut within their pages.”
