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Wiltshire's Top 75 Books revealed

Which book does your child like the most? If you were asked which was your favourite read of all time what would you pick? These are the questions Wiltshire Council has been asking as part of a special exercise to determine the county's favourite books of all time.

Published 26 November 2021

School children and the public have been voting since the start of term in September to determine Wiltshire's Top 75 books.

The survey has been undertaken as part of the Wiltshire Year of Reading (WYOR), a year-long campaign to encourage people of all ages to enjoy reading.

People were asked to vote for their favourite books in an online and social media poll.

Each age group was asked to vote for their Top 10 favourite books. The winners in each category are as follows:

Age groupWinning book
Ages 5 to 7The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
Ages 7 to 11The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S.Lewis
Ages 11 to 14Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
Age 14 plusHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling
AdultPride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

As part of the WYOR the council has also launched a programme of reading awards for all schools and Early Years settings. The Top 75 book lists will be shared with schools to encourage children to read a wide variety of books, across a range of genres.

Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills said: "The Wiltshire Year of Reading was launched in September to encourage everyone from very young children to older adults to enjoy the written word.

"Reading is essential to everyday life and can open so many doors to learning and employment. It gives us fresh ideas, helps us to understand the world in which we live and supports our mental health and relationships.

"We asked schools and the public to help generate our very own 'Wiltshire Top 75 Books' to encourage people to try reading different books. The top 10 books in each category can now be revealed and we hope people will be inspired to delve into the books that they haven't yet read."

The definitive Top 10 Books for each category as voted for by the people of Wiltshire:

Ages 5 to 7 (key stage 1)

  1. The Gruffalo - Julia Donaldson
  2. The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark - Jill Tomlinson
  3. Tiddler - Julia Donaldson
  4. The Tiger who Came to Tea - Judith Kerr
  5. Dogger - Shirley Hughes
  6. Giraffes can't dance - Giles Andreae
  7. The Snail and The Whale - Julia Donaldson
  8. Mr Men series - Roger Hargreaves
  9. Oi Frog - Kes Gray and Jim Field
  10. Supertato - Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet

Ages 11 to 14 (key stage 3)

  1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
  2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling
  3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney
  4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K Rowling
  5. Gangsta Granny - David Walliams
  6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix by JK Rowling
  7. Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire- J.K.Rowling
  8. Tom Gates - Liz Pichon
  9. Bad Dad - David Walliams
  10. The Hunger Games - Susan Collins

Ages 14 plus (key stage 4)

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling
  2. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
  3. They Both Die In The End - Adam Silvera
  4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling
  5. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
  6. The tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris
  7. One Piece - Eichiro Oda
  8. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
  9. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
  10. Naruto - Masashi Kishimoto

Adults

  1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
  2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkein
  3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
  4. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkein
  5. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
  6. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
  7. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
  8. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
  9. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
  10. All The Light We Can Not See - Anthony Doerr
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