Winnie the Pooh has been named the favourite fictional children’s book character of all time, a study of 2,000 parents by Sainsbury’s has revealed.
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The loveable lazy bear topped the poll in a new survey celebrating the nation’s reading week and World Book Day today.
The stories of Pooh Bear and his fun adventures with friends are written by A.A. Milne and loved by generations young and old.
Also making the list of Britain’s top 50 most popular children’s book characters is Michael Bond’s creation, Paddington Bear. Both Pooh and Paddington proved more of a hit than popular modern fictional heroes such as Hungry Caterpillar and The Gruffalo. Paddington Bear first appeared back in 1958 in a book entitled, ‘A Bear Called Paddington’.
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s, said: “Fictional characters hold huge sentimental value, with many parents revisiting their favourites through reading with their children.
“Bringing these much loved characters to life through reading and dress up nurtures creativity and imagination and is an essential part of child development.
“We are proud to be the number two retailer for children’s dress up and can’t wait to see all the superheroes, princesses, knights, pirates and friends in store celebrating the nation’s week of reading.”
The Hungry Caterpillar, written by Eric Carle in 1969 took third place in the poll. Despite being a little insect the tales of the increasingly peckish caterpillar have enduring appeal to young children, who love to explore his transformation into a beautiful butterfly.
Fourth place goes to Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo. The hairy beast, with a wart on his nose and prickles all over his back, was created by Donaldson in 1999. The Gruffalo is one of Sainsbury’s best-selling children’s books. Other best-selling titles include well-loved characters such as Minnie Mouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Peppa Pig and Moshi Monsters.
Despite the Harry Potter chronicles taking the world by storm, and making J.K. Rowling the UK’s best-selling author of all time, the boy wizard failed to beat the bears, caterpillar and beast to the top spot. Harry’s quest to defeat Lord Voldemort had adults and children alike enthralled throughout every chapter of the seven book series, and the epic story took fifth place in the poll.
Sainsbury’s spokesperson added: “Harry Potter is an immensely popular entertainment title for us, yet when it comes to characters and dressing up the likes of bears and superheroes are winning the boys over.”
Roger Hargreaves’ Mr. Men comes in at sixth place, with parents loving characters such as Mr. Tickle, Mr. Bump, Mr. Happy and Mr. Grumpy in equal measures. The BFG – Big Friendly Giant, The Talking Scarecrow, Worzel Gummidge, Postman Pat and Matilda complete the Top 10 favourite children’s book characters.
Sainsbury’s will be celebrating the nation’s week of reading starting Thursday 7 March with in-store ‘Make Believe’ events. The events will encourage children across Britain to love reading and act out their favourite books, in character costumes they can purchase in over 300 stores nationwide.