Whitcoulls Kid’s Top 50 List Announced

MEDIA RELEASE: 5 July 2007
For Immediate Release

Capturing The Imagination Of Kiwi Kids - Whitcoulls Kid’s Top 50 List Announced

While there is no surprise that young wizard Harry Potter has flown straight into the No 1 spot on Whitcoulls 2007 Kids’ List – a position jointly occupied by all six books so far - it may surprise some people to know that J K Rowling is not the most popular author overall.

The list was launched by Olympic gold medal triathlete Hamish Carter, a significant role model for New Zealand children for his promotion of both physical and mental fitness.

The Whitcoulls Kids’ List is voted on every two years by children throughout New Zealand, and this year attracted around 45,000 votes. It is a snapshot of children’s 50 most loved books, and changes from list to list, although many titles remain on the list from year to year.

This year Jacqueline Wilson is the most popular author (as she was in 2005) with nine titles; Roald Dahl is a close second (as in 2005), with eight titles, three of which are in the top 10.

Some titles which have been regulars on the list over the years have finally dropped off: J R R Tolkein’s The Hobbit, Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights, Bryce Courtenay’s Power of One.

“Newbies” include Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven series joining Famous Five in the list, and the Rainbow Magic Series and Geronimo Stilton Series have arrived in the list. Also new to the list this year is Julia Donaldson’s The Gruffalo.

Sadly, the decline of New Zealand titles in the List has continued – only three this time (Lynley Dodd’s Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy, Dawn McMillan and Ross Kinnaird’s Why Do Dogs Sniff Bottoms, and Betty and Alan Gilderdale’s The Little Yellow Digger), compared to five last time, and well down on the number of New Zealand books in the early Kids’ Lists

Whitcoulls Group Managing Director Dave Fenlon said: “This is a hugely important event for our company, as it gets right to the heart of our belief that books and reading are essential to the wellbeing of children and families. In this age of the screen it’s fantastic to know that children are still reading – in fact, as our new list shows, they continue to read, with great enthusiasm, both classic children’s books, and a host of wonderful new ones.”

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