Entertainment/Literature - Childrens

The Snow Queen, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Red Shoes – Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875)

Thumbelina emerged from a flower. First published in 1835

The Ugly Duckling is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

The Tinderbox is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a soldier who acquires a magic tinderbox capable of summoning three powerful dogs to do his bidding

The Railway Series – Rev W. Awdry. On a visit to the Diocese of Sodor and Man in 1950. Awdry noted that while there was an Isle of Man, there was no similar Island of Sodor

Children in Peter Pan – Wendy, John and Michael. Dog – Nana, an old English sheepdog. Written by JM Barrie (1860 – 1937)

Lost Boys – boys who fall out of their prams when the nurse is not looking and were lost by their nannies in places such as Kensington Gardens. Having gone unclaimed for seven days, they were whisked off to Neverland, in Peter Pan

The Little White Bird – introduced the character and mythology of Peter Pan

The Emerald City of Oz – L Frank Baum (1856 – 1919)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – written by L Frank Baum and illustrated by WW Denslow

The Scarecrow wants to get a brain, the Tin Woodman a heart, and the Cowardly Lion, courage

Good Witch of the North, Glinda the Good Witch of the South, Wicked Witch of the East, Wicked Witch of the West – in the Wizard of Oz

Toto – a cairn terrier. Dorothy traveled to the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz

The Marvelous Land of Oz – follow-up book

Carrie's War is a 1973 children's novel by Nina Bawden, set during the Second World War and following two evacuees, Carrie and her younger brother Nick

Noughts and Crosses series – Malorie Blackman

Quentin Blake – illustrated Roald Dahl books

Quentin Blake – first Children’s Laureate

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret – Judy Blume

Noddy – Enid Blyton (1897 – 1968). Over 700 stories

Famous Five – Enid Blyton. Julian, Dick, Anne, George (a girl) and Timmy (a border collie)

Five on a Treasure Island – first of the 21 Famous Five books

The Five Find-Outers and Dog, also known as the Enid Blyton Mystery Series, was written by Enid Blyton and first published between 1943 and 1961. Set in the fictitious village of Peterswood, close to Marlow, the children encounter a mystery every school holiday, always solving the puzzle before Mr Goon, the village policeman

The Faraway Tree is a series of novels for children by Enid Blyton. The titles in the series are The Enchanted Wood (1939), The Magic Faraway Tree, The Folk of the Faraway Tree and Up the Faraway Tree. The forest and the tree are discovered by three children named Jo, Bessie, and Fanny

Enid Blyton wrote books about St Clare’s and Malory Towers schools

Aunt Lucy sent Paddington bear to London, in the Michael Bond books

Paddington Bear lives with the Brown family at 32 Windsor Gardens

The Snowman – Raymond Briggs

Fungus the Bogeyman – Raymond Briggs

Jim and the Beanstalk – Raymond Briggs

Anthony Browne was the sixth Children’s Laureate. Gorillas are frequently featured in Browne's books

Miffy is a small female rabbit in a series of picture books drawn and written by Dutch artist Dick Bruna

Babar created by Jean de Brunhoff

Jennings and Rex Milligan series – Anthony Buckeridge

The Incredible Journey – Sheila Burnford

Cedric Errol – title character of Little Lord Fauntleroy, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 – 1924) was an English–American playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden and A Little Princess

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle

The Hunting of the Snark, Jabberwocky – Lewis Carroll (1832 – 1898)

The Hunting of the Snark describes ‘with infinite humour the impossible voyage of an improbable crew to find an inconceivable creature’. The crew consists of ten members, whose descriptions all begin with the letter B

Alice Liddell inspired Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, whose protagonist Alice was named after her. She was the daughter of Henry Liddell, the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published in 1865

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871) – Lewis Carroll. It is based on his meeting with another Alice, Alice Raikes

Dinah – Alice’s cat in Alice in Wonderland

Charlie and Lola Sonner are the principal characters from a series of children's picture books by Lauren Child. The stories are all narrated by seven year-old Charlie, and focus on the antics of his feisty four year-old sister, Lola. The first Charlie and Lola book, I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato, published in 2001, won the Kate Greenaway Medal

Artemis Fowl, The Arctic Incident – Eoin Colfer

What Katy Did – Susan Coolidge. Real name – Sarah Woolsey

How to Train Your Dragon – Cressida Cowell

Lizzie Dripping books – Helen Cresswell

Jumble – William Brown’s dog, in the Just William stories by Richmal Crompton

Violet Bott – character in Just William stores

Just William books illustrated by Thomas Henry

The Demon Headmaster – Gillian Cross

Roald Dahl (1916 – 1990) was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, to Norwegian parents. He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander. He was shot down over Libya. Best known for his children’s books, Dahl also wrote the screenplays for You Only Live Twice and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

The Gremlins – first Roald Dahl book (1943)

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator – sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Willy Wonka hides a Golden Ticket in five chocolate bars

Golden Tickets won by Charlie Bucket, Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teavee

James Henry Trotter – in James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

Boggis, Bunce and Bean – famers in Fantastic Mr. Fox

Matilda, The Witches, and The BFG – Roald Dahl

Matilda’s surname is Wormwood

Danny, the Champion of the World – Roald Dahl

The Twits – Roald Dahl. Mr and Mrs Twit have a family of pet monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, who are friends of the Roly-Poly Bird

The Great Big Glorious Book for Girls – Rosemary Davidson and Sarah Vine

Horrible Histories – written by Terry Deary and Peter Hepplewhite

Lynley Dodd is best known for her Hairy Maclary series, and its follow-ups, all of which feature animals with rhyming names

The Gruffalo – Julia Donaldson. Illustrated by Axel Scheffler

The Gruffalo’s Child – Julia Donaldson, Children's Laureate from 2011 to 2013, taking over from Anthony Browne. Succeeded by Malorie Blackman

Romney Marsh and Punchbowl Farm – series of children’s novels of Monica Edwards

Little Red – Sarah Ferguson

Anne Fine was appointed the second Children's Laureate, in succession to Quentin Blake, holding the position from 2001 to 2003. Her books for older children include the award winning The Tulip Touch and Goggle-Eyes. Twentieth Century Fox filmed her satire novel Alias Madame Doubtfire as Mrs Doubtfire

Alan Garner – author of children’s books based around Alderley Edge

Barry Trotter is a series of Harry Potter parodies written by Michael Gerber

Hansel and Gretel, Snow White – written by the Brothers Grimm

The first collection of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm (Jakob and Wilhelm) Children's and Household Tales was published in 1812 with more than 200 fairy tales. Many of the stories had already been written by Charles Perrault in the late 1600s

Orlando (The Marmalade Cat) is the eponymous hero of a series of 19 illustrated children's books written by Kathleen Hale

Ugenia Lavender is the title character in a series of children's novels written by Geri Halliwell

Can you Feel the Force – children’s physics book by Richard Hammond

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a series of 13 children's novels by Lemony Snicket (the pen name of American author Daniel Handler) which follows the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire after their parents' death in a fire. The children are placed in the custody of their relative Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance

Mr. Tickle – first Mr. Men book, 1971. Roger Hargreaves

Little Miss Bossy – first Little Miss book, 1981

SilverFin – Young Bond novel by Charlie Higson

Tim the Tiny Horse – Harry Hill

Alex Rider books – Anthony Horowitz

Stormbreaker – first novel in Alex Rider spy series

The Iron Man – Ted Hughes, made into the film The Iron Giant

Moomins are the central characters in a series of books and a comic strip by Swedish-Finn illustrator and writer Tove Jansson. They are a family of trolls who are white and roundish, with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses

Snork Maiden – character in Moonim books

Biggles stories – WE Johns

Howl's Moving Castle is a young adult fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones

Emil and the Detectives – Erich Kastner. Set in Berlin

Mog series and The Tiger Who Came to Tea – Judith Kerr

Stig of the Dump – Clive King

The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby – Charles Kingsley (1819 – 1875). The story is thematically concerned with Christian redemption, though Kingsley also uses the book to argue that England treats its poor badly, and to question child labour, among other themes. The protagonist is Tom, a young chimney sweep, who falls into a river after encountering a girl named Ellie

The Sheep-Pig – Dick King-Smith. Made into the film Babe

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series – Jeff Kinney

Horrible Harry is a popular children's book series written by Suzy Kline

Tales from Shakespeare – Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb

The Jumblies – Edward Lear (1812 – 1888). First line – “They went to sea in a Sieve, they did”

The Pobble Who Has No Toes – Edward Lear

CS Lewis (1898 – 1963) was born in Belfast

Chronicles of Narnia (in publication order) – Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe (1950); Prince Caspian; Voyage of the Dawn Treader; Silver Chair; Horse and His Boy; Magician’s Nephew; Last Battle

Magician’s Nephew is the first in the internal chronology

Aslan – lion in Narnia

Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy – Pevensie children in Narnia

Jadis – white witch in Narnia

Miraz – Prince Caspian’s uncle

Pauline Baynes illustrated Chronicles of Narnia books

Pippi Longstocking books by Astrid Lindgren

Pippi Longstocking lives with a monkey named Mr Nilsson. She befriends the two children living next door: Tommy and Annika Settergren

Joan Lingard is the author of the Kevin and Sadie series of children’s books

The English Roses, Mr. Peabody’s Apples, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, The

Adventures of Abdi, Lotsa Da Casha, The English Roses – Too Good to be True – Madonna’s children’s books

Go the Fuck to Sleep – Adam Mansbach. Described as a ‘children's book for adults’

The Midnight Folk, The Box of Delights – children’s books written by John Masefield

Winnie the Pooh lived in Hundred Acre Wood – AA Milne (1882 – 1956)

The first collection of stories about the character was the book Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), and this was followed by The House at Pooh Corner (1928). Milne also included a poem about the bear in the children’s verse book When We Were Very Young (1924) and many more in Now We Are Six (1927). All four volumes were illustrated by E. H. Shepard

Gentle Ben – Walt Morey. The book concerns the friendship between the title character who is a bear, and a young boy named Mark

War Horse – Michael Morpurgo. A boy named Albert makes an odyssey to the World War I trenches in search of his beloved horse Joey. Michael Morpurgo was the third Children’s Laureate

The Worst Witch – Jill Murphy

The Railway Children – Edith Nesbit. Waterbury family. Children – Bobbie, Phyllis and Peter. Station porter – Albert Perks

The Story of the Treasure Seekers, Five Children and It – E Nesbit

The Borrowers – Mary Norton

Arrietty Clock is an adventurous fourteen-year-old Borrower girl who is not allowed to go borrowing with her father until her mother decides to let her in The Borrowers

Mary Norton's novels The Magic Bed Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons and Bonfires and Broomsticks were adapted into the 1971 Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Amelia Bedelia is the protagonist and title character of a series of American children's books written by Peggy Parish

Tom’s Midnight Garden – Philippa Pearce

Tales of Mother Goose – Charles Perrault

Bluebeard is the title character in a famous fairy tale about a violent nobleman and his over-curious wife. It was written by Charles Perrault and first published in 1697. The character of Bluebeard is believed to have been based on the 15th century Breton nobleman and serial killer, Gilles de Rais

Sleeping Beauty (La Belle au bois dormant) is a fairytale by Charles Perrault

Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey is a series of American children's books about two fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, and the aptly named superhero they accidentally create

Pollyanna – 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter. The title character's name has become a popular term for someone with the same very optimistic outlook

The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902) – first Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943) book

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (1903) – second Beatrix Potter book

The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes – Beatrix Potter

Samuel Whiskers – rat in Beatrix Potter books

Mr McGregor – farmer in Peter Rabbit

Miss Moppet – cat in Beatrix Potter

Tailor of Gloucester – only Beatrix Potter title with a human

His Dark Materials is a trilogy by Philip Pullman (born 1946), comprising Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. The trilogy follows the coming of age of two main characters, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry

Pantalaimon – Lyra Belacqua’s demon

Jordan College – fictional Oxford college in His Dark Materials trilogy

Northern Lights was released as The Golden Compass in North America

The Shadow in the North – Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass – title taken from Paradise Lost by Milton

Arthur Rackham illustrated the children's books Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (1900), Rip van Winkle (1905), Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906), and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1907)

Arthur Ransome had an affair with Trotsky’s secretary, admired Lenin, and worked both for MI6 and the Bolsheviks

Swallows and Amazons series is a series of twelve children's books by Arthur Ransome, named after the title of the first book in the series. The books involve adventures by groups of children almost all during the school holidays between the two World Wars. The stories revolve around outdoor activities, especially sailing. It tells the story of the Walker children, who sail a dinghy named Swallow, and the Blackett children, who sail a dinghy named Amazon

Swallowdale – Arthur Ransome

Winter Holiday – Arthur Ransome

Billy Bunter – written by Frank Richards, real name Charles Hamilton. Serialized in The Magnet

Sad Book – Michael Rosen, who was the fifth Children’s Laureate

JK Rowling’s full name is Joanne Rowling, not, as is often assumed, Joanne Kathleen Rowling. The publishers, Bloomsbury, requested that Rowling use two initials, rather than reveal her first name

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in1997. Published as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in USA

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published in 2007

The Tales of Beedle the Bard – JK Rowling

Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Luka and the Fire of Life – Salman Rushdie

Holes – Louis Sachar

The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupury. All-time bestseller with French as the original language

Maurice Sendak is an American writer and illustrator of children's literature who is best known for his book Where the Wild Things Are, published in 1963. The book tells the story of Max

“The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play” – opening lines of The Cat in the Hat by Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Horton Hears a Who! – Dr. Seuss. Horton is an elephant

If I Ran The Zoo – Dr. Seuss

McElligot’s Pool – Dr. Seuss

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish – Dr. Seuss

Horrid Henry books – Francesca Simon

Goosebumps – RL Stine

Rover Boys, Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift, Nancy Drew – Edward Stratemeyer

The Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in various mystery series for children and teens. The characters were created by Edward Stratemeyer

Ballet Shoes – Noel Streatfield

Brother in the Land is a 1984 post-apocalyptic novel by Bob Swindells. It follows the adventures of a teenage boy as he fights for survival following a nuclear war

Worzel Gummidge – Barbara Euphan Todd. Scatterbrook Farm. First Puffin Book, published in 1941

Rupert Bear – written by Mary Tourtel, first appeared in the Daily Express in 1920. Books illustrated by Alfred Bestall

The Queen and I – Sue Townsend

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ is the first book in the Adrian Mole series of comedic fiction, written by Sue Townsend. The book is written in a diary style, and focuses on the worries and regrets of a teenager who believes himself to be an intellectual

Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years – Sue Towensend. Aged 39 ¼

Here Comes Mumfie – Katharine Tozer. Mumfie is an elephant

Alison Uttley is best known for her children's series about Little Grey Rabbit, and Sam Pig

The Boy in the Dress, Mr Stink, Billionaire Boy, Gangsta Granny, Ratburger – David Walliams

Charlotte’s Web – EB White. Published in 1952. It tells the story of a barn spider named Charlotte and her friendship with a pig named Wilbur, who is owned by a girl called Fern. Charlotte has the idea of writing words in her web extolling Wilbur's excellence, reasoning that if she can make Wilbur sufficiently famous, he will not be killed. Illustrated by Garth Williams

Stuart Little – EB White

Little Wolf's Book of Badness – Ian Whybrow

Nigel Molesworth is the supposed author of a series of books (actually written by Geoffrey Willans), with cartoons by Ronald Searle. Molesworth is a schoolboy at St Custards

Tracy Beaker books – Jacqueline Wilson, the fourth Children’s Laureate

Hank Zipzer books – Henry Winkler

Children's Laureate

1999 – 2001         Quentin Blake

2001 – 2003         Anne Fine

2003 – 2005         Michael Morpurgo

2005 – 2007         Jacqueline Wilson

2007 – 2009         Michael Rosen

2009 – 2011         Anthony Browne

2011 – 2013         Julia Donaldson

2013 – 2015         Malorie Blackman

2015 – 2017         Chris Riddell

2017 – 2019         Lauren Child

2019 -                  Cressida Cowell