A study of more than 1.1 million pupils in the UK and Ireland has revealed the 10 most widely read and “favourite” children’s books.
Primary school children picked the seven Harry Potter titles as their favourite books - with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban coming top, the “What kids are reading” report shows.
Meanwhile, the survey found that eight titles by Jeff Kinney and two by David Walliams were the 10 books proving most “popular” - meaning most likely to be read - by primary children.
For secondary school pupils, the most widely read book was The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan.
This replaced last year’s number one, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which has completely dropped out of the top 40.
Secondary pupils’ favourite book was Gangsta Granny by David Walliams.
No Harry Potter title is now in secondary pupils’ top 10 favourite or most-read books.
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The data was collected using software by online assessment provider Renaissance UK, and analysed by University of Dundee academic Professor Keith Topping.
Professor Topping said: “The disappearance of Harry Potter from the secondary schools’ list suggests that primary school children have read them all and none are left for secondary school children. I do not think it reflects any emerging dislike for Harry Potter books among secondary-age children.
The report also features data provided by the National Literacy Trust from its annual survey. It finds that reading for pleasure and reading daily are the keys to literacy success.
Children who read for pleasure are nearly three times as likely to read above their expected level compared with their peers who do not, the report states.
The report also finds that many of the favourite books picked by pupils tend to be of appropriate reading difficulty, especially at primary level.
Children in primary and secondary school were found to be reading slightly more than last year, with the average pupil reading 240,599 words, a 1 per cent increase from the previous year.
Boys tend to prefer non-fiction, especially in secondary schools. However, non-fiction books were not read or understood by either gender as well as fiction books.
Favourite books in primary schools
Rank
Book (position last year in brackets)
Author
Number of votes
1
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (3)
JK Rowling
13,626
2
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1)
JK Rowling
12,032
3
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (4)
JK Rowling
10,598
4
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2)
JK Rowling
8,935
5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (6)
JK Rowling
5,949
6
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (5)
JK Rowling
5,767
7
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (7)
JK Rowling
4,696
8
Dork Diaries: birthday drama!
Rachel Rene Russell
2,966
9
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
2,003
10
Point Blanc (10)
Anthony Horowitz
2,002
Favourite books in secondary schools
Rank
Book (position last year in brackets)
Author
Number of votes
1
The Blood of Olympus
Rick Riordan
1,694
2
Ready Player One (3)
Ernest Cline
1,574
3
Frozen Charlotte (2)
Alex Bell
817
4
Skulduggery Pleasant: The Dying of the Light
Derek Landy
785
5
Forest of Secrets
Erin Hunter
784
6
Brisingr
Christopher Paolini
724
7
Magnus Chase and the Ship of the Dead
Rick Riordan
703
8
Always and Forever, Lara Jean
Jenny Han
693
9
Inheritance (10)
Christopher Paolini
688
10
Into the Wild
Erin Hunter
588
Most popular books within primary schools
Rank
Title
Author
Number of Reads
1
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the meltdown
Jeff Kinney
29,909
2
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Jeff Kinney
27,112
3
Gangsta Granny
David Walliams
26,180
4
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick rules
Jeff Kinney
26,126
5
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: dog days
Jeff Kinney
25,744
6
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the ugly truth
Jeff Kinney
24,590
7
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the last straw
Jeff Kinney
24,355
8
Billionaire Boy
David Walliams
23,900
9
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the long haul
Jeff Kinney
23,745
10
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: hard luck
Jeff Kinney
23,375
11
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: old school
Jeff Kinney
23,243
12
The Twits
Roald Dahl
23,005
13
The Boy in the Dress
David Walliams
21,177
14
The Ice Monster
David Walliams
19,860
15
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: cabin fever
Jeff Kinney
18,436
16
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the getaway
Jeff Kinney
17,930
17
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the third wheel
Jeff Kinney
17,660
18
The Magic Finger
Roald Dahl
17,013
19
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: double down
Jeff Kinney
16,271
20
Ratburger
David Walliams
15,572
Most popular books within secondary schools
Rank
Title
Author
Number of Reads
1
Gangsta Granny
David Walliams
38,246
2
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the getaway
Jeff Kinney
31,867
3
Wonder
RJ Palacio
31,366
4
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Jeff Kinney
30,135
5
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the meltdown
Jeff Kinney
29,554
6
Billionaire Boy
David Walliams
28,023
7
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick rules
Jeff Kinney
27,986
8
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the long haul
Jeff Kinney
26,668
9
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: dog days
Jeff Kinney
26,131
10
The Boy in the Dress
David Walliams
25,498
11
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Roald Dahl
24,189
12
Mr Stink
David Walliams
23,882
13
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
John Boyne
23,162
14
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: old school
Jeff Kinney
22,771
15
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the last straw
Jeff Kinney
22,237
16
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: hard luck
Jeff Kinney
22,168
17
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the ugly truth
Jeff Kinney
22,088
18
Ratburger
David Walliams
21,094
19
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
JK Rowling
20,991
20
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: the third wheel
Jeff Kinney
20,532
