From 'The Telegraph' March 4, 2010
Caterpillar devours bedtime book rivals

ERIC CARLE'S The very Hungry Caterpillar has been voted the best children's bedtime story in a survey of parents.

The illustrated work beat
JK Rowling's Harry Potter series and The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, to claim the top spot.

The book shows a caterpillar feasting on a host of foods including an apple, two pears, three plums, chocolate cake, ice cream and cherry pie before turning into a beautiful butterfly.

First published in 1969, it is now available in 47 languages and still sells one copy every minute around the world.

CS Lewis's tale of four children who enter the magic world of Narnia in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe came second in the survey.

BFG by Roald Dahl, first published in 1982 came third, while A.A Milne's Winnie the Pooh was fourth and The Gruffalo, which tells the story of a mouse outwitting a woodland monster, came fifth.

Dr Richard Woolfson, a child psychologist and spokesman for Munch Bunch which commissioned the research, said: ''It's fantastic to see that the traditional stories that so many of us have grown up with are still as popular today as they ever were.



 'It's encouraging to learn that three quarters of parents read to their kids, because storytelling is one of the most effective ways for children to develop a wide range of skills, such as reading, writing, speech and creativity.

''It is sad, however, to see that one in ten parents never finds time to read with their children due to work and family life pressures.

''There are ways in which you can integrate storytelling into busy lives, for example telling a made-up story as you tuck your child into bed and allowing them to add to it can be great for developing their imagination and creativity.''

The survey of 4,000 parents with children aged 2-11, was carried out to mark World Book Day on Thursday and sees Munch Bunch launch a nationwide search to find the UK's best children's story writers.