The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe voted the children's book most adults want to read again

Edmund meets Aslan in a scene from the film adaptation of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe ( )

Childhood classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis has been voted the children’s book the nation's grown-ups most want to read again.

The classic fantasy novel, which was first published in 1950, beat tough competition from another widely-held children’s favourite- Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.

The Railway Children, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Animal Farm all appeared in the top 10.

The Pevensie children in a scene from the film adaptation of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe 

​Two thirds of adults agree that reading before bed helps them to sleep, the survey found.

The study also revealed there are certain types of fiction which are more effective at relaxing Britons than others, and nearly one in five would reach for a fantasy if they needed to sleep.

Three in five have wanted to revisit or re-read a book that they enjoyed from their childhood, and one in ten believe that children’s books settle their mind best before bed.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

According to the study, turning back to children’s literature promotes overwhelmingly positive emotions amongst the nation.

More than half of people get feelings of happiness when reading a story from their childhood.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Embracing fiction from our youth before bed might also help boost our creativity the next day, the survey suggested.

The study, commissioned by Simba, revealed that two fifths of adults use books from their childhood to spark their imagination, whilst one in ten said they help when they need to be more creative.

TOP 30 - CHILDREN’S BOOKS ADULTS WANT TO RE-READ:

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. The Secret Garden
3. The Railway Children
4. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
5. Animal Farm
6. Treasure Island
7. The Wind in the Willows
8. The Hobbit
9. The Lord of the Rings trilogy
10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
11. The Jungle Book
12. Robinson Crusoe
13. Black Beauty
14. The BFG
15. Matilda
16. Winnie-the-Pooh
17. Peter Pan
18. The Tale of Peter Rabbit
19. The Swiss Family Robinson
20. The Borrowers
21. James and the Giant Peach
22. Catcher in the Rye
23. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
24. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
25. Charlotte's Web
26. Anne of Green Gables
27. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
28. Swallows and Amazons
29. The Witches
30. The Magic Faraway Tree

South West News Service