Harry Potter snubbed by experts in list of all-time greatest children's books

The magic of Harry Potter has failed to cast its spell over a Children's Laureates list naming the favourite children's books of all time.
Author JK Rowling's phenomenally successful wizard adventure series - which has sold 400million copies worldwide - failed to get one mention in a list dominated by classic books such as Just William and Little Women.

The titles were chosen by the current Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen, and his four predecessors, Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo and Jacqueline Wilson




Only five of the 35 books selected were published in the last 20 years and a fifth of the titles were released in the 19th century.
Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist was the oldest, a clear 170 years before the newest title to make the grade - Mr Gum And The Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton, published last year and described by Rosen as an 'eye-watering comedy'.
Seven titles from the 1930s made it, including The Sword In The Stone by TH White, Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild and PL Travers's classic Mary Poppins.
Wilson said: 'I would love to be Mary Poppins, admired by everyone, totally in control, never turning a hair even when flying through the air with her carpet bag and parrot-Headed umbrella.'
The most popular authors, with two picks apiece, were E Nesbit for Five Children And It (chosen by Blake) and The Railway Children (chosen by Wilson); and Robert Louis Stevenson for A Child's Garden Of Verses (chosen by Fine), and Treasure Island (chosen by Morpurgo).
Speaking of his love for Treasure Island, Morpurgo said: 'This was the first proper book I read for myself.





'Jim Hawkins was the first character in a book I identified with totally. I was Jim Hawkins.
'I lived Treasure Island as I read it. And I loved it. Still do. Wish I'd written it!'

The works were selected for The Laureates' Table, a promotion at bookseller Waterstone's, which forms part of 10th anniversary celebrations for the children's laureate.

Sarah Clarke, Waterstone's children's buying manager, said: 'I'm sure it will be a surprise to many that the list does not include more recent bestsellers like JK Rowling's Harry Potter.

'But it's great to see the laureates choosing some timeless greats like The Railway Children and Just So Stories and introducing them to a new generation of readers - that's what the laureates are all about.'

Other names to have made the cut include Monty Python star Terry Jones, for his 1981 book of Fairy Tales, Oscar Wilde for The Happy Prince and Booker Prize winner Ian McEwan, along with Roberto Innocenti, for Rose Blanche.

The role of children's laureate, which has a bursary of ?10,000, is awarded once every two years to an eminent writer or illustrator of children's books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field.

The idea originated from a conversation between previous poet laureate Ted Hughes and Morpurgo.

Illustrator Blake was the first children's laureate, chosen in 1999, and Rosen is the most recent.