Children 'should read classics'

JK Rowling's list includes works by Dickens, Shakespeare and Orwell

Children should be made to read classic literature by Dickens, Shakespeare and Joyce, according to authors such as JK Rowling and Philip Pullman.

The writers were among those asked by the Royal Society of Literature's RSL magazine to name 10 books children should read before leaving school.

Poet laureate Andrew Motion picked such challenging works as Paradise Lost, The Odyssey and James Joyce's Ulysses.

But Nick Hornby was one of several authors who refused to take part.

VOTE RESULTS

Which author should children read?

Enid Blyton

 10.54% 

Lewis Carroll

 4.76% 

Roald Dahl

 31.49% 

Charles Dickens

 11.85% 

James Joyce

 1.50% 

Rudyard Kipling

 3.53% 

AA Milne

 3.60% 

Beatrix Potter

 1.92% 

Michael Rosen

 0.62% 

JK Rowling

 13.99% 

Dr Seuss

 4.64% 

William Shakepeare

 11.56% 

6255 Votes Cast

Results are indicative and may not reflect public opinion

"I used to teach in a comprehensive school and I know from experience that many children are not capable of reading the books I wanted them to read," he said.

"I think any kind of prescription of this kind is extremely problematic."

Rowling's list includes such classic works as Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens.

She also recommends such 20th century novels as Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger and Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.

Pullman's selections included a range of children's books, among them Emil and the Detectives and Where the Wild Things Are.

Pullman also recommends "good collections" of myths and fairy tales

But he also includes Romeo and Juliet, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge and the First Book of Samuel, Chapter 17 (the story of David and Goliath).

'Cultural vandalism'

Andrew Motion's heavyweight list also includes Cervantes' Don Quixote, Henry James' Portrait of a Lady and Shakespeare's Hamlet - which also features on Rowling's list.

"I see no intrinsic reason why children shouldn't read these works," he told the Guardian.

JK ROWLING'S TOP 10 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe David Copperfield Charles Dickens Catch-22 Joseph Heller To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee Animal Farm George Orwell The Tale of Two Bad Mice Beatrix Potter The Catcher in the Rye JD Salinger Hamlet William Shakespeare Send us your suggestions

"I find it maddening that these books should be dismissed as elitist. That way cultural vandalism lies."

The poet Wendy Cope joined Hornby in refusing the task, while novelist Ben Okri chose to contribute a 10-point list instead.

His advice to children includes: "Read the books your parents hate" and: "Read the world - it's the most mysterious book of all."

Other authors polled include the former Children's Laureate Anne Fine and the biographer Victoria Glendinning.