Books that make children happiest: UK-wide poll launched to mark Chatterbooks Week (11-18 October)

Young readers: we want you to vote for the book that makes you happiest!

A UK-wide online poll has been launched ahead of the first-ever Chatterbooks Week (11-18 October 2014, which will celebrate all the fun to be had with reading via national charity The Reading Agency’s ever-growing network of Chatterbooks reading groups for children.

The results of the poll will be officially announced on Monday 13 October.

Young readers can vote now via the Summer Reading Challenge website, which gives children all-year-round access to a whole range of exciting reading-related activities (see ‘Notes to editors’).

Voters have ten choices to choose from, compiled from all the books they’ve been reading and reviewing during this year’s Summer Reading Challenge.

They are:

· Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

· The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey

· The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

· Mr Gum and the Cherry Tree: Bk. 7 by Andy Stanton and David Tazzyman

· How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

· The Worst Thing About My Sister by Jacqueline Wilson and Nick Sharratt

· Horrid Henry's Dreadful Deeds by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross

· Gangsta Granny by David Walliams

· The Twits by Roald Dahl

As well as voting, young readers can comment on and review these books – and any others that make them happy – via the ‘Chat’ section of the Summer Reading Challenge website.

Launched in 2001, Chatterbooks is now the largest network of reading groups for children aged 4 – 12 years: over 10,000 young readers around the UK are now part of over 800 Chatterbooks groups. They are run in libraries, schools and other settings by librarians, teachers, teaching assistants, or anyone with a passion for reading. Bestselling children’s author Jacqueline Wilson is the official Chatterbooks patron.

At each Chatterbooks session children talk about what they are reading, take part in fun activities inspired by the best children's books, and choose new books to take home and read. Because the Chatterbooks network is supported by The Reading Agency’s publisher partners and many children's authors and illustrators, Chatterbooks groups get access to offers, competitions, opportunities to find out how authors are inspired to create their work, together with advice and support on running a group. Chatterbooks groups are an ideal way to build on the reading for pleasure momentum generated amongst children by the Summer Reading Challenge.