Reading for pleasure is the single most important indicator of a kid’s future success, according to OECD research. That same study also suggested that picking up a book at a young age can help with all kinds of other things like increasing empathy, reducing the symptoms of depression and deepening relationships with others.
Unless of course those others are all off playing Fortnite and watching slime vids together on YouTube.
Either way, on the eve of the 32nd Hay Festival – the Super Bowl of book-reading if you will – the organisers and the Times Educational Supplement have published an essential list, drawn from suggestions by the public over the last year, of the most inspirational books for young people.
It’s split in to a Primary age-group featuring poets, Potters and inter-planetary scientists, and a list for older young people that sees Obama lining up next to Irvine Welsh. Likely for the first time.
Pretty much every text on here is going the young people in your life tearing through the pages in a way that might even make them forget about their phone for five minutes. And yes, the Harry Potter series is in the Primary Age category rightfully shaming any of you fully-grown adults who still cite it as your favourite work of literature.
There’s even an all-star panel chaired by Festival chief Peter Florence and featuring among others Tishani Doshi, Philippe Sands and former-TES editor Ann Mroz debating the list on Monday. And when I say debating, I do mean justifying how The Odyssey made the list when you can just go and watch the far superior 2004 Brad Pitt classic Troy.
Anyway, here’s the list. Jump on Twitter using the hash tag #BooksToInspire with your reactions.
PRIMARY LIST
In alphabetical order:
Dr Maggie’s Grand Tour of the Solar System by Maggie Aderin-Pocock
Baby Goes to Market written by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank
Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
Overheard in a Towerblock written by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Kate Milner
So Much written by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
How to Train Your Dragon (series) by Cressida Cowell
Matilda written by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake
The Promise written by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Laura Carlin
Coraline written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Chris Riddell
Asterix in Britain written by René Goscinny, illustrated by Albert Uderzo
The Truth Pixie written by Matt Haig, illustrated by Chris Mould
The Diamond Brothers (series) by Anthony Horowitz
Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
Pippi Longstocking written by Astrid Lindgren, translated by Tiina Nunnally, illustrated by Lauren Child
Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
The Way Things Work Now by David Macaulay and Neil Ardley
The Lost Words written by Robert Macfarlane, illustrated by Jackie Morris
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness (series) by Michelle Paver
The Boy at the Back of the Class written by Onjali Q Rauf, illustrated by Pippa Curnick
Harry Potter (series) by JK Rowling
The Little Prince written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, translated by Katherine Woods
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Lorax by Dr Seuss The Complete MAUS by Art Spiegelman
You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! written by Andy Stanton, illustrated by David Tazzyman
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
The Illustrated Mum written by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt
Funky Chickens by Benjamin Zephaniah
SECONDARY LIST
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Mabinogion by Anon
Zoom! by Simon Armitage
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
Tape by Steven Camden
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Girls Are Coming Out of the Woods by Tishani Doshi
Goggle-Eyes by Anne Fine
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Wheel of Surya by Jamila Gavin
You Got This by Bryony Gordon
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson
Dr Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation by Olivia Judson
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
His Dark Materials (series) by Philip Pullman
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Nothing by Janne Teller
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Aarhus39 Quest & Odyssey: Stories of journeys from across Europe by various authors
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
Crongton Knights by Alex Wheatle
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World edited by Malala Yousafzai
View the full list with title descriptions at hayfestival.org/wales/books-to-inspire.aspx.