When we heard about the What Kids Are Reading poll, which our very own Rachel Caine topped, it didn’t surprise me that Roald Dahl was #1 in the Most Read list. As a child of the 80s, Dahl was an integral part of my reading diet. He was also responsible for my one and only foray into book piracy circa 1990, but that’s a story for another time. Funny, amusingly-disgusting stories that took the part of children against often appalling adults, it’s obvious where the appeal lay. And here’s an additional pennyworth of opinion: I can’t help but think that today’s kids are getting something of an ersatz version care of David Walliams.

Anyway, what I was surprised about was the conspicuous absence of Dahl from the Most Popular list. It seemed that Matilda, Charlie, Danny, George, James and co are not being embraced in the same way they once were. And this at a time when Dahl is enjoying a run on the West End. Matilda the Musical is arguably just the precursor of a bigger extravaganza: Sam Mendes production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, trailer here:

Am I right in thinking that the target audience for these shows is more overgrown kids channeling their shoe size not age, rather than the children we might suppose? And, indeed, is that a bad thing?

Lesley Crooks, Sales & Digital Manager