The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is the Best Children’s Book of all Time, according to a new survey.

The fantasy novel which was written back in 1950 has beaten modern day classics such as Harry Potter and The Gruffalo to the top spot.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle takes second place in the poll. The picture book is said to have sold one copy every minute since it’s publication in 1969.

And third place goes to Enid Blyton’s Famous Five Series, which was first written in 1942 and consists of 21 books about the fictional group of children in total.

The poll of 4,000 people was conducted by independent charity Booktrust, to support its government backed initiative Bookstart, which provides children with free books up and down the UK.

It revealed that Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne came in fourth place. The character, also known as Bear Of Very Little Brain, was first created back in 1926 and has gone onto become one of the world’s best known after being adapted by The Walt Disney Company.

Fifth place goes to The BFG (the Big Friendly Giant) by Roald Dahl, first published in 1982.

The best loved author in the poll is Roald Dahl – who has an astonishing SIX books listed in the top 50 best.

Enid Blyton has five books in the top 50, whilst Julia Donaldson has four.

The poll cited that four out of five parents read their children a bedtime story every night, for an average of 22 minutes a time.

And just over half of parents questioned said they started reading books to their children when they were six months old – whilst 18 per cent read stories to their baby bump before the child was born.

TOP 50 BEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS

1. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
3. Famous Five, Enid Blyton
4. Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne
5. The BFG, Roald Dahl
6. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
7. The Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
8. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
9. Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
10. The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson
11. The Tales of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter
12. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
13. Matilda, Roald Dahl
14. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
15. The Cat in the Hat, Dr Suess
16. The Twits, Roald Dahl
17. Mr Men, Roger Hargreaves
18. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
19. The Malory Towers Series, Enid Blyton
20. Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie
21. The Railway Children, E. Nesbit
22. Hans Christian Fairy Tales, H.C. Andersen
23. The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
24. The Witches, Roald Dahl
25. Stig of the Dump, Clive King
26. The Wishing Chair, Enid Blyton
27. Dear Zoo, Rod Campbell
28. The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Judith Kerr
29. Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jan Brett
30. James and the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
31. A Bear Called Paddington, Michael Bond
32. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
33. Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak
34. Aesop’s Fables, Jerry Pinkney
35. The Borrowers, Mary Norton
36. Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling
37. Meg and Mog, Jan Pienkowski
38. Mrs Pepperpot, Alf Proyson
39. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Michael Rosen
40. The Gruffalo’s Child, Julia Donaldson
41. Room on a Broom, Julia Donaldson
42. The Worst Witch, Jill Murphy
43. Miffy, Dick Bruna
44. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
45. Flat Stanley, Jeff Brown
46. The Snail and the Whale, Julia Donaldson
47. Ten Little Ladybirds, Melanie Gerth
48. Six Dinners Sid, Inga Moore
49. The St. Clares Series, Enid Blyton
50. Captain Underpants, Dav Pilkey

Check out www.booktrust.org.uk for more information