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Reading books to discover answers is less common among parents of 9 to 11-year-olds than parents of younger children as internet use becomes more prevalent.
According to a new BookTrust survey, 60% of parents of four to eight year olds use books to find information, compared to 45% of nine to 11 year olds. The internet is used by 71% of parents of 9-11 year olds, compared to 52% of parents of four to eight year olds.
The research found reading about animals and the natural world is popular with 64% of girls naming the subject as their favourite. Boys enjoy reading about trains and cars with just over a quarter of boys (26%) citing this as a favourite.
The top five children’s favourite animal characters were Peppa Pig (21%), Winnie the Pooh (11%), Tigger (11%), Fantastic Mr Fox (10%), and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (8%).
Most parents (97%) felt that books help answer their child’s questions about the world. For the youngest parents surveyed (aged 16-24), books and family discussions were the two highest ranked sources of information, cited by 72% of parents, with nearly 31% of parents citing the internet.
The research will be used to highlight the launch of Booktime 2010 which will give over 1.3 million books to reception aged children in England. Some 1,500 adults with children aged four to 11 years took part in the research, which concentrated on the theme of animals and the natural world.