Harry Potter has cast a spell over young readers after topping a poll to find the UK’s favourite children’s book.

The boy wizard’s first adventure, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, received the most votes in the survey by reading charity Booktrust.

Some 24,000 book fans were asked to pick their favourite children’s tale from a list of 100 titles, with J.K. Rowling’s worldwide bestseller gaining more than 2,280 votes.

Sci-fi adventure The Hunger Games finished second – with 1,193 votes – followed by Roald Dahl’s The BFG and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which topped a poll for readers aged five and under.

It’s a worldwide phenomena

Claire Shanahan, Booktrust’s head of arts, said: “As the biggest ever grossing literary franchise, children and adults alike clearly can’t get enough of Harry Potter.

“It’s a worldwide phenomena – it has captured the imaginations of a generation of readers who have grown up in love with Harry or Hermione, want to be friends with Ron, and are truly terrified by Voldemort.

“Even when up against heavyweights such as Dahl and Tolkien, Rowling’s creation remains the nation’s firm favourite.”

Other titles making the top 10 included A.A. Milne’s classic Winnie the Pooh, Dr Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, J.R.R. Tolkien’s first instalment in the Lord of the Rings series – The Fellowship of the Ring, Charlotte’s Web, Philip Pullman’s novel Northern Lights, and C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

The Harry Potter books have gone to sell more than 450 million copies worldwide after the Philo-sopher’s Stone was first published in 1997.