70 Books for 70 Schools at The Duchess's Books Party
Published
Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall welcomed school children to Clarence House for a garden party to celebrate a literacy competition that will see 70 books presented to 70 schools.
Books by well-known authors like Roald Dahl, JK Rowling and Ted Hughes were chosen by children across the country, and two schools which took part were invited to Clarence House, as were writers Jacqueline Wilson and comic actor David Walliams, who both made it on to the book list.
The Duchess is an avid reader and patron of a number of literacy charities and organisations.
Her Royal Highness was presented with a set of the 70 books for her five grandchildren and said: "I know most of the books backwards because I read them to my grandchildren, and we're going to have a terrible time because they're going to be fighting over these bookshelves - if I can plonk it somewhere in the middle they can come and borrow books."
The school children arrived to Clarence House in a vintage bus with David Walliams acting as the conductor. The Duchess greeted them as they stepped off the red single-deck vehicle.
David Walliams, whose books The Boy In The Dress and Gangsta Granny made the list of 70 books being presented to schools, said: "It's really important kids have access to books and what I like about this list is it's a fun list chosen by the kids, it's not a list we think they should read, it's a list of books they like reading and want to share with other kids."
The Duchess is patron or has had a close association with six organisations involved in the 70 books for schools project - the National Literacy Trust, Beanstalk, BookTrust, First Story, Roald Dahl Literary Estate and the Wicked Young Writer Awards.
Here are the 70 books that will be distributed to 70 schools around the UK:
1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling
2 Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World by Kate Pankhurst
3 You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum! by Andy Stanton
4 War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
5 Why Can't I Tickle Myself? By Gemma Elwin Harris, Bear Grylls, Miranda Hart, Sir David Attenborough
6 Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell
7 The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
8 Beautiful Birds Colouring Book by Emmanuelle Walker
9 How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
10 Bake Me a Story by Nadiya Hussain
11 The Arrival by Shaun Tan
12 Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae
13 I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
14 Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon
15 Asterix the Gaul by Rene Goscinny
16 The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams
17 Gangsta Granny by David Walliams
18 The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss
19 The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
20 A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
21 Dirty Bertie: Rats by Alan MacDonald
22 Animal Journeys by Patricia Hegarty
23 The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
24 The 78 Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths
25 Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell
26 Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
27 Peace at Last by Jill Murphy
28 The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler
29 It's all about... Super Solar System
30 There's a Bear on My Chair by Ross Collins
31 Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
32 A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
33 Elmer by David McKee
34 Grk and the Pelotti Gang by Joshua Doder
35 The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne
36 Wonder by R. J. Palacio
37 Itch - The Explosive Adventures of the Element Hunter by Simon Mayo
38 The Book With No Pictures by B J Novak
39 Jeremy Strong's Laugh-your-socks-off Joke Book by Jeremy Strong
40 Once by Morris Gleitzman
41 Silverfin: The Graphic Novel by Charlie Higson
42 Charlotte's Web by E B White
43 Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
44 Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman
45 Quick, Let’s Get Out of Here by Michael Rosen and Quentin Blake
46 Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
47 The Twits by Roald Dahl
48 Matilda by Roald Dahl
49 The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson
50 Make it Grow by Debbie Powell
51 Ella Queen of Jazz by Helen Hancocks
52 Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
53 Day of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte
54 100 Most Feared Creatures by Anna Claybourne
55 A Journey Through: Space by Steve Parker
56 Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
57 The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon
58 The Disgusting Sandwich by Gareth Edwards
59 The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone
60 Grandad’s Island by Benji Davies
61 SUPERTATO: Veggies Assemble by Sue Hendra
62 Coding for Beginners using Scratch by Jonathan Melmoth, Rosie Dickins
63 Cogheart by Peter Bunzl
64 Usborne Children's Picture Atlas by Ruth Brocklehurst
65 Return by Aaron Becker
66 I am Henry Finch by Alexis Deacon
67 Gorilla by Anthony Browne
68 The Blurred Man and I Know What You Did Last Wednesday by Anthony Horowitz
69 The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas by David Almond
70 Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans! by Gary Northfield
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