The Best Children's Books

THERE are no surprises in the shortlisted best children's books.

Among them, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Diary of a Wimpy Kids and Mr Stink.

The shortlist, by BBC's Blue Peter, is compiled from the best-selling fiction books for children aged 5-11 for kids for the last ten years. There are ten titles and only one title has been allowed per author.

The winner will be announced on Blue Peter on 1 March, to coincide with the show's annual book of the year award.

Five of the books, including the fifth book by JK Rowling in the Potter series, have inspired feature films.

Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid; Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry series; The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket and Michael Morpurgo's Private Peaceful have also been adapted for the big screen - with the latter due for release later this year.

Children under 16 can vote for their favourite book at www.bbc.co.uk/bluepeter. Vote closes at 4pm Thursday 23 February.

Best-selling list of books:

Alex Rider Mission 3: Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz
Candyfloss by Jacqueline Wilson
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend by Francesca Simon
Mr Stink by David Walliams
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
The Series of Unfortunate Events: Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket
Theodore Boone by John Grisham
Young Bond: SilverFin - A James Bond Adventure by Charlie Higson