Heroines Beat Heroes In World Book Day Poll Of Best Children’s Book Characters

A poll of the most memorable heroes and villains in children’s books has seen female characters dominate the lists.

Women make up six of the top 10 ‘goodies’ and seven of the top 10 ‘baddies’, according to research commissioned for World Book Day.

According to the BBC, more than 7,000 book lovers took part in the poll, organised by National Book Tokens ahead of the celebration on 3 March.

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games), Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) and Jo March (Little Women) are all in the 10 top heroes/heroines.

Cruella de Vil (The Hundred and One Dalmatians), The White Witch (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) and Miss Trunchbull (Matilda) appear in the top 10 villains.

Hermione Granger in Harry Potter

However, it was male characters, Harry Potter and his nemesis Lord Voldemort, who came out on top of the lists.

Kirsten Grant, director of World Book Day said: “These polls show that classic characters and stories stay with us, no matter how long ago we read them.

"They also show that readers are refreshingly open to reading about characters of the opposite sex – though is it worrying so many of the greatest fictional villains are female?”

You can see the full list below.

Harry Potter is in at number one

Top 10 favourite heroes/heroines

1. Harry Potter (Harry Potter series by JK Rowling)

2. Matilda Wormwood (Matilda by Roald Dahl)

3. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series)

4. Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien)

5. Lyra Belacqua (His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman)

6. Jo March (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott)

7. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins)

8. Winnie-the-Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh by AA Milne)

9. Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery)

10. Paddington Bear (A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond)

Cruella de Vil (Everett Collection/REX Shutterstock)

Top 10 most evil villains

1. Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter series)

2. Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter series)

3. Cruella de Vil (The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith)

4. The White Witch (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis)

5. Miss Trunchbull (Matilda)

6. Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter series)

7. Bill Sikes (Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens)

8. The Grand High Witch (The Witches by Roald Dahl)

9. Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket)

10. Mrs Coulter (His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman)

(Credit: Yahoo)