By Judith Burns Education reporter

Child with book — Almost two-thirds of the children questioned said they had a favourite work of fiction

Increasing numbers of UK schoolchildren are choosing to read in their spare time, with six in 10 having a favourite work of fiction, research suggests.

The National Literacy Trust questioned some 32,000 pupils aged eight to 18.
Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid was the most mentioned favourite work of fiction, followed by The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Children's laureate Malorie Blackman said she was "delighted" more children were enjoying the pleasures of reading.

Enjoyment and frequency of reading are both at their highest levels for nine years, the survey suggests.

40.2% thought reading was cool
23.2% thought reading was not cool
54.4% enjoyed reading "very much" or "quite a lot"
35.5% enjoyed reading "a bit"
10% did not enjoy reading at all

There was also an increase in the proportion who said they read daily outside class, from 32.2% in 2013 to 41.1% in 2014.

The charity attributes this sharp rise to initiatives such as Bookstart, the Summer Reading Challenge, its own Young Readers Programme and the work of a series of children's authors who have campaigned as children's laureates.