Children have been delighting organisers with their wonderfully honest descriptions of favourite books as a nationwide reading competition gathers momentum.
The Bitesize Bookworms competition, launched by retailer TGJones in support of the National Year of Reading 2026, challenges youngsters aged between five and 12 to describe their favourite book in 25 words or fewer.
The result has been a collection of reviews that range from insightful to unintentionally hilarious.
Among the entries received so far are five-year-old Charlie’s summary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar: “It’s just a caterpillar eating.”
Eight-year-old Philip described Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as being “about sweets and greedy spoilt children”, while seven-year-old Skylar offered a succinct review of Harry Potter: “It’s about a wizard called Harry and he has a special line on his head.”
Other favourites include six-year-old Hayden’s explanation of The Dinosaur That Pooped: “It’s funny and has poo in it.”
Alongside the laughs, many entries have highlighted the positive impact reading has on children.
Six-year-old Ivy said she loved Matilda because “She has superpowers and loves reading like me”, while Maddison, also six, said reading Horrid Henry helped her practise reading aloud to her grandmother.
The competition forms part of the National Year of Reading 2026, a major campaign backed by the Department for Education and the National Literacy Trust. The initiative aims to encourage more people to discover the benefits of reading and make it a regular part of everyday life.
Richard Madeley, who is helping judge the competition alongside Judy Finnigan and MC Grammar, said the entries had been a joy to read.
“As hosts of our very own book club, we love seeing the joy and delight reading can bring to people and understand the importance of expressing this joy to others,” he said.
“It has been brilliant seeing the entries so far, from the hilarious one liners to the heartwarming descriptions on how special their favourite book is to them.”
Alex Willson, Chief Executive of TGJones and head judge of the competition, said children’s honesty had become one of the campaign’s highlights.
“Nothing is more creative than a child’s imagination and we want to celebrate that unfiltered, accidental comedy that comes from a child giving their honest opinion about their favourite book,” he said.
There is more than £17,000 worth of prizes available. Three overall winners will each receive a £200 TGJones gift card, while their schools will receive £4,000 worth of books and stationery. Runners-up will receive gift cards and equipment for their schools.
The competition is open to primary school-aged children across the UK and closes at 11.59pm on Friday, 5 June 2026.
