Literary poll asked children for their most memorable heroes and villains.
Characters from the Harry Potter franchise and Roald Dahl’s Matilda have come out on top in a World Book Day poll which asked children to name their most memorable novel heroes and villains.
Notably, six of the top ten heroes/heroines voted for were female, including Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series, and The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen.
Seven out of the ten villains were female, including Miss Trunchbull from Matilda.
However, Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort took the top spots on their respective lists.
Over 7,000 children took part in the poll, which was organised by National Book Tokens ahead of World Book Day on March 3.
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?”
Top 10 favourite heroes/heroines
Harry Potter (Harry Potter series)
Matilda Wormwood (Matilda)
Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series)
Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit)
Lyra Belacqua (His Dark Materials series)
Jo March (Little Women)
Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games series)
Winnie the Pooh (Winnie the Pooh)
Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables)
Paddington Bear (A Bear Called Paddington)
Top 10 most evil villains
Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter series)
Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter series)
Cruella de Vil (The Hundred and One Dalmatians)
The White Witch (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe)
Miss Trunchbull (Matilda)
Bellatrix Lestrange (Harry Potter series)
Bill Sikes (Oliver Twist)
The Grand High Witch (The Witches)
Count Olaf (A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Mrs Coulter (His Dark Materials series)
