We asked celebrities about their reading habits, here's what they had to say.
Sarah Beeny, property expert and television presenter
Did anyone read to you as a child?
I remember my father used to make stories up which was brilliant. It was him who told the stories most nights.
Why do you think that sharing a book with a child is so important?
My very favourite time of the day is reading to my children and I think it can be a very peaceful time. If you want your children to sleep, it's a very good step between a bath and bed that slowly calms them down to go to sleep. But also it's a very special time because it's just the two of you.
Do you have favourite books that you like to read with your children?
My quest for fun children's books started because I wanted to find ones that I also wanted to read. I think all of the Hairy Maclary series are good, they are lovely, easy books to read. There is another book that's really great, also by Giles Andreae called The Lion who Wanted to Love.
Lenny Henry, comedian and actor
Do you or did you have a favourite book to read with your child or the children of friends or family?
My wife and I read lots of books to our daughter; she loved the Very Hungry Caterpillar andThe Mole Who Knew it was None of His Business. I read The Hobbit to her and some friends one holiday, and Harry Potter has played a very big part in our lives until very recently.
I read voraciously as a child and was encouraged to do so by my parents, I will always be grateful to my Auntie Pearl for enrolling me at Dudley Library.
Matthew Pinsent, Olympic rower
Did you have a favourite book as a child?
My favourite book was probably one by Enid Blyton. With older siblings I was indoctrinated pretty early-on into the Famous Five series! But also Swallows and Amazons really stands out with the kind of unbearable tension in a book that is sadly so rare to find as an adult.
Who read it to you?
My parents would do the reading - and often it was from a chair in which I now read to my children.
Why do you think sharing a book with a child is so important?
Our children love books and of course we are encouraging that. Selfishly, it's also a chance to have a ten minute uninterrupted cuddle with them which - with three year old boys especially - they wouldn't countenance under other circumstances!
Do you have favourite books to read with your children?
The Hairy Mcclary books are almost worn through, anything by Julia Donaldson is a hit (and fun to read) and the Mr Men books are constantly out of their box.
Ian Hislop, satirist and editor of the Private Eye
Who was your favourite children's book character when you were growing up?
Dr Doolittle.
Do you or did you have a favourite book to read with your children?
Yes. Anything by Geraldine McCaughrean, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis, and Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, but then they started to read for themselves and they were away.
Kirsty Gallacher, television presenter
Did you have a favourite book as a child?
I loved Wind in the Willows and Beatrix Potter - anything to do with animals basically!
Who read it to you?
My Mum, Dad or Grandparents if they were looking after us.
Why do you think that sharing a book with a child is so important?
Lots of reasons - it's a chance to be creative and bond with your child. It's also a great learning experience for them, it's lots of fun for both of you and it's a wonderful escapist activity!
Jeremy Strong, children's author
Did you have a favourite book as a child?
It was called Jock of the Bushveld, and after that I read and re-read for myself many times an anthology of African folk tales about animals called The Long Grass Whispers. I've always loved stories involving animals.
Why do you think that sharing a book with a child is so important?
Firstly it's the warm bonding, the whispering and cuddling, laughing and sharing excitement together. Then it's the book itself and reading - a time of no pressure to read or to learn- just a book for sheer pleasure.
Do you or did you have a favourite book to read with your child or the children of friends or family?
I loved sharing The House at Pooh Corner with my children, but they particularly liked Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish and a wonderful book of simple rhymes called Father Fox's Penny Rhymes.
Mark Foster, Olympic swimmer
Why do you think that sharing a book with a child is so important?
It's a great way to teach children while having fun with them and encouraging their imagination.
Do you, or did you have a favourite book to read with your child or the children of friends or family?
My nephew Oscar loves Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Joyce Dunbar, children's author
Did you have a favourite book as a child?
We had very few books at home, but Grimm's Fairy Tales with dramatic and strange illustrations by Mervyn Peake is still very vivid in my memory.
Who was your favourite children's book character when you were growing up?
My favourite characters were from comics. Dennis the Menace and Beryl the Peril.
It was as a parent reading to my children that I discovered so many of the children's classics for the first time.
Why do you think that sharing a book with a child is so important?
The few books my father read to us as children meant more to me than anything I read at school. When you read to a child you share an imaginative space which illuminates the everyday world. It is an act of love and nurturing that children never forget. Without this, I think my life would have been so much poorer.
