JK Rowling has been named number 42 in The 50 Greatest British writers since 1945.

Anyone who has witnessed a child lose him or herself in a 700-page Potter book on holiday, ignoring pool, beach and mealtimes, will know that children read them simply because they love them, and because Rowling has an extraordinary ability to hold the reader until the very last page. She has created a world that children want to enter and never leave.

Like all the classic British children’s fantasy writers, Rowling sets the epic firmly in the domestic, everyday world. Yes, she uses some familiar elements (show me the “literary” author who hasn’t borrowed themes from previous literary authors), such as wizards, witches, boarding schools and orphans destined for greatness, but she builds a new and very detailed world out of them. With its satires on politics, education and the media, though, her world is far from simplistic. These are well-told stories that will enthral, amuse, scare and delight children for generations to come.

One to read: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) — because you should always start a good story at the beginning.

Thanks Leaky!