MOST parents want the best for their children and when it comes to reading this means that they should enjoy and be influenced by wholesome literature - classics they remember loving such as Jane Eyre or Treasure Island.
'Make them read Crime and Punishment and dock their pocket money if you catch them reading tripe,' recommends Alice Thomas Ellis, a writer and mother of seven children.
Children, though, are likely to have very different taste. In Hong Kong, the classics sell in disappointingly small numbers, according to Vivienne Wong, managing director of distributors Publishers Associates Limited.
Here, as in Britain or America, it is the sugary glamour and romance of Sweet Valley High and mysteries of Nancy Drew that dominate the English language girls' sections in bookshops. For boys, it is the adventures of the Hardy Boys.
Both boys and girls like the horror stories of Christopher Pike and the bizarre short stories of Paul Jennings. Roald Dahl, whose excesses were condemned by critics and parents in the 60s, remains near omnipotent for the eight to 12 age range. In Britain Dahl, ironically, tops the list of favourite authors among both parents and children.
Moreover, young readers do not dwell in the literary world of childhood and adolescence for long. Once in their early teens they are likely to be reading the latest best-selling adult books, such as Jackie Collins or John Grisham.
