While JK Rowling’s creation Harry Potter may seem to be unrivalled when it comes to popularity amongst youngsters, author Jeff Kinney took the glory on Wednesday’s Blue Peter Awards function in Manchester.

Kinney’s Wimpy Kid narrative topped Rowling’s Harry Potter and was polled as the best children’s book of the decade. In the race were authors Jacqueline Wilson, Anthony Horowitz, Charlie Higson, John Grisham and Francesca Simon.

More than 15,000 kids aged between five and eleven cast their votes online to put Harry Potter in second spot. 9 other best-sellers in the past decade were also in contention.

Results of the poll came as a “shock”, editor of Blue Peter Tim Levell quipped, observing that the real-life, unassuming American “has snatched a bit of the boy wizard’s magic”.

Jeff Kinney himself expressed his bemusement on winning the prize, saying that he became “honestly stunned” to find Wimpy Kid topping the list of what he regarded as “terrific books on the Blue Peter shortlist”.

The author expressed his sincere gratitude to all the Wimpy Kid lovers in Great Britain and promised to make a comeback visit to the country to personally thank them all.

Amongst the other winners was English author Gareth P Jones who bagged the Blue Peter book of the year award for The Considine Curse that narrates in a gripping manner the life events of 14-year-old Mariel.