MY SIX BEST BOOKS

HELEN SKELTON, 33, is a TV presenter who co-hosted Blue Peter from 2008 to 2013. Her first novel Amy Wild: Amazon Summer (Corgi, £6.99) was published last year and tomorrow she is taking part in The School That Got Teens Reading, BBC Two, 8pm. WONDER

by RJ Palacio

Corgi, £7.99 I read this from cover to cover on a plane. It is based on a true story about a boy with a facial disfigurement. It is told by everyone who knows him and it is a brilliant insight into family dynamics. I’m really close to my family so it made me weep and laugh. THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER

by Mark Twain

Vintage, £5.99 Even though it is quite old and not what you would expect a little girl to read, it was my dad’s favourite book and I was a real daddy’s girl.

I grew up in the countryside like Tom did but there are criminals and people running out of the courtroom in this book, which made it exciting. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

by Roald Dahl

Puffin, £6.99 There is nothing more fabulous than getting lost in this book even as an adult. His books are not time sensitive as they’re full of fantasy and weirdness. When you’re a kid you think anything’s possible. Why wouldn’t you have a river made of chocolate? THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

by Kate Adie

Out of print I read this because Adie went to war zones and wore a bullet-proof vest and it seemed incredibly exciting. I remember being sent to cover a marmalade competition as a cub reporter and wondering what I was doing there. But she did local shows like that at first too. THE TALE OF SAMUEL WHISKERS

by Beatrix Potter

Warne, £5.99 I was brought up in the Lake District so Potter was part of my childhood. My parents read her books to us every night. This is my favourite as he was a mischievous character. BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY

by Helen Fielding

Picador, £7.99 I’ve read this about 17 times. It could be based on me. In my first job my boss used to call me Bridget because I was always getting in a pickle.

I’d be sent to interview MPs but miss my slot because I’d helped the rival radio station find a parking spot.