SOME alarmists reckon that all this internet business and computers are damaging reading skills and destroying young minds by leading them away from the magical world that is books.

Tosh, say I, for I know for sure that the world wide web is the greatest educational tool ever -- well, since the invention of books, anyway.

A couple of weeks ago I told you about schoolsnet.com, the country's biggest and best educational website, and they more than do their bit to encourage reading among the pupils of this fine land.

They are currently developing their online library, which so far features 20,000 titles, featuring pictures of the cover, a plot synopsis, full bibliographic details and reviews by leading educationalists and other literary types.

They have recently done a survey to see which were the most-borrowed books from school libraries across the country: and the winner was John Foster's Twinkle, Twinkle Chocolate Bar, published by Penguin.

The next four were: The Truth About Guy Fawkes by Terry Deary, Flight - Fliers and Flying Machines by David Jefferis, There's an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer, Timelines - Ships and the Sea by Richard Humble.

The results, based on analysing 100,000 borrowings in primary schools across the country, showed that some lesser known authors are attracting the attention of primary school children far more than the likes of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl.

Animals seem to be a good method of attracting the attention of the five to 11-year-olds. Nine of the top 20 books feature animals in some shape from dinosaurs and dragons to dogs.

www.schoolsnet.com