Booked! Premier League stars list their favourite reads

They are hardly renowned as bookworms. But at least some footballers have managed to subvert the stereotype in a list of Premiership stars' favourite reads.

Every one of the 20 Premier League football clubs selected one of their players to act as a "reading champion" to encourage their fans, both children and adults, to read. And the exercise has thrown up some surprising choices.

Liverpool's Jermaine Pennant has chosen Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo, about a soldier's view from the trenches of the First World War.

Newcastle United's Steve Taylor picked Mal Peet's Tamar, which tells the story of two men in secret operations during the Second World War.

But aside from these selections, most of the footballers who took part in the survey went for the more predictable genres of sporting autobiographies and children's books.

Arjan De Zeeuw, captain of Wigan Athletic, explained why he had chosen a children's book, The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. "As a father of four young girls, I spend an enormous amount of time reading kids' books, and this is one of my favourites," he said.

His choice would be applauded by the Education Secretary, Alan Johnson, who stressed the importance of fathers getting involved in their children's reading, saying it was one of the key motivators in improving reading standards among the young.

Sporting biographies also proved popular. Everton's Australian midfielder Tim Cahill has decided to spend his time recovering from a metatarsal injury reading the autobiography of the cricketer Shane Warne.

The Premier League Reading Stars scheme is a partnership between the National Literacy Trust, Arts Council England, the Football Foundation and the Premier League, and will be supported by a series of family reading groups at libraries around the country.

All participants will have the chance to meet one of the authors and take part in football-based literacy games at their local library.

"We hope to use footballers' favourite book choices as a way of inspiring families to read together," said Sir Dave Richards. chairman of both the Premier League and the Football Foundation.

"It gives footballers the opportunity to act as positive role models and shows that by using the power of football, we can change people's attitude to reading."

Jonathan Douglas, director of the National Literacy Trust, added: "Parental involvement in reading has much more of an influence on children's achievement than many other factors. Football has the power to capture the imagination of parents and children alike, so it's fantastic to see such great support for reading from players and clubs."

The players' picks

Arsenal, Jens Lehmann: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

Aston Villa, Steven Davis: Back from the Brink by Paul McGrath.

Blackburn Rovers, Brad Friedel: Fantastic Football Poems by John Foster.

Bolton Wanderers, Gary Speed: Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom

Charlton Athletic, Ben Thatcher: The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr.

Chelsea, Wayne Bridge: Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend by Francesca Simon.

Everton, Tim Cahill: My Autobiography by Shane Warne.

Fulham, Liam Rosenior: Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs.

Liverpool, Jermaine Pennant: Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo.

Manchester City, Nedum Onuoha: It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong.

Manchester United, Alan Smith: What if I Had Never Tried it? by Valentino Rossi.

Middlesbrough, Chris Riggott: Action Replay by S W Parry.

Newcastle United, Steven Taylor, Tamar by Mal Peet.

Portsmouth, David James: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.

Reading, Marcus Hahnemann: Without Remorse by Tom Clancy.

Sheffield United, Craig Short: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.

Tottenham Hotspur, Ledley King: Krindlekrax by Philip Ridley.

Watford, Malky Mackay: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.

West Ham United, Robert Green: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.

Wigan Athletic, Arjan De Zeeuw: The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson.