Generate an appropriate single-sentence summary for the given text such that it includes the main topic of the text.

By Sean CoughlanEducation correspondent The list of must-read novels has been selected by 500 teachers for the National Association for the Teaching of English and the TES magazine. Roald Dahl's cautionary tale comes ahead of Goodnight Mister Tom. "Fiction teaches children how to navigate the journey of life," says TES editor Ann Mroz. As the summer holidays get under way, the list sets out the stories for pupils to read before they move on from primary school. Classic stories In the top 10, teachers have selected two Roald Dahl stories - Matilda as well as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. There are also a couple of traditional classics, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis. Top 10 children's books to read before leaving primary school: Jonathan Brunskill, a teacher at Keys Meadow Primary School in Enfield, London, told the TES that the selection reflected how favourite children's books often had dark and unsettling themes. "I've always found that children are attracted to dark stories, Roald Dahl being the obvious example," he said. 'Mediating emotions' Psychologist and former teacher Tim O'Brien told the magazine: "Rather than talking to a child about how they feel about the death of their favourite pet, a parent could make a conscious choice to read a book with a relevant plot instead. "In this way, stories with dark themes and contexts can be a tool for mediating thoughts and emotions." TES editor Ann Mroz said many of the books chosen by teachers, in this top 10 and a further top 100 list, are "not full of joy and mirth but are instead dark and full of horror - tales of ferocious monsters, abuse, abandonment and even death". "Not what you'd think the average primary child would want to read. But these books serve an important purpose, giving children a safe place where they can take control of troubling subjects, where evil can be glimpsed and then shut within their pages."
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is at the top of a teachers' list of books "all children should read before leaving primary school".

Growth in the world's second-largest economy will fall to 7.4% from a previous estimate of 7.6%, it said. "In China, growth will gradually slow, as efforts to address financial vulnerabilities and structural constraints increase," the lender said. Growth in 2015 will go down to 7.2% and then 7.1% in 2016 from a previous forecast of 7.5% for both years. The World Bank has become the latest in a series of major banks to downgrade their outlook for China on growth concerns. In September, US bank Goldman Sachs cut the country's growth forecast to 7.1% from 7.6% in 2015 and kept this year's forecast at 7.3%, below Beijing's target of 7.5%. Growth target 'miss' Louis Kuijs, greater China chief economist at RBS, said it was likely China would miss its official growth target this year, because the government was "okay" with slower growth. "Unlike our previous expectations, the government is not extremely forceful in trying to meet its 7.5% growth target," Mr Kuijs said. "One of the key messages coming from these forecasts is that the government seems all right with a little bit weaker growth than its target, as long as things like the labour market are holding up." Chinese authorities have repeatedly said there is no dramatic change to its policy, despite a series of weaker than expected economic data from the Asian giant. Growth will slow as the Chinese government tries to "strike a balance" between containing growth risks and meeting growth targets, the World Bank added. "Measures to contain local government debt, curb shadow banking and tackle excess capacity, high energy demand, and high pollution will reduce investment and manufacturing output," the World Bank said. The bank also cut its growth forecast for developing countries in the East Asia region for the next two years, from 7.1% to 6.9%, as global trade growth slows.
The World Bank has cut China's growth forecast for the next three years as the country tackles structural reforms.

The village of Bijraul, on the outskirts of Meerut district in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, had a small celebration on 10 May to mark the 160th anniversary of the uprising of 1857 - a rebellion against the rule of the British East India Company. The residents of the village paid tributes to their ancestor Shah Mal for his role in the revolt. He inspired thousands of peasants across nearly 84 villages to leave their fields and take up arms in 1857. But not many people in India have heard of this prosperous landlord. "People of the district were in a fever of excitement to know whether 'their raj' or ours was to triumph," wrote Robert Henry Wallace Dunlop, a civil officer, in Service and Adventure with the Khakhee Resallah, a record of the volunteer corps formed to quell the uprising. Shah Mal was extraordinarily plucky. He collected and sent supplies to the mutineers of Delhi and blew up the bridge of boats on the Yamuna river, cutting off all communication between Meerut and the British headquarters in Delhi. In July 1857, at least 3,500 peasants armed with primitive swords and spears led by Shah Mal clashed with British soldiers of the East India Company, represented by the cavalry, infantry and artillery regiments. The landlord was killed in the battle. The story of Shah Mal, branded an "upstart" by the British, who "from nothing became a rebel of some importance", has been subsumed into the familiar narrative of 1857 - that it was a mutiny of sepoys which spread to former rulers of northern India. His is one of the many forgotten accounts of peasants and commoners, who were an essential part of the rebellion, which a group of dedicated historians from Meerut are trying to revive. An important component of the 1857 uprising were the "thousands of spontaneous peasants' jacqueries [revolt] all over northern India," writes cultural historian Sumanta Banerjee, in his book, In the Wake of Naxalbari. "But, the role of the peasantry in the uprising has been glossed over by bourgeois historians," Mr Banerjee elaborates. British records Most historical accounts have dwelt on the elitist character of the insurgency. To upend this narrative, historians have only to turn to British records of the time, which are richly informative about the widespread extent of peasant participation. Like this entry from the British records of 1858 sheds light on how the British attacked villages in Meerut. "The principal villages were successfully surrounded, a little after daybreak, by different parties told of. A considerable number of the men were killed; 40 taken prisoners, 40 of whom were consequently hung…." Amit Pathak, a historian and author, KK Sharma, a professor of history, and Amit Rai Jain, a researcher and historian, all from Meerut, and the founders of Culture and History Society, a non-profit association, have carefully pored over the records of the uprising to revive the memory of people like Shah Mal. Ten years ago, on the 150th anniversary of the uprising, they started the "baagi (rebel) villages" project. The villages that the British declared as baagi were the ones that had fought for independence, and which later faced heavy reprisals when the British regained control of the territories. After identifying such villages, the researchers meet the descendants of the rebel fighters and record their memories, passed down from one generation to another, which they corroborate and document. "The real power of the uprising was in rural India," Mr Pathak tells the BBC. "The tragedy we find when we visit these villages is that the descendants of the rebels are still mired in poverty." When the uprising collapsed after the fall of Delhi, the rebels were hanged, and their lands were confiscated, auctioned off and redistributed among those who were loyal to the British. "When we visited the village of Busodh, we were surprised to find that from a prosperous village of landlords as recorded by the British, it had turned into a poor village of landless labourers. It is one of many such instances," said Mr Pathak. The researchers have surveyed 18 such villages so far. But government officials seldom visit these places. In some villages, the researchers found that the families of the revolutionaries were completely ignorant about their history. "When we go there and we recognise the contribution of their ancestors, we give them back their pride and respect, and in the countryside that is highly valued," Mr Pathak adds. Mr Jain says that the stories of people like Shah Mal have led to social awakening of sorts. Pramod Kumar Dhama is the fifth-generation descendant of Gulab Singh, a peasant leader from the village of Nimbali who fought alongside Shah Mal. Mr Dhama, 50, teaches in a school and is a repository of memories on Gulab Singh's heroics. "As a young boy, I was told I come from a great family which had fought for the country. It inspired me to become a teacher," says Dhama. On 18 July, the residents of Bijraul will honour the memory of those who died fighting. Shah Mal and 26 leaders who were hanged on a banyan tree close to the village will be remembered.

Indian soldiers, known as sepoys, set off a rebellion against the British rule in 1857, often referred to as the first war of independence. Ordinary farmers took up arms to support them in the fight against the British, but their contribution has been largely forgotten. A group of researchers is now trying to revive their memory, writes Sunaina Kumar.

