Happiness for this batmitzvah girl is her first book

Cats are the key to happiness for David Baddiel. For Pixie Lott, it's Percy Pigs and for Jessie J it's simply "letting go".

How do we know? Because Hanni Blaskey, 13, asked them - and scores of others - as part of a batmitzvah project that made it into print.

What Makes Me Happy is a compilation of more than 100 celebrities' hand-written letters and sketches, which Hanni has turned into a book for Children in Need.

"Batmitzvahs aren't just about bimahs and parties," says the girl whose research saw her meet pop stars such as Little Mix and rapper Dizzee Rascal.

Hanni, who was batmitzvah at West London Synagogue, decided to compile a book to raise money after watching the charity's fundraising show, and sent her idea into its website.

Family and friends helped the Queenswood pupil get in touch with more than 100 others. Together, they tracked down the likes of Gary Lineker, Lorraine Kelly and Michael McIntyre, who were all happy to help.

Hanni fortuitously bumped into Dizzee Rascal at an airport and got his answer there and then:

"Bass! Lots of bass!!!"

But others proved to be harder to pin down.

"It was really hard because I had to chase them up. It could be a bit embarrassing at times," she said.

"My favourites were the people who drew their entries like Pixie Lott and John Bishop, who drew his dog with an ice cream.

"Also, Andy Murray, because you might think he'd say winning Wimbledon but he talked about his dog and his family. It was really personal."

Prime Minister David Cameron wrote the foreword and Children in Need invited Hanni to see the first copies come off the press.

"It was amazing because I thought it would just be a small book that I would sell a few copies of. Then Sainsbury's said they wanted 30,000 copies - and I thought just 100 copies would be good," she said.

In answer to her own question, the young north Londoner said: "Small things at home make me happy like playing with my dog in the garden and Friday night dinners with my family."