The Top 10 Books Kids Checked Out in 2019

It’s that time of year—a time to make lists. We looked at all the Shaker Library books checked out by our young readers and tallied up the top ten books our kids checked out in 2019. Drum roll, please . . .

J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were number one and two on the list and her Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was number eight—proving that Rowling’s books filled with endless surprises and magic spells continue to entertain young readers.

Dr. Seuss still holds sway with his Green Eggs and Ham and Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a perennial parent-and-child favorite. Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle's Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? and its repetitive structure helps to teach children about colors.

Mo Willems began his career as a writer and animator for Sesame Street, where he earned six Emmy Awards so it’s no wonder that his Elephant and Piggie book, There is A Bird on Your Head! is a charmer. Pete the Cat: Snow Daze by James Dean was the lucky number seven on the list of fun reads for kids. In this book (one of over 60 Pete the Cat books) Pete discovers that actually there can be such a thing as too many snow days.

Jeff Kinney’s middle school weakling, Greg Heffley, is leaving everything to chance in the book Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck. Kinney is the creator of Poptropica, an online role-playing game, and he and his wife own the book store An Unlikely Story in Massachusetts.

Finally, number ten on our 2019 list is R. J. Palacio’s Wonder, a tender story about a boy with a facial deformity. Her book sends a great message about acceptance and looking beyond appearances. It teaches kids that it's okay to ask questions but to always choose kindness. And that is a good message for us all as we begin a New Year.

The Top 10 Books Kids Checked Out in 2019
1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stoneby J. K Rowling
2.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K Rowling
3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
5. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin
6. There Is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems
7. Pete the Cat: Snow Daze by James Dean
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K Rowling
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck by Jeff Kinney
10. Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Cheers to a year of great reading in 2019. There will be many more new books to read in 2020 and Shaker Library has a Winter Reading Challenge for you. Sign up and track your reading. Warm up your winter and read every day in January and February. Then celebrate with cocoa and marshmallows.