Ericka Reeb, Orange County Public Libraries, CA: Many of the children who visit the Foothill Ranch Library love stories about animals, including Erin Hunter's "Warriors" series (HarperCollins), Eleanor Estes's classic Ginger Pye (Scholastic), Deborah Grabien's Dark's Tale (Egmont USA, 2010), Lesléa Newman's Hachiko Waits (Holt, 2004), and The Ghost of Greyfriar's Bobby retold by Ruth Brown(Dutton, 1996). We've seen increased interest in true stories of amazing animals like Brian Dennis, Kirby Larson, and Mary Nethery's Nubs (Little, Brown, 2009) about a feral dog, and Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery's Two Bobbies (Walker, 2008) about a cat and a dog that survived Hurricane Katrina.
Older elementary readers of fantasy enjoy Margaret Peterson Haddix's Palace of Mirrors (S & S, 2008) and Brandon Mull's "Fablehaven" series (Shadow Mountain). Younger children have been gravitating toward Helen Stringer's Spellbinder (Feiwel & Friends, 2009) and "The Last Dragon Chronicles" (Scholastic). They are also drawn to the zany adventures of Cuthbert Soup's A Whole Nother Story (Bloomsbury, 2010) and Georgia Byng's "Molly Moon" books (HarperCollins).
Reluctant readers have taken to Renée Rachel Russell's "Dork Diaries" (S & S) and Lincoln Peirce's "Big Nate" series (HarperCollins). The success of those books has sent kids deeper into our graphic novel section, increasing the popularity of Dav Pilkey's The Adventures of Ook and Gluk (Scholastic, 2010), Emmanuel Guibert's "Sardine in Outer Space" books (Roaring Brook), and Hayao Miyazaki's "My NeighborTotoro" (Viz Media).
Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MI: It almost seems that we're in a holding pattern waiting for The Next Big Thing, whatever that might be. Kids are still asking for Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" (Hyperion), "The 39 Clues" books (Scholastic), Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," "Geronimo Stilton" (Scholastic), Daisy Meadow's "Rainbow Magic" (Scholastic), and Henry Winkler's "Hank Zipzer" (Grosset & Dunlap).
Any title in journal form with cartoon drawings throughout, like Alan Silberberg's Milo: StickyNotes and Brain Freeze (S & S, 2010) or Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Abrams, 2010), is very popular, especially with boys.
Unless there is a school report to do, nonfiction is a hard sell at our branch, although some recent titles have been easy to market. Beverly Gherman 's Sparky: The Life and Art ofCharles Schulz (Chronicle, 2010), which almost reads like a graphic novel; Jonah Winter's Here Comes the Garbage Barge! (Random, 2010); and Lita Judge's Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs Grew to Rule the World (Roaring Brook, 2010) are real winners. Poetry fans have been enjoying Joyce Sidman's Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors (Houghton Harcourt, 2010).
Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada: Young girls in Cold Lake enjoy reading the "Candy Fairies" titles by Helen Perelman (S & S) as well as Chris Riddell's "Ottoline" books (HarperCollins). The nonfiction graphic novel Smile by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic, 2010) has seen an increase in circulation with older girls since it's been tied in to a book club.
Boys like Jim Davis's "Garfield" comics (Ballantine) and Hergé's "The Adventures of Tintin" (Little, Brown), with beginning readers enjoying Tedd Arnold's "Fly Guy" series (Scholastic). Boys and girls alike have been reading the "Lunch Lady" comics by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (Random) and Frieda Wishinsky's historical novels in the "Canadian Flyer Adventures" series (Maple Tree Press).
Nonfiction that circulates well includes books about Lego, dragons—The Discovery of Dragons by Graeme Base (Abrams, 1996), Dragonology by Ernest Drake (Candlewick, 2003), etc.—and drawing manga. Older readers are waiting for the sequel to Under My Skin (Leap Bks., 2010) by local author and school librarian Judith Graves.
This article originally appeared in the newsletter Extra Helping. Go here to subscribe.
RSS
