What your teenager is reading online - and other items popular with our younger readers in 2020
You don't need librarians to tell you that 2020 has been a very unusual year. Libraries were closed for ten weeks, and like everyone else we tried to make sense, adapt, and prepare for an unknown future. For the ten weeks we were closed, we doubled our efforts in providing e-books and e-audiobooks so our loyal readers would have something to bridge the gap. We missed our readers, and the feedback was that our readers couldn't wait for us to re-open.
Usually in September with Children's Book Festival around the corner, and with the renewed enthusiasm for reading that comes with the new school year, we eagerly prepare a list of the most borrowed children's and teen items. As you might guess, the most borrowed child item in 2020 so far is not a paper book, but an e-audiobook. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was borrowed 342 times in e-audiobook form, and 95 times in e-book form. There were no surprises in the rest of the lists of items borrowed by children - physical books and e-books alike. David Walliams, Liz Pichon, Jeff Kinney, Dav Pilkey and Jacqueline Wilson are still the most popular authors among our young library readers.
Young adults and teen readers often get bad press for spending too much time on screens and devices. I argue a reprieve for e-books and e-audiobooks! During lockdown, we saw an increase in use of our e-books and e-audiobooks services by our young adult members. There were many days where every single e-book and e-audiobook in our collection was out on loan.
Fantasy and magic themes dominate the young adult top 10. Stepsister, a dark retelling of Cinderella by Jennifer Donnelly is the most borrowed young adult e-book so far in 2020. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is the second most borrowed young adult e-book, and it also takes the number one spot for most borrowed young adult e-audiobooks. Holly Black appears twice in the top 10 of both e-books and e-audiobook loans with titles from her Folk of the Air series. Holly Black is also well known as the author of the Spiderwick Chronicles. Wicked like a Wildfire, number 8 in the young adults e-books list, by Lana Popović is a fantasy novel about twins with a magical gift.
World social events, and the Black Lives Matter movement has also affected what our young people are reading. Number four on the most popular e-books read by teenagers is The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. First published in 2017, this novel deals with police racism in the USA. The narrator, Starr, witnesses her childhood friend shot and killed by a white police officer, and is compelled outside her wealth bubble to take a stand against injustice.
So the next time your teenager is glued to their device, think twice before intervening - they might be reading!
Interestingly, in my research, I did find one surprise. Bearing in mind that sometimes parents borrow items for their children on their own card, I looked at children's items borrowed by readers of all ages - and Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren was borrowed 61 times by adults so far in 2020! Is this the nostalgia effect caused by lockdown? More likely it is because 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the first publication of Pippi Longstocking, back in 1945. Happy birthday Pippi!
Children’s Book Festival 2020 takes place online this year. Visit our website from 1 October 2020 for details of online events. Remember membership of the library is free, and all readers can take up to 12 books, plus 5 e-books and 5 e-audiobooks with a library membership. Visit our website and our BorrowBox page for more information. Happy Reading!
All lists cover the period 1 January - 11 September 2020.
Child titles borrowed by adults, teens and children combined. (Physical books)
Harold by Robin Davies, 63 times
Double down : diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney, 63 times
Billionaire boy by David Walliams, 61 times
Tom Gates : spectacular school trip (really...) by Liz Pichon, 61 times
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, 61 times
A lazy afternoon by Enid Blyton, 57 times
Dogzombies rule (for now) by Liz Pichon, 56 times
Alan The Bear Bedtime by Sue Hendra, 54 times
Dancing the Charleston by Jacqueline Wilson 52
Guinness world records 2020 52
Child titles borrowed by readers under 18 (Physical books)
Billionaire boy by David Walliams, 58 times
Harold by Robin Davies, 49 times
Dogzombies rule (for now) by Liz Pichon, 49 times
Double down : diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney, 48 times
Tom Gates : spectacular school trip (really...) by Liz Pichon, 47 times
Tom Gates is absolutely fantastic (at some things) by Liz Pichon, 45 times
Dancing the Charleston by Jacqueline Wilson, 45 times
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey, 40 times
Where's Wally? : the wonder book by Martin Handford, 39 times
A lazy afternoon by Enid Blyton, 38 times
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, 95 times
13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, 67 times
Time Travel Diaries by Caroline Lawrence, 56 times
Eva's Journey by Judi Curtin, 43 times
Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd, 40 times
Hogwarts Library Collection by J.K. Rowling, 26 times
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, 25 times
Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams, 24 times
Great Dodo Comeback by Fiona Sandiford, 24 times
Chosen Ones by Scarlett Thomas, 23 times
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, 342 times
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, 98 times
Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann, 96 times
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, 82 times
Brilliant World of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon, 76 times
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, 74 times
Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd, 71 times
Time Travel Diaries by Caroline Lawrence, 70 times
13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths, 64 times
Little Princess Treasury by Tony Ross, 61 times
Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly, 45 times
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, 37 times
The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein, 21 times
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, 20 times
Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso, 20 times
Four Days of You and Me by Miranda Kenneally, 18 times
Margot & Me by Juno Dawson, 18 times
Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popovic, 17 times
Bedlam by Derek Landy, 16 times
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black, 16 times
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, 40 times
The Butterfly Tattoo by Philip Pullman, 32 times
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan, 31 times
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, 31 times
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, 30 times
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, 24 times
Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan, 24 times
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, 23 times
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, 20 times
The Wicked King by Holly Black, 19 times
