The end of the school year is almost here, and amid the wild race to the finish which this year includes filling these…
…I want to take a look back at the books that kids checked out most. Since I work at 4 schools organized by grade level, I’m going to do a post for each, starting today with K-2 fare. Thanks to the excellent Watch. Connect. Read. for the inspiration. Here we go…
10. Batman: The Story of the Dark Knight by Ralph Cosentino
This simple picture-book-meets-comic introduction to the Batman universe is just right for the K-2 crowd.
9. Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl by Tedd Arnold
Fly Guy has been an absolute home run for the lower elementary set. This book and the other titles in this beginning easy reader series are always checked out.
8. The Snow Princess by Ruth Sanderson
This one was a surprise to me, but I should have known better. Princess seems to be a magic word these days.
7. Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton
I figured kids would love Shark vs. Train – it’s fun to see the stats show it.
6. Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones by Judith Schachner
A word to the wise: don’t deny the youngsters their Skippyjon.
5. I Spy Challenger! by Walter Wick
Some school librarians have a love/hate relationship with I Spy books. Okay, mostly hate. But I ain’t mad at ya, I Spy!
4. Library Mouse: A World to Explore by Daniel Kirk
Sometimes a character sneaks up and takes you by surprise – this is what happened to me with Library Mouse. The kids at my K-2 school love him.
3. Fancy by Kristin Earhart
Seems like whenever the term high interest is thrown around, it only applies to boys. Here’s something to balance those scales a bit. Circulation secret of the day. Purchase a few books in the Breyer Stablemates series and they will likely be checked out for the rest of the year.
2. Skippyjon Jones in Mummy Trouble by Judith Schachner
More Skippyjon.
1. Batman: Frostbite by Michael Anthony Steele
It’s no surprise that kids love superheroes, and Batman is a perennial favorite. Unlike the Batman title that came in at #10 on this list, Frostbite is more like an easy reader. There are plenty of illustrations, but the format is very different from a comic.
Coming up tomorrow, my K-4th grade school.
About Travis Jonker
I’m curious about the hate of I Spy. Can you explain?
Oh, I think it’s just an old school mindset that I Spy “isn’t reading”. Thankfully that thinking is going the way of the dinosaur.
Ah, I should have known.
I love that the boxes say “eggs.” An apt metaphor for the way books help kids grow.
Ha – I like that! From here on out I’m going to pretend like that was on purpose.
Looks like a lot of the things that fly off our shelves, too. Also, I am standing up and cheering a little too loudly about the way you’re including superhero books in your collection. I know school librarians who won’t. I guess I know public librarians who won’t, too. Sad, I tell you.
Thanks for sharing your top 10 most circulated titles. It’s nice to see Shark vs. Train on the list.
Thank you for sharing your list of favorites. I’m a librarian at a K-2 school, too. Your list looks a lot like our list.