The Unexpecteds: 6 Sneakily Popular Books in Our K-3 School Library This Year

We’re coming up on the end of the school year here in Michigan, and I’m looking back at the most-checked out books.

Today is one of my favorite lists – books that were unexpectedly popular. We all know the big names that get checked out nonstop (your Dog Mans, your Pigeons, your Wild Robots, etc), but today I’m highlighting popular books that might not be as well-known.

Previously . . .

Top 10 Circulated Fiction of the ’24-’25 School Year

Top 10 Circulated Graphic Novels of the ’24-’25 School Year

The Dorling Kindersley Science Encyclopedia

Kids who are into science always seem to find this one. This book definitely benefits from prime shelving near Guinness and Ripley’s Believe it Or Not books. It’s huge, it contains tons of information and images, and it has a cool light-refracting cover.

The Squish by Breanna Carzoo

The Squish was amond the most popular picture books in our school this year, and it was a pleasant surprise.

Vlad the Fabulous Vampire by Flavia Z. Drago

Our picture book circs are dominated by the Creepy series (by Aaron Reynolds and Peter Brown), so it’s well established that our students like books on the spookier side. Great to see this book getting a lot of checkouts this year.

No Matter What by Debi Gliori

What? A book from the 1900s near the top of the checkout list in 2025? An unexpected (and welcome) sight.

Open Me . . . I’m a Dog! by Art Spiegelman

This completely unique book (one of the most Astonishingly Unconventional of 2024) has a lot of elements that don’t do great with the rigors of consistent library checkout – flaps, pop-outs, texture, an actual leash – but it’s going to burn bright until it falls apart and we have to replace it. Kids are into it.

Monster Friends by Kaeti Vandorn

Ever since we added this book in 2021 it annually floats toward the top of the most checked out graphic novels.

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