As we are now a couple weeks into 2024 let’s look back at some of the top hits of 2023 starting with picture books, then we will give an overview of junior fiction and as a bonus, we will discuss some of the most popular junior video games.
It will not come as a surprise that anthropomorphic characters make up most of the picture books top ten. Are You A Cheeseburger? is about a racoon’s friendship with a seed that is patiently waiting to be planted. The beloved Pigeon series by Mo Willems has a new additions called The Pigeon Has to Go to School!. Pete the Cat is a long running series started in 2008 by James Dean and has two books in the top ten called The Bedtime Blues about a sleepover Pete has with his friends who don’t want to go to sleep and The Great Leprechaun Chase about Pete’s adventure trying to catch a Leprechaun named Clover.
Dinosnores is about the bedtime routine of dinosaurs which can be a loud affair! That’s Not My Name is about the importance of loving your name and making yourself heard. The popularity of the Disney film Frozen remains active with the storybook collection at number eight on the list. And any top ten list would not be complete without Peppa Pig. This Story Treasury including such hits as Muddy Puddles, Busy Day at School, Day at the Museum and many more! Finally, Llama Llama Loves to Read is a good place to end the list reminding us of the importance of reading and the great resources available at Caledon Public Library.
In the junior fiction section, Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series is by far the most popular series with seven of the top ten spots take by Greg Heffley’s experiences surviving middle school including Hard Luck, Dog Days, The Deep End, The Last Straw, Diper Overlode, Big Shot, and Old School. The first Harry Potter book made it to the number two spot showing that interest in the wizarding world has stayed strong since its 1997 release, making this a modern classic for young audiences. Speaking of classics, Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers by Dav Pilkey – now in full colour – made it to the number seven spot. “Dork Diaries” by Rachel Renée Russell is another popular series similar to the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” about how entering middle school can be stressful especially for Nikki Maxwell who is the new kid at the private school of Westchester County Day.
Finally looking at junior video games, we can see that Nintendo definitely won this year’s junior game Olympics for circulations with many of the games featuring classic Nintendo characters Mario (with Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Party, and Super Mario Maker 2), Zelda with Link’s Awakening, Kirby’s Return to DreamLand, and having all these characters together in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, it was the now 3-year-old Animal Crossing that snagged the top spot – a game where you get to build your own farm and share it with friends online. The remaining two spots in the top ten were for Fifa 23 and Fifa 22 which goes to show how popular soccer is in Canada.
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