Hottest Children's Books of the Holiday Season

Scholastic just released their predictions for the hottest books of the 2011 Holiday Season.

In a press release, Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer at Scholastic said:

"Parents, grandparents and educators all know the value of giving the gift of reading to kids, but we know they also struggle to compete with the hot new toy, electronic device or video on the market. This list was curated by the experts at Scholastic Book Clubs and Book Fairs to help shoppers identify the books that will be sure to delight a child as much as any other favorite gift."

Notice that they've released a list of books that kids will like — all books, not just Scholastic books — it's a list that features books for all ages from a variety of authors and publishers.

I also loved that in the press release they ended the list with this little plug:

"These books are available through Scholastic Book Clubs and Scholastic Book Fairs in schools and online at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. When you purchase these or any other books through Book Clubs and Book Fairs you are helping out your child's school. Teachers are awarded bonus points through Scholastic Book Clubs to purchase books and materials for their classrooms, and schools raise money through their Book Fairs to support the school community. If a title from Scholastic's holiday gift list is not available through your child's Scholastic Book Club or Scholastic Book Fair, check with your child's teacher or visit a book retailer or library." 

So, I guess they will profit a bit from people buying these books, even if they aren't published through Scholastic, but only if the books are purchased through a Scholastic Book Club or Book Fair.


Here are a few of their predictions:

Picture Books

• 10 Little Caterpillars by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Lois Ehlert (Simon & Schuster)
• Can You See What I See? Toyland Express written and illustrated by Walter Wick (Scholastic)
• If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff, illustrated by Felicia Bond (HarperCollins)
• The Man in the Moon written and illustrated by William Joyce (Simon & Schuster)
• Pinkalicious: The Princess of Pink Treasury written and illustrated by Victoria Kann (HarperCollins)

Transitional Readers and Chapter Books

• Clementine and The Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee (Disney Hyperion Books)
• Fly Guy: Fly Guy vs. The Flyswatter! by Tedd Arnold (Scholastic)
• Magic Tree House: Dogs in the Dead of Night by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca (Random House)
• Rainbow Magic: Magical Holiday Boxed Set by Daisy Meadows (Scholastic)
• Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion of the Potty Snatchers by Dav Pilkey, George Beard, and Harold Hutchins (Scholastic)

Middle Grade Fiction

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney (Abrams)
• The Heroes of Olympus, Book Two: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan (Disney Hyperion Books)
• The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers Book 2: A King's Ransom by Jude Watson (Scholastic)
• War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (Scholastic)
• Wonderstruck written and illustrated by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)

Young Adult Fiction

• Crossed by Ally Condie (Penguin)
• Inheritance by Christopher Paolini (Random House)
• Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion Books)
• The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxed Set by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (Scholastic)

Nonfiction

• How Cool Is This: An Up-close, Inside Look at How Things Work (DK Publishing)
• The Hugo Movie Companion: A Behind the Scenes Look at How a Beloved Book Became a Major Motion Picture by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)
• Lego Harry Potter: Building The Magical World (DK Publishing)
• Lego Star Wars Character Encyclopedia (DK Publishing)
• Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Special Edition 2012 (Scholastic)

To see the complete list, as well as descriptions of each book, visit the OOM post.