Friday 20 January 2012

The Most Popular Books and Films for Children in County Clare

Given the popularity of Jacqueline Wilson, Jeff Kinney and Francesca Simon among young readers worldwide, it’s no surprise that books by these authors were among the top issuing books for children in Clare County Library during 2011. Diary writing has never been more avidly read by young people with Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 5: The Ugly Truth topping the table. Jacqueline Wilson holds a consistent place at the top, year on year. Her book Little Darlings was in second place in 2011, indicating that children want to read about emotional issues if they are uniquely presented in a light hearted and amusing way. The theory that boys are not as keen on reading as girls is debatable if we acknowledge that the third most popular book issued in the past year was The Guinness World Records which is mainly borrowed by boys. A greater range of engaging fiction has become available for boys in recent years with heroes of the page and screen such as Percy Jackson and Greg Heffley sure to generate interest. Horrid Henry, the ultimate comic book bad boy of the 21st century does the bold things most kids only ever get to dream of. In Horrid Henry Rocks, number 6 in the library top ten list, he’s up to his usual mischief. He continues to make life hell for his younger brother, ruins Moody Margaret’s sleepover, drives his teacher, Mrs. Battleaxe crazy, and invents the most amazing schemes to go to a concert by his favorite band, the Killer Boy Rats.

Clare County Library staff are delighted that Judi Curtin, who has been described as Ireland’s Jacqueline Wilson, has two books in the Top Ten Titles for Children, All About Alice and Alice and Megan. Judi visited Killaloe, Scariff, Newmarket on Fergus and Shannon libraries during Children’s Book Festival in October 2011 where she met with hundreds of her fans from primary schools in the area. Shrek Forever After – The Final Chapter and Shrek The Third were the two top issuing children’s films, followed by six new releases based on books by popular authors including Rick Riordan, Kate DiCamillo, J.K. Rowling, Roald Dahl and Neil Gaiman.

The children’s top ten film list reads as follows:
Shrek Forever After – The Final Chapter
Shrek The Third
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The Tale of Despereaux
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Toy Story 3
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Coraline and
Shrek.

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