Children's: World Book Day titles flock to the top

It was a huge week for the Children’s category, with volume jumping 10% week on week and 31% against the same week in 2020. Though it’s still a week or so before the nation’s children are given their £1 World Book Day vouchers, the 2022 tranche flooded the kids’ charts and the Top 50, no doubt boosted by the half-term holiday. Peter Curtis’ Dinosaur Roar and Friends! (Macmillan Children’s) velocirapped its claws around the Children’s top spot, as Hey Duggee! The World Book Day Badge (BBC Children’s) and Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola’s Rocket Rules! (Puffin) joined it in the Pre-School and Picture Book top 20. Over in Children’s and YA Fiction, Joanna Nadin and Rikin Parekh’s The Worst Class in the World in Danger! (Bloomsbury Children’s) chalked up its first pole, with Nadia Shireen’s Grimwood (S&S) and Simon Farnaby and Claire Powell’s The Wizard and Me (Hodder Children’s) conjuring up second and third place respectively. 

Aside from World Book Day, there were some heavyweight new entries in the Pre-School chart. Julia Donaldson’s latest Tales from Acorn Wood title Mole’s Spectacles (Macmillan Children’s), illustrated by Axel Scheffler, found its way to fifth place, as David Walliams and Tony Ross’ Marmalade: The Orange Panda (HarperCollins) debuted just a handful of copies below in sixth.