Walliams claims third number one as Grisham's Rooster crows

David Walliams and Tony Ross’ The World’s Worst Children 3 (HarperCollins) has scored a third straight week in the UK Official Top 50 number one spot, selling 32,809 copies through Nielsen BookScan’s Total Consumer Market. This is the comedian-turned-author’s 39th week in the overall number one and his 117th as the bestselling kids’ book of the week.

After fewer than three weeks on sale, The World’s Worst Children 3 is now the biggest-selling Children’s title of 2018 to date, and the fifth-bestselling book overall. It also broke the 150,000-copies-sold mark last week, with a total of 158,147 shifted through the tills.

John Grisham’s The Rooster Bar (Hodder) clucked straight into the Mass Market Fiction number one, displacing Marian Keyes’ The Break (Penguin). At 23,040 copies sold, it was the best launch week for a Grisham paperback since 2011’s The Confession, and 10% up in volume on the first week for 2017’s The Whistler. This was Grisham’s 46th week in the Mass Market Fiction top spot.

Robert Harris’ Munich (Arrow) debuted in fourth place overall, with 17,336 copies sold—48% up on the first three days for 2017’s Conclave, which is impressive given Conclave was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick.

Bill Clinton and James Patterson held the Original Fiction number one for a second week, though their popularity declined marginally—The President is Missing (Century) sold just under 2,000 copies fewer than the week before, at 17,227. Stuart MacBride’s The Blood Road (HarperCollins) hit the chart in third place, while Mark Billingham’s The Killing Habit (Sphere) debuted in 7th.

Ant Middleton was another Father’s Day winner with First Man In (HarperCollins) spending a third week in the Hardback Non-Fiction number one spot, peaking at 16,373 copies sold. Mr Men spoof Mr Grumpy Nails Fatherhood (Egmont) leapt eight places up the chart to fourth, selling 5,103 copies.

Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt (Picador) reclaimed the Paperback Non-Fiction number one from Anthony McCarten’s Darkest Hour (Viking), for an eighth non-consecutive week in the top spot. Of the adult charts, the Big Four publishers claimed a category number one spot apiece.

Peppa Pig’s My Daddy (Ladybird) knocked Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks’ What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday (Macmillan Children's) from the Children’s Pre-School number one spot, with Peppa’s Magical Unicorn also debuting at 8th—to join Where’s the Unicorn?, Little Sticker Dolly Dressing Unicorns, Magic Painting Unicorns and That’s Not My Unicorn in the chart. The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Kids’ Handbook (Carlton Kids) climbed upwards, as the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Activity and Colouring Book joined it in 19th place.

Walliams again monopolised the Children’s and YA Fiction top 20, with The World of David Walliams Book of Stuff (HarperCollins) the only new entry in fifth, to make 10 titles for the author in total. 

Father's Day had an uplifting effect on the print market, which ballooned 7% week on week to £27.5m—the first time it has climbed above £27m since the second week of March. It was also a hefty 8.2% up in value on Father's Day 2017.