Top Borrows of 2024: Children's Books, YA, Graphic Novels, & Movies

Dec. 23, 2024 – We're counting down the most popular books of the year. We've compiled lists of the most borrowed titles by Cedar Rapids Public Library patrons in several different genres. 

This week we're rounding up young adult fiction, children's chapter fiction, children's picture books, children's nonfiction, graphic novels, and movies. Last week we shared the most borrowed adult fiction, mystery, romance, science fiction & fantasy, adult nonfiction, ebooks, and digital audiobooks. 

What stood out this year? Modern classics like "The Hunger Games: series, "Twilight" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" dominated YA titles. Longstanding favorites also continue to rule in children's chapter fiction, which was swept by Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, Rick Riordan's "Percy Jackson" books, and J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series. In the picture books category, also known as easies, classics like "The Berenstain Bears," "Arthur," and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" mixed with more modern titles like John Jory's "Food Group" books. In children's nonfiction, books about animals, LEGOs, and Minecraft were most popular. Graphic novels featured a mix of artistic new titles with classic comic book characters. And movies saw the return of the "Barbenheimer" showdown, with "Barbie" coming out on top.

Browse all the top 10 lists below, and put titles on hold in our catalog by clicking on the covers.

Young Adult Fiction

1. "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" by Holly Jackson
2. "The Inheritance Games" by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
3. "One of Us is Lying" by Karen M. McManus
4. "Mockingjay: The Hunger Games Book 3" by Suzanne Collins
5. "If He had Been With Me" by Laura Nowlin
6. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
7. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
8. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: A Hunger Games Novel" by Suzanne Collins
9. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
10. "Shadow and Bone" by Leigh Bardugo

Children's Chapter Fiction

1. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling
2. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
3. "The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1" by Rick Riordan
4. "The Deep End: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 15" by Jeff Kinney
5. "No Brainer: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 18" by Jeff Kinney
6. "The Last Straw: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 3" by Jeff Kinney
7. "The Sea of Monsters: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 2" by Rick Riordan
8. "The Chalice of the Gods: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Senior Year Adventures, Book 1" by Rick Riordan
9. "The Adventures of Captain Underpants: The First Epic Novel" by Dav Pilkey
10. "Double Down: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 11" by Jeff Kinney

Children's Picture Books (Easies)

1. "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" by Mo Willems
2. "The Berenstain Bears Happy Halloween!" by Stan Berenstain
3. "Llama Llama Time to Share" by Anna Dewdney
4. "The Sour Grape" by John Jory
5. "The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt
6. "The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!" by Mo Willems
7. "Arthur's Teacher Trouble" by Marc Brown
8. "The Big Cheese" by John Jory
9. "Creepy Crayon!" by Aaron Reynolds
10. "Good Night with the Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Gabriella DeGennaro

Children's Nonfiction

   1. "National Geographic Kids Almanac" by National Geographic
   2. "5,000 Awesome Facts (About Animals!) by National Geographic
   3. 4. 5. (three-way tie):
       - "The Harry Potter Wizarding Almanac: The Official Magical Companion to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Books" by J.K. Rowling
       - "How to Build LEGO Animals" by Hannah Dolan
       - "The Ultimate Book of Big Cats: Your Guid to the Secret Lives of these Fierce, Fabulous Felines" by Steve Winter
   6. 7. 8. (three-way tie):
      - "How to Build LEGO Houses" by Hannah Dolan
      - "Minecraft: Guide to Redstone" by Minecraft
      - "Minecraft: Mobestiary" by Alex Wiltshire
   9. 10. 11. (three-way tie)
      - "Dinosaur Atlas: When They Roamed, How They Lived, and Where to Find Their Fossils" by National Geographic
      - "LEGO Harry Potter Ideas Book" by Hannah Dolan
      - "LEGO: Meet the Minifigures" by Julia March

Graphic Novels

1. "Sage" by Brian K. Vaughan
2. "Something is Killing the Children" by James Tynion IV
3. "Batman" by Tom King
4. "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic" by Alison Bechdel
5. "Wonder Woman" by Greg Rucka
6. "Locke & Key" by Joe Hill
7. "The Walking Dead: Compendium One" by Robert Kirkman
8. "The Amazing Spider-Man: Absolute Carnage" by Nick Spencer
9. "Dune: The Graphic Novel" by Brian Herbert
10. "Lore Olympus: Volume 5" by Rachel Smythe

Movies

1. "Barbie"
2. "Oppenheimer"
3. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem"
4. "The Fall Guy"
5. "Wonka"
6. "The Beekeeper"
7. "The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes"
8. "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"
9. 10. (two-way tie)
   - "The Equalizer 3"
   - "Wish"