What are the big books?

Although librarians and teachers often have a good sense of what children are reading, it takes Publisher's Weekly to give us the nuts and bolts of how many books in various categories are actually selling. The lead for their story of sales during 2010 is the news that series books rule as far as sales of children's books go, in hardcover, paperback and electronic format. Everyone who works with young people know the phenomenal success of the Twilight series, but as that set of books fades slowly (very slowly) away, they are being replaced by other series. It seems that knowing the characters and having a strong connection with them is what many children look for in choosing a book. Librarians may fret over the number of series going out, and worry about the outstanding non-series books that are passed up, but it's hard to fight against the trend. Of course, it's also true that bookstores--especially the big box bookstores and the big-box general stores--carry lots of series books and very few singletons. Libraries are pretty much the only place where children will find the type of book that wins Newbery or Caldecott awards, not to mention the more unusual books translated from other languages which introduce a new world to children. Surely we still have an obligation to offer children more than just the top sellers in the field. The early library leaders like Anne Carroll Moore and Lillian Smith were dedicated to the proposition that "only the best is good enough for children". Perhaps we ought to keep some of that spirit today and at least give children the chance to sample books that might really change their lives in a way vampires never will.