Rankings reflect sales for the week ended Sept. 20, which were reported on a confidential basis by vendors offering a wide range of general interest titles.
Every week, thousands of diverse selling locations report their actual sales on hundreds of thousands of individual titles. The panel of reporting retailers is comprehensive and reflects sales in stores of all sizes and demographics across the United States.
Picture Book rankings include hardcover sales only. Series rankings include all print and e-book sales. An asterisk (*) indicates that a book’s sales were barely distinguishable from those of the book above. A (b) indicates that some bookstores reported receiving bulk orders.
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PICTURE
1. THE LEAF THIEF, by Alice Hemming. Illustrated by Nicola Slater. (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky) Squirrel tries to figure out who has stolen his leaves. (Ages 4 to 8)
WEEKS ON LIST: 25
2. HOW TO CATCH A WITCH, by Alice Walstead. Illustrated by Megan Joyce. (Sourcebooks Wonderland) The Catch Club Kids try to snare a witch on Halloween. (Ages 4 to 7)
WEEKS ON LIST: 23
3. ZOMBIE AND BRAIN ARE FRIENDS, by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic. Illustrated by Laan Cham. (Bloomsbury) Zeb the zombie and Brian the brain become friends. (Ages 4 to 8)
WEEKS ON LIST: 3
4. THE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU WILL BE, by Emily Winfield Martin. (Random House) A celebration of possibilities. (Ages 3 to 7)
WEEKS ON LIST: 443
5. JUST SHINE!, by Sonia Sotomayor. Illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara. (Philomel) A tribute to the U.S. Supreme Court justice’s mother. (Ages 4 to 8)
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
6. HANSEL AND GRETEL, by Stephen King. Illustrated by Maurice Sendak. (HarperCollins) A reimagining of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale. (Ages 6 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 3
7. CHICKA CHICKA TRICKA TREAT, by Julien Chung. (Beach Lane) The alphabet letters climb the creaky old tree for Halloween. (Ages 4 to 8)
WEEKS ON LIST: 6
8. HOW TO CATCH A MONSTER, by Adam Wallace. Illustrated by Andy Elkerton. (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky) A boy tries to catch the monster in his closet. (Ages 4 to 8)
WEEKS ON LIST: 22
9. GRUMPY MONKEY DON’T BE SCARED, by Suzanne Lang. Illustrated by Max Lang. (Random House Studio) Jim Panzee and his friends brave the dark jungle to collect Halloween treats. (Ages 4 to 8)
WEEKS ON LIST: 19
10. LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED, by Alice Schertle. Illustrated by Jill McElmurry. (Clarion) Red challenges Blue to a race. (Ages 4 to 8)
WEEKS ON LIST: 25
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MIDDLE GRADE HARDCOVER
Karina Yan Glaser’s novel joins the middle grade list at No. 5. (Courtesy/Allida)
1. THE POISONED KING, by Katherine Rundell. Illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie. (Knopf) Christopher and Anya must save the dragons of the Archipelago from a strange new threat. (Ages 10 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
2. TROUBLING TONSILS!, by Aaron Reynolds. Illustrated by Peter Brown. (Simon & Schuster ) Charlie Marmot’s infected tonsils have disappeared before surgery. (Ages 6 to 9)
WEEKS ON LIST: 3
3. POCKET BEAR, by Katherine Applegate. Illustrated by Charles Santoso. (Feiwel & Friends) Zephyrina brings a rare stuffed bear back to the Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured. (Ages 8 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
4. WONDER, by R.J. Palacio. (Knopf) A boy with a facial deformity starts school. (Ages 8 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 511
5. THE NINE MOONS OF HAN YU AND LULI, by Karina Yan Glaser. (Allida) Parallel stories that take place in 731 China and 1931 Chinatown, New York, about the struggles of two Chinese families. (Ages 8 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
6. THE COMPLETE COOKBOOK FOR YOUNG CHEFS, by America’s Test Kitchen Kids. (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky) More than 100 kid-tested recipes from America’s Test Kitchen. (Ages 8 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 257
7. THE VALE, by Abigail Hing Wen. Illustrated by Yuna Cheong and Brandon Wu. (Third State) A boy and his elf friend try to save an artificial intelligence-generated world. (Ages 8 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
8. DREAM, by Barbara O’Connor. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Idalee Lovett dreams of becoming a country songwriter. (Ages 8 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 4
9. MOONLEAPERS, by Margaret Peterson Haddix. (Quill Tree) A girl is tasked with helping to save the world by changing history as a time traveler. (Ages 8 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
10. IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES, by Katherine Rundell. Illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie. (Knopf) A boy is enlisted to save a place where magical creatures live. (Ages 10 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 54
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YOUNG ADULT HARDCOVER
1. HEKATE: THE WITCH, by Nikita Gill. (Little, Brown) To avoid enslavement by the Olympians, Hekate is hidden in the underworld to make a life for herself. (Ages 14 to 18)
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
2. HOUR OF THE PUMPKIN QUEEN, by Megan Shepherd. (Random House/Disney) After a potion demonstration goes awry, Sally and Luna fall through a portal to Time Town. (Ages 12 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 11
3. THORN SEASON, by Kiera Azar. (Storytide) In the Kingdom of Daradon, where wielding magic is treason, Alissa Paine must conceal her magical abilities or face persecution. (Ages 14 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 3
4. A THEORY OF DREAMING, by Ava Reid. (HarperCollins) In the sequel to “A Study in Drowning,” Effy and Preston return to the University of Llyr. (Ages 14 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 8
5. BLOOD MOON, by Britney S. Lewis. (Page Street) Mira discovers that the legends of werewolves in her hometown are true. (Ages 14 to 17)
WEEKS ON LIST: 2
6. IF LOOKS COULD KILL, by Julie Berry. (Simon & Schuster) Unlikely allies mount a rescue effort to save a girl who is forced to work in a brothel, while monsters and murderers run amok in 19th-century New York City. (Ages 12 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 1
7. WINGS OF STARLIGHT, by Allison Saft. (Disney) Clarion, the successor to the throne of Pixie Hollow, is determined to confront a monster that threatens the land. (Ages 12 to 18)
WEEKS ON LIST: 33
8. IMMORTAL CONSEQUENCES, by I.V. Marie. (Delacorte) At Blackwood Academy, six students compete to change their fate in a cutthroat magical competition called the Decennial. (Ages 14 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 8
9. GLORIOUS RIVALS, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. (Little, Brown) The stakes are raised for the seven players on Hawthorne Island. (Ages 12 to 18)
WEEKS ON LIST: 8
10. HEARTLESS HUNTER, by Kristen Ciccarelli. (Wednesday) Rune, a witch, and Gideon, a witch-hunter, fall in love. (Ages 13 to 18)
WEEKS ON LIST: 51
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SERIES
1. THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY TRILOGY, by Jenny Han. (Simon & Schuster) A beach house, summer love and enduring friendships. (Ages 12 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 145
2. THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins. (Scholastic) In a dystopia, a girl fights for survival on live TV. (Ages 12 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 389
3. THE POWERLESS TRILOGY, by Lauren Roberts. (Simon & Schuster) A story of forbidden love between Paedyn, an Ordinary, and Kai, an Elite, in the kingdom of Ilya. (Ages 14 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 62
4. HARRY POTTER, by J.K. Rowling. (Scholastic) A wizard hones his conjuring skills in the service of fighting evil. (Ages 10 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 861
5. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Amulet) The travails and challenges of adolescence. (Ages 9 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 862
6. PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion) A boy battles mythological monsters. (Ages 9 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 795
7. THE WILD ROBOT, by Peter Brown. (Little, Brown) Roz the robot adapts to her surroundings on a remote, wild island. (Ages 7 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 87
8. AWESOME FRIENDLY KID, written and illustrated by Jeff Kinney. (Amulet) Rowley Jefferson chronicles his life story and adventures. (Ages 9 to 12)
WEEKS ON LIST: 44
9. A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER, by Holly Jackson. (Delacorte) Pippa Fitz-Amobi solves murderous crimes. (Ages 14 and up)
WEEKS ON LIST: 203
10. BOYS OF TOMMEN, by Chloe Walsh. (Bloom) In Ireland, friends at the private school Tommen College prepare for adulthood. (Ages 16 to 18)
WEEKS ON LIST: 49
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The New York Times bestsellers are compiled and archived by the bestseller lists desk of The New York Times news department and are separate from the culture, advertising and business sides of The New York Times Co. More information on rankings and methodology: nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/methodology.
https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/10/06/for-young-readers-5-new-novels-on-the-bestseller-list/
