Margaret Aldrich, a children’s book buyer at Wellesley Books in Wellesley, Mass., weighs in on books that are steady sellers at her store.
These are books that I’m enjoying handselling and that people are really responding to—books that may not be the ones that everyone has heard of and that may not automatically fly out the door.
One is Square Cat, a picture book by Elizabeth Schoonmaker, which is a delightful story about a cat who is square and doesn’t feel as though she fits in in the world. She has two wonderful friends who try to cheer her up, and reassure her that square cats are easy to stack and make excellent square dancers. This is a wonderful story about friendship and self-acceptance. I’ve sold it to lots of parents looking for read-alouds as gifts. It’s perfect for three- to five-year-olds, and also lends itself to first- or second-grade classes doing units on acceptance and tolerance of people who are different. Children I’ve shown this book to get the humor very quickly.
One of my favorite books from last spring, which took a little while to get going, is Sharon Draper’s Out of My Mind, which is selling very well for us. The novel is about a smart, sensitive 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. She tells how she lives in a world of words that float through her head—and then says that she has never spoken a word. After being in special classes where she learns the alphabet and the same songs year after year, she finally gets a computer device and is able to communicate. She is mainstreamed into a regular classroom, where she must deal with kids’ prejudices and fears. She is a provocative and amazingly resilient character. The novel gives readers a lot to think about, and in the end is positive and affirming. This appeals to readers who like meaty books, like Chains, When You Reach Me,and One Crazy Summer.
Another intermediate book that we’re doing well with is Black Radishes by Susan Lynn Meyer, a Wellesley College professor. This first novel is based on the author’s father’s memories of growing up in France during World War II. It’s about a Jewish boy whose family leaves Paris just before the Nazi occupation and moves to a small village. It is very well written and deals with an aspect of the war we don’t hear that much about. Our store has a lot of readers—particularly boys—who are interested in stories about World War II, though this is not just a boy book. Teachers have really responded to this novel, and it has caught on by word of mouth. It helps that the author has done a number of events locally.
And a YA series that is selling well is Incarceron by Catherine Fisher. The first book, Incarceron, came out in paperback in February, so that’s helping sales. Sapphique, the second book, is also doing well for us. Whenever there’s a sequel it always helps the sales of the first book. These novels are more sophisticated than many YAs. The story and characters are more developed, and there is a higher level of intrigue and suspense. These books are perfect for readers who liked The Hunger Games or Graceling, or even Alex Rider fans, even though it’s not an espionage story. These seem to be books with staying power.
