Category % Change April % Change YTD
(Measured in $ sales against same time periods, 2001)
Book sales cooled a bit in April, but most categories still had double-digit gains in the month, according to the monthly estimates from the AAP. The biggest increase was in the children's paperback segment where sales jumped 61.4% over April 2001. Adult hardcover sales rose 31.6% and children's hardcover sales increased 31.0%. Trade paperback sales were up 9.5% in the month. The audio book segment also had solid gains with sales ahead 36.9%, and sales in the professional publishing segment, which had been struggling this year, posted a 34.9% increase. Sales of mass market paperbacks were up 9.0%. As expected, sales in the elhi segment continue to be soft, falling 9.9% in April, with sales from adoption states off 16.4%. Returns exceeded sales in the college segment. The elhi segment had the largest decline in the four-month period, with sales down 8.3%, while the adult hardcover category had the largest increase, 53.4%.
Adult Hardcover 31.6 53.4
Adult Paperback 9.5 21.4
Juvenile Hardcover 31.0 33.3
Juvenile Paperback 61.4 26.5
Audio Books 36.9 36.5
Univ. Pr. Hardcover 13.5 -6.2
Univ. Pr. Paperback 26.8 2.8
Mass Market Paperback 9.0 18.7
Professional 34.9 1.9
College Texts NM 18.8
School Texts -9.9 -8.3