LIBRARIES

AFTER 125 YEARS, THIS IS BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY’S MOST BORROWED BOOK

Community Nov 17, 2022

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Brooklyn Public Library has been celebrating its 125 year anniversary by counting down their 125 most borrowed books of all time. While there are many classics on the list, there are also some more recent releases that have already broken into the top ten. The full list includes a mix of novels, graphic novels, and plenty of children’s books.

The number one most borrowed book of all time at Brooklyn Public Library, after 125 years of borrowing, is:

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE BY MAURICE SENDAK

This beloved picture book was originally published in 1963 and won the Caldecott Medal. It was also named the #1 best picture book by the School Library Journal in 2012. It’s been adapted several times, including as a feature film in 2009 and an opera in 1980.

And hey, if you want to throw a Where the Wild Things Are-themed baby shower, you can do that, too.

The other books rounding up the top ten are:

2. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
3. The Cat In the Hat by Dr. Seuss
4. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
5. Are You My Mother? by PD Eastman
6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
7. Naruto Volume 1 by Mashashi Kishimoto
8. The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
10. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Likely because of the timespan that this list encompasses — publishing was even more white than it is now during most of that time — the only author of color in the top ten is for a manga title. There are several other manga series on the list as well, despite them only being published fairly recently.

Check out the full list at the Brooklyn Library.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.

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