Outside forces seem to have given a boost to several of the books on the chart of the Top 20 Kids’ graphic novels in the book channel, based on Circana (formerly NPD) BookScan data for July (7/2/23-7/29/23) provided to ICv2.

Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper is no stranger to the BookScan charts (see "Top Kids Graphic Novel Franchises – Spring 2023"), but it is unusual for three of the four volumes to make the chart in a single month.  Perhaps readers were gearing up for the return of the Netflix series; the second season was released on August 3.

Similarly, Nimona debuted on Netflix on June 30 (see "‘Nimona’"), and that seems to have stirred up interest in the book, because the 2015 release is on the chart eight years after it first came out.  The two Five Nights at Freddy’s collections may owe their places on the chart to the upcoming movie, slated for release in theaters and on Peacock on October 27, 2023 (see "‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’").

And Sweet Valley Twins: Best Friends, absent from the chart since February 2023, is back, probably given a boost by the late-June release of Sweet Valley Twins: Teacher’s Pet.

The only actual July release on the chart is Baby-Sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Haircut, the seventh volume in the series, which debuts at number 2, just behind the latest Dog Man book.  FGTEEV: Out of Time! returns to the chart for its third month, moving from second to fourth place.

Circana BookScan Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels – July 2023 (7/2/23 - 7/29/23)

Rank

Title

Author

Publisher

1

DOG MAN VOL. 11: TWENTY THOUSAND FLEAS UNDER THE SEA HC

PILKEY, DAV

GRAPHIX

2

BABY-SITTERS LITTLE SISTER VOL. 7: KAREN'S HAIRCUT

KATY FARINA

GRAPHIX

3

FGTEEV: OUT OF TIME!

FGTEEV

HARPERCOLLINS

4

CAT KID COMIC CLUB VOL. 4: COLLABORATIONS HC

DAV PILKEY

GRAPHIX

5

NIMONA

ND STEVENSON

HARPERCOLLINS

6

SWEET VALLEY TWINS: TEACHER'S PET

FRANCINE PASCAL

RH GRAPHIC

7

DOG MAN VOL. 9: GRIME AND PUNISHMENT HC

DAV PILKEY

GRAPHIX

8

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S VOL. 1: FAZBEAR FRIGHTS GRAPHIC NOVEL COLLECTION

SCOTT CAWTHON

GRAPHIX

9

DOG MAN VOL. 10: MOTHERING HEIGHTS HC

DAV PILKEY

GRAPHIX

10

HEARTSTOPPER VOL. 1

ALICE OSEMAN

GRAPHIX

11

BABY-SITTERS CLUB VOL. 13: MARY ANNE'S BAD LUCK MYSTERY

CYNTHIA YUAN CHENG

GRAPHIX

12

DOG MAN VOL. 7: FOR WHOM THE BALL ROLLS HC

DAV PILKEY

GRAPHIX

13

FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S VOL. 2: FAZBEAR FRIGHTS GRAPHIC NOVEL COLLECTION

SCOTT CAWTHON

GRAPHIX

14

DOG MAN VOL. 1 HC

DAV PILKEY

GRAPHIX

15

DOG MAN VOL. 8: FETCH-22 HC

DAV PILKEY

GRAPHIX

16

SWEET VALLEY TWINS: BEST FRIENDS

FRANCINE PASCAL

RH GRAPHIC

17

HEARTSTOPPER VOL. 2

ALICE OSEMAN

GRAPHIX

18

WINGS OF FIRE VOL. 1: THE DRAGONET PROPHECY

TUI T. SUTHERLAND

GRAPHIX

19

DOG MAN VOL. 4: DOG MAN AND CAT KID HC

DAV PILKEY

GRAPHIX

20

HEARTSTOPPER VOL. 3

ALICE OSEMAN

GRAPHIX

Source: Circana

For charts of July 2023 graphic novel sales from Circana:
July 2023 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
July 2023 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels

For the charts with the actual sales numbers from Circana, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
July 2023 Circana – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
July 2023 Circana – Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
July 2023 Circana – Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales


Circana collects weekly point-of-sale data on print books from over 16,000 locations including e-tailers, chains, mass merchandisers, independent bookstores, and more.  Circana covers approximately 85% of the U.S. trade print book market.  The ranks on this chart are based on piece sales.  Some publishers classify titles that are primarily text, or art books, as graphic novels; we've removed those titles from the ranking above.

For past Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "Top 20 GN Index."