There are two new titles in the top 20 kids graphic novels in the book channel, based on NPD BookScan data for January 2021 (1/3/21-1/30/21) provided to ICv2, indicating that there’s at least some room among the Pilkey graphic novels for titles by other creators.

The fact that Cat Kid Comic Club tops the list is no surprise, as it’s by Dav Pilkey and is very similar to the Dog Man books; but the fact that the new volumes of the Wings of Fire and Baby-Sitters Little Sister series got into the top five, and that Guts, New Kid, and Class Act also broke up the Dog Man streak, indicates that readers are diversifying a bit.

It’s also a sign of the times that new kids graphic novel releases are big enough to warrant special displays in chains.  The new Baby Sitters Little Sister volume had a multi-facing display on the outside of the Nook island at the center of the Barnes & Noble we shop at in Madison, Wisconsin, and the new Wings of Fire (along with the rest of the series) got prime space just outside the kids area of the store (see display images from our January channel check in the Gallery below).

But diversity of publishers in the Top 20 is actually declining; the January 2021 chart is more solidly owned by Graphix than ever before, with 18 of the 20 titles from that imprint. There are a lot of reasons for this, including the fact that the folks there really know how to publish books that kids like, but it’s still remarkable how much of the top 20 is from one publisher, and even more remarkable that half the top 20 is from a single author, Dav Pilkey.

It’s also worth noting that most of the books in the top 20 are over a year old, although the top four titles are all Fall 2020 releases. While many best-seller lists change radically from month to month, the list of top-selling kids’ comics is pretty stable.

NPD BookScan Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels – January 2021 (1/3/21 - 1/30/21)
Rank	Title	Author	Publisher
1	CAT KID COMIC CLUB HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
2	DOG MAN: GRIME AND PUNISHMENT HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
3	WINGS OF FIRE BOOK 4: THE DARK SECRET	TUI T. SUTHERLAND	GRAPHIX
4	BABY-SITTERS LITTLE SISTER VOL 3: KAREN'S WORST DAY	KATY FARINA	GRAPHIX
5	DOG MAN: FETCH-22 HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
6	DOG MAN: FOR WHOM THE BALL ROLLS HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
7	DOG MAN: BRAWL OF THE WILD HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
8	GUTS	RAINA TELGEMEIER	GRAPHIX
9	DOG MAN HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
10	DOG MAN: LORD OF THE FLEAS HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
11	NEW KID	JERRY CRAFT	HARPERCOLLINS
12	CLASS ACT	JERRY CRAFT	HARPERCOLLINS
13	DOG MAN: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
14	DOG MAN AND CAT KID HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
15	DOG MAN UNLEASHED HC	DAV PILKEY	GRAPHIX
16	SMILE	RAINA TELGEMEIER	GRAPHIX
17	WINGS OF FIRE GRAPHIC NOVEL #1: THE DRAGONET PROPHECY	TUI T. SUTHERLAND	GRAPHIX
18	DRAMA	RAINA TELGEMEIER	GRAPHIX
19	BABY-SITTERS LITTLE SISTER VOL. 2: KAREN'S ROLLER SKATES	KATY FARINA	GRAPHIX
20	SISTERS	RAINA TELGEMEIER	GRAPHIX
Source: The NPD Group/BookScan

For charts of January 2021 graphic novel sales from NPD BookScan:
January 2021 NPD BookScan – Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels
January 2021 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels

For the charts with the actual sales numbers from NPD BookScan, see these articles on the ICv2 Pro site:
January 2021 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Adult Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
January 2021 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Author, Manga, and Superhero Graphic Novels with Actual Sales
January 2021 NPD BookScan - Top 20 Kids Graphic Novels with Actual Sales


NPD BookScan collects weekly point-of-sale data on print books from over 16,000 locations including e-tailers, chains, mass merchandisers, independent bookstores, and more.  NPD BookScan 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 BookScan Top 20 Graphic Novel lists, see the "BookScan Top 20 GN Index."

Click Gallery below for images of Barnes & Noble new release displays in January 2021!