SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
EXPLORE +
  • About infoDOCKET
  • Academic Libraries on LJ
  • Research on LJ
  • News on LJ
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Libraries
    • Academic Libraries
    • Government Libraries
    • National Libraries
    • Public Libraries
  • Companies (Publishers/Vendors)
    • EBSCO
    • Elsevier
    • Ex Libris
    • Frontiers
    • Gale
    • PLOS
    • Scholastic
  • New Resources
    • Dashboards
    • Data Files
    • Digital Collections
    • Digital Preservation
    • Interactive Tools
    • Maps
    • Other
    • Podcasts
    • Productivity
  • New Research
    • Conference Presentations
    • Journal Articles
    • Lecture
    • New Issue
    • Reports
  • Topics
    • Archives & Special Collections
    • Associations & Organizations
    • Awards
    • Funding
    • Interviews
    • Jobs
    • Management & Leadership
    • News
    • Patrons & Users
    • Preservation
    • Profiles
    • Publishing
    • Roundup
    • Scholarly Communications
      • Open Access

August 10, 2021 by Gary Price

Market Research From NPD Group: “After a Historic Year, Children’s Non-fiction Outlook Remains Positive”

August 10, 2021 by Gary Price

From NPD:

2020 was a historic year for children’s non-fiction print book sales in the U.S., driven by an acute need for materials to entertain and educate children after the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The entire supercategory of juvenile non-fiction ended 2020 with unit sales that were 23% higher than the previous year. This growth was powered by several subjects that experienced triple-digit growth in the early stages of the pandemic. While unit sales are 2 million units (5%) lower this year than they were last year, through the week ending July 24, 2021, they are up 6 million units (21%) over pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to The NPD Group.

“Summer sales of educational workbooks and school readiness materials remain strong this year,” said Kristen McLean, books industry analyst for NPD. “Books related to science and nature, biographies, and other key topics are growing, indicating kids and families are still looking to this material, as we head toward the return to school.”

Source: NPD Group

Trends in top juvenile non-fiction BISAC categories

Six juvenile non-fiction book industry standards and communications (BISAC) categories accounted for 44% of the juvenile non-fiction print books market in the U.S. from January through July 24, 2021. They are as follows: biography and autobiography (up 23%), science and nature (up 9%), activity books (down 11% YTD), concepts (down 11%), study aids (down 32%), games and activities (down 16%). Other growing BISAC categories include religion (up 121,000 units), healthy/daily living (up 386,000), social topics (up 332,000).

“While a number of juvenile non-fiction categories declined compared to 2020’s unprecedented spike in sales, the overall unit-sales volume for this supercategory remains very strong historically,” McLean said. “Given that many parents continue to worry that their children could fall behind in the classroom due to coronavirus-related school closures, there will be continuing consumer needs in this area well into 2022.”

Publisher market share in juvenile non-fiction

Supply-chain disruptions, quickly evolving consumer focus, and shifts in retail channels have all affected publisher market share over the last 52 weeks. This is creating opportunities for nimble independent publishers that can take advantage of domestic printing to gain market share as other publishers wait for overseas orders.

“Unlike some areas of children’s publishing, like comics and graphic novels, the juvenile non-fiction supercategory has a very diverse publishing ecosystem,” McLean said. “Small, medium, and large publishers compete on a fairly level playing field, and there are opportunities to take market share, depending on the shifting needs of the marketplace.”

Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), News, Publishing

SHARE:

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@mediasourceinc.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Before launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and senior editors at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com, and is currently a contributing editor at Search Engine Land.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Job Zone

ADVERTISEMENT

Recent Articles on LJ

Dartmouth Repatriates Samson Occom Papers to Mohegan Tribe

How Ted Lasso Changed My Librarianship | Backtalk

On Critical Cataloging: Q&A with Treshani Perera | Equity

There Are No Lanes: Rural Libraries Do It ALL | Backtalk

Proud Boys Disrupt Drag Queen Story Time at San Lorenzo Library

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Infodocket Posts

Julie Mosbo Ballestro Appointed University Librarian at Texas A&M University

Full Text of a Texas A&M University Libraries Announcement: We are pleased to announce the appointment of Julie Mosbo Ballestro as University Librarian and Assistant Provost of University Libraries at ...

New Report From EBLIDA: "First European Overview on E-Lending in Public Libraries"

From an EBLIDA (European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations) Post: EBLIDA is laying the foundation for “sustainable copyright” in public libraries through the publication of the “First European ...

New Video Recording From Rare Book School: "Making and Reading Indigenous Archives"

The Rare Book School (U. of Virginia) video embedded below (a National Endowment for the Humanities-Global Book Histories Initiative Lecture by Kelly Wisecup) was recorded on June 15, 2022. From ...

New Funding: Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Awarded $850,000 by Mellon Foundation to Support the Advancement of...

From a DPLA Announcement: Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is pleased to announce an $850,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to support its effort to advance racial justice in ...

Roundup (June 27, 2022)

Coherent Digital Launches South Asia Archive on the Coherent Commons Platform The Longest-Running Queer News Radio Show Is Headed to the Library of Congress (via NPR) University of Cambridge Now ...

Report: "The Important Role Libraries Play in Building a Creative and Innovative Society"

From ArchDaily: As gateways to knowledge and culture, libraries play a fundamental role in society. Foundational in creating opportunities for learning, as well as supporting literacy and education, the resources ...

Not Real News: An Associated Press Roundup of Untrue Stories Shared Widely on Social Media This Week

From the Associated Press: A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were ...

Statement: American Library Association (ALA) Condemns Threats of Violence in Libraries

Full Text of ALA Statement (6/24): In response to the alarming increase in acts of aggression toward library workers and patrons as reported by press across the country, the American ...

Roundup (June 24, 2022)

FCC and IMLS Sign Agreement to Promote Broadband Access Library Impact Research Report: Impact of Archival Collections and Services on the Western University Department of History (via ARL) More Than ...

Report: "Vatican Releases Thousands of Holocaust-Era Letters and Requests Online"

From the Associated Press (via Times of Israel): Pope Francis orders the online publication of 170 volumes of its Jewish files from the recently opened Pope Pius XII archives, the ...

The New York Public Library Opens a ‘Virtual Branch’ on Instagram and Launches a Reading Recommendation Project Using...

From NYPL: The virtual branch— a custom designed interactive AR (Augmented Reality) Effect accessible via Instagram Reels is the centerpiece of #NYPLSummerBookshelf, a new initiative to spark a love of ...

Roundup (June 23, 2022)

CLIR Invites Proposals for Pocket Burgundy Series (via Council on Library and Information Resources) Oregon’s State Library added to National Register of Historic Places (via Oregon Capital Chronicle)

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW INFODOCKET ON TWITTER

Tweets by @infodocket

ADVERTISEMENT

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • Programs+
  • Design
  • Leadership
  • People
  • COVID-19
  • Advocacy
  • Opinion
  • INFOdocket
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Booklists
  • Prepub Alert
  • Book Pulse
  • Media
  • Readers' Advisory
  • Self-Published Books
  • Review Submissions
  • Review for LJ

Awards

  • Library of the Year
  • Librarian of the Year
  • Movers & Shakers 2022
  • Paralibrarian of the Year
  • Best Small Library
  • Marketer of the Year
  • All Awards Guidelines
  • Community Impact Prize

Resources

  • LJ Index/Star Libraries
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies

Events & PD

  • Online Courses
  • In-Person Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Submit Features/News
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Careers at MSI


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.