Subject Spotlight: Juvenile Fiction

Welcome back to Subject spotlight, the blog series where we give you quarterly data-driven insights into a specific corner of the Canadian book market. In our previous post, we shared sales and library circulation data for subcategories related to women.

This time, we’re looking at Juvenile Fiction titles. How did these titles perform during the first quarter of 2026? Let’s find out with the help of our SalesData and LibraryData services!

Buying Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction

As shown in the graph below, year-over-year sales of Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction titles were down 1% in January, 3% in February, and up by 3% in March.

In 2025, sales decreased by 11% from January to February, before going up in March by 9%.

Similarly, in 2026, sales were down 13% from January to February, followed by an increase of 16% from February to March.

Overall, the sales of Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction titles decreased by 3% in the first quarter of 2025 and increased only marginally by 1% in the first quarter of 2026.

These are the BISAC subcategories with the highest year-over-year increases in sales:

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Activity Books — up 67%

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Concepts — up 17%

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Holidays & Celebrations — up 9%

From January to March, the most purchased Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction subcategories were:

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Comics & Graphic Novels — 15% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction sales

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Animals — 11% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction sales

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Humorous Stories — 7% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction sales

Borrowing Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction

Year-over-year, Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction loans increased by 7% in January, 17% in February, and 22% in March. Overall loans decreased by 11% in the first quarter of 2025 and increased by 2% in the first quarter of 2026.

Year-over-year renewals increased by 17% in January, 27% in February, and 46% in March. Overall, renewals decreased by 13% in the first quarter of 2025 and increased by 9% in the first quarter of 2026.

Which Juvenile Fiction subcategories were the most popular in Canadian libraries? From January to March, these subcategories saw the greatest increases in library circulation compared to 2025:

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Comics & Graphic Novels — loans up 24% and renewals up 37%

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Holidays & Celebrations — loans up 20% and renewals up 30%

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Animals — loans up 17% and renewals up 33%

During the first quarter of 2026, the most circulated Juvenile Fiction subcategories were:

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Comics & Graphic Novels — 33% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction loans and 34% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction renewals

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Animals — 22% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction loans and 26% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction renewals

• Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction / Readers — 19% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction loans and 24% of all Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction renewals

Reading Juvenile / Juvenile Fiction

Top selling

1. Talons of Power: a Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire Graphic Novel #9) by Tui T. Sutherland & Mike Holmes

2. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes: a Graphic Novel by Dav Pilkey

3. For the Fans! (KPop Demon Hunters) by Angela Song

4. Partypooper (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book #20) by Jeff Kinney

5. Little Blue Truck's Springtime by Alice Schertle & Jill McElmurry

Top borrowed

1. The Deep End (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #15) by Jeff Kinney

2. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes: a Graphic Novel by Dav Pilkey

3. Big Shot (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book #16) by Kinney, Jeff

4. Partypooper (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book #20) by Jeff Kinney

5. Wrecking Ball (Diary of a Wimpy Kid #14) by Jeff Kinney

Stay tuned for future instalments of this series or sign up to our eNews for more digestible data on the Canadian book market.

Until next time!