By Gazette Staff
September 4th, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
The Burlington Library reports on their Big Borrows stories which is now an annual tradition, as “we explore what Burlington readers are borrowing most from their public library. Now that our Kids Summer Reading Club is wrapped up for another year, it’s a great time to check our borrowing statistics to see what titles are tops with kids so far this year. Here’s what we found.”
The BIGGEST Borrows
There were 29 children’s titles borrowed at least 70 times, for a whopping 2,433 total borrows
“We’re so impressed with the incredible enthusiasm our young customers have for reading this year! The breakdown of the most borrowed physical books (includes children’s fiction, graphic novels, children’s readers & pre-readers, and picture books) goes like this: five titles were borrowed 100 or more times; three titles were borrowed 90-99 times; six titles were borrowed 80-89 times; and 15 titles were borrowed 70-79 times—that’s 29 children’s titles borrowed at least 70 times, for a whopping 2,433 total borrows January through August!
“And here’s the best thing: the kids exceeded last year’s numbers—by a lot. From January to August 2024, BPL members borrowed 37 children’s titles at least 50 times for 2,256 total borrows. In comparison, if we counted children’s physical titles borrowed at least 50 times since January 2025, they would number over 100, with nearly 6,800 total borrows. Wow!
“Let’s take a look at the books that are inspiring these super-readers.”
Top Children’s Fiction
“Not surprisingly to us, Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series saw lots of check-out action, with Diary of a Wimpy Kid Double Down taking top spot with 125 borrows and Cabin Fever (tied with a Dav Pilkey graphic novel) at #3 with 103 borrows. Fifteen books by the author landed in the top 20 children’s fiction titles borrowed since January.
“Respectfully removing Kinney’s titles from the list since they are always mega-hits with the kids, here are the most borrowed physical children’s fiction titles so far this year, each with 50 or more loans.”
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Geronimo Stilton. The Haunted Castle by Geronimo Stilton
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Dork Diaries. Tales from a Not-so-Secret Crush Catastrophe by Rachel Renee Russell
Diary of a Pug. Pug Blasts Off by Kyla May
Dragon Masters. Power of the Fire Dragon by Tracey West
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Dork Diaries. Tales from a Not-so-Happy Heartbreaker by Rachel Renee Russell
The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Magic Tree House. Soccer on Sunday by Mary Pope Osborne
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown
