IT’S SNOW SURPRISE KIDS LOVE LIBRARIES

Mr Men book is most borrowed

READING has been confirmed as child’s play with 19 of the 20 most borrowed titles in public libraries last year aimed at younger readers.

Figures published by the Local Government Management Agency show children’s books again dominated the list of most popular titles borrowed in 2023.

Only The Coroner’s Daughter by Irish writer, Andrew Hughes, broke the stranglehold of children’s authors on the Top 20 list.

The book, which was the second most taken-out title in Ireland last year, tells the story of Abigail Lawless, the daughter of a Dublin coroner who pursues a dangerous investigation coinciding with the dawn of forensic science in the early 19th century.

The popularity of the novel, first published in 2017, is linked to its selection as the One Dublin One Book title last year. The initiative by Dublin City Council aims to encourage everyone to read a book connected with the capital every April.

The Coroner’s Daughter was also the most borrowed adult ebook and audiobook in Irish libraries in 2023.

The most borrowed book was one of the Mr Men series by author Roger Hargreaves, Mr Snow, first published in 1971.

The Top 20 list of children’s borrowed books was dominated by the best-selling Diary Of A Wimpy Kid by US author, Jeff

Kinney. The series, which charts the travails of schoolboy, Greg Heffley, is a perennial favourite among young readers, accounting for 14 in the list of 20 most borrowed books.

The rest of the list is made up of several titles in the Harry Potter series by author J K Rowling and the illustrated Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey.

The figures were released ahead of Ireland Reads Day, which will be held on Saturday, February 24.

LGMA spokesperson Michael Mcglynn said Ireland Reads Day is designed to encourage people across Ireland to enjoy the benefits of reading and to visit their local library.