Here Are the NY Public Library's 10 Most Popular Books

Millions of books have exited and reentered the New York Public Library for more than a century, and the institution has finally run the numbers on some of its most popular offerings. The New York Times reports that the library sifted through the history of its inventory for six months to find the 10 books that've been checked out the most over the years. The victor: the 1962 kids classic and Caldecott Medal winner The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, said to be the first picture book to star an African-American boy, per the Washington Post. It's been taken out 485,583 times in total. NPR notes that only one nonfiction book appears on the list: Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. Here, the rest of the top 10, with an honorable mention awarded to Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown:

1. The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats (485,583 checkouts)
2. The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss (469,650)
3. 1984, by George Orwell (441,770)
4. Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak (436,016)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (422,912)
6. Charlotte's Web, by EB White (337,948)
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury (316,404)
8. How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie (284,524)
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by JK Rowling (231,022)
10. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle (189,550)

More here on the history of The Snowy Day. (More books stories.)