The New York Public Library released their top-10 most loaned-out books of all-time...

...and the winner is a children's book. The Snow Day by Ezra Jack Keats leads the way.

In fact, most of the list is made up of children's books, which makes sense considering they're a quick read and children tend to mow through books in about five minutes. All the rest of the books on the list are quite short, too, ranging in the 300-page area.

The New York Public Library turns 125-years old in 2020, which means they're looking back at their history. This leads to wondering what books they've loaned out the most in that time. All books on the list are fiction, except one--the 1936 self-help How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

That's right--nebbish Dale Carnegie was an influencer long before Instagrammers wooed the masses and hawked moisturizers and salad mixes. The book was a major draw for decades, even leading Time Magazine in 2011 to award it as one of the 100 most influential books.

So, what cracked the top-10?

The Top Ten:

1.)  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats: 485,583 checkouts

2.)  The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss: 469,650 checkouts

3.)  1984 by George Orwell: 441,770 checkouts

4.)  Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak: 436,016 checkouts

5.)  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: 422,912 checkouts

6.)  Charlotte's Web by E.B. White: 337,948 checkouts

7.)  Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: 316,404 checkouts

8.)  How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: 284,524 checkouts

9.)  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: 231,022 checkouts

10.)  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: 189,550 checkouts


The Caldecott Medal-winning The Snowy Day was released in 1962, but eight of the ten books listed all came from a window ranging between 1949-to-1969, with only Harry Potter and the aforementioned How to Win Friends as the outliers.

If you're wondering why Goodnight Moon isn't included on the list, not only do you have a curious and discerning taste in children's books, it's because the NYPL's children's librarian Anne Carroll Moore despised the book and refused to have the library carry it for decades. She died in 1961, so by the time the NYPL reaches its 200th anniversary, the book will crack the top-10.