--- title: Here Are the 5 Most Popular Books to Give to Kids in 2017 description: According to Amazon's data, classics like Giraffes Can't Dance and Goodnight Moon were the most popular choices as gifts for kids in 2017 canonical: https://time.com/5059244/most-popular-kids-books/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-12-12T14:00:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:53.099Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Here Are the 5 Most Popular Books to Give to Kids This Year og:description: According to Amazon's data og:url: https://time.com/5059244/most-popular-kids-books/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bc7c5dc895f51a9/6988f55b4ee26274fa31033f/child-reading-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4369 og:image:height: 2458 og:image:alt: Caucasian girl laying on bed reading book og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here Are the 5 Most Popular Books to Give to Kids This Year twitter:description: According to Amazon's data twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bc7c5dc895f51a9/6988f55b4ee26274fa31033f/child-reading-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Are the 5 Most Popular Books to Give to Kids This Year > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=ac684348-2b30-47be-b01f-86a714adb8bf&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Bill Gates’ 5 Favorite Books of 2017 [Watch (HLS stream): Bill Gates’ 5 Favorite Books of 2017](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/W5VLZRaW.m3u8) (1:14)  _Published 2017-12-04. This year’s list includes novels that dig into history, mental illness, and poverty._ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Dec 12, 2017 2:00 PM UTC  Caucasian girl laying on bed reading book Caucasian girl laying on bed reading book KidStock/Getty Images/Blend Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Dec 12, 2017 2:00 PM UTC While adult readers looked for [books that would tell them something about the contemporary moment](http://time.com/5059023/most-read-books-2017-amazon/) in 2017, kid readers were happy to stick with the [classics](http://time.com/100-best-childrens-books/). Year after year, certain picture books remain popular with the world’s newest readers. According to [Amazon’s Kindle and Audible data](http://amazon.com/charts2017), the most popular children’s book to give as a gift in 2017 was Giles Andreae’s _Giraffes Can’t Dance_, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees and originally published in 1999\. _First 100 Words_ (2005) came in second, followed by a multi-generational classic, 1947’s _Goodnight Moon_. Here’s the complete list of the most gifted children’s books of 2017, according to Amazon: 1\. [_Giraffes Can’t Dance_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0439287197/?tag=timecom-20), by Giles Andreae, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees 2\. [_First 100 Words_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312510780/?tag=timecom-20), by Roger Priddy 3\. [_Goodnight Moon_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0694003611/?tag=timecom-20), by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd 4\. [_The Very Hungry Caterpillar_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399226907/?tag=timecom-20), by Eric Carle 5\. [_The Going to Bed Book_](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671449028/?tag=timecom-20), by Sandra Boynton ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5059244/most-popular-kids-books/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5059244/most-popular-kids-books/"},"headline":"Here Are the 5 Most Popular Books to Give to Kids This Year","datePublished":"2017-12-12T14:00:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:53.099Z","description":"According to Amazon's data","url":"https://time.com/5059244/most-popular-kids-books/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bc7c5dc895f51a9/6988f55b4ee26274fa31033f/child-reading-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bc7c5dc895f51a9/6988f55b4ee26274fa31033f/child-reading-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Caucasian girl laying on bed reading book","caption":"Caucasian girl laying on bed reading book","creditText":"KidStock/Getty Images/Blend Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5059244/most-popular-kids-books/","name":"Here Are the 5 Most Popular Books to Give to Kids This Year"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Bill Gates’ 5 Favorite Books of 2017","description":"This year’s list includes novels that dig into history, mental illness, and poverty.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/W5VLZRaW/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-12-04T17:58:25.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/W5VLZRaW.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5059244/most-popular-kids-books/","duration":"PT1M14S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5059244/most-popular-kids-books/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```