This Year's 10 Trends in Children’s Books

6. The shift in picture books: Publishers are publishing about 25-percent to 30-percent fewer picture book titles than they used to as some parents want their kids to read more challenging books at younger ages. The new trend is leading to popular picture book characters such as "Pinkalicious," "Splat Cat" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" showing up in Beginning Reader books.

7. The return to humor: Given the effects of the recession on families, it is nice to see a rise in the humor category, fueled by the success of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, Dav Pilkey’s "The Adventures of Ook & Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future" and popular media characters like Spongebob, and Phineas and Ferb.

8. The rise of the diary and journal format: The success of the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series has lead to popular titles such as "Dear Dumb Diary," "Dork Diaries," "The Popularity Papers" and "Big Nate."

9. Special-needs protagonists: There is a growing body of literary fiction with main characters who have special needs, particularly Aspergers Syndrome and Autism. Examples include "My Brother Charlie," "Marcelo in the Real World," "Mockingbird" and "Rules."

10. Paranormal romance beyond vampires: The success of titles like "Linger and Linger," "Beautiful Creatures," "Immortal" and "Prophesy of the Sisters" shows this genre is still uber-popular and continues to expand.