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Mr Men and Thomas top kids Christmas hits list

01.01.70 |

Mr. Men and Thomas [the Tank Engine] and Friends titles are among the most popular Christmas-themed books for children in 2010, according to Nielsen BookScan data, while yuletide treats within Usborne editorial director Fiona Watt's That's Not My... series have also been selling well.

Since the end of August, Thomas and Friends: The Snowy Surprise has been the bestselling Christmas tome for kids in the UK, selling 13,296 copies‚ just over 400 copies more than Roger Hargreaves' Mr. Men Christmas Pantomime (both Egmont). Daisy Meadows' Cheryl the Christmas Tree Fairy (Orchard) has also sole more than 10,000 copies since festive titles began hitting stores in September.

Meanwhile, six titles penned by Watt (all published by Usborne) have sold more than 3,000 copies over the same period, led by That's Not My Santa..., That's Not My Penguin... and That's Not My Snowman... Six Christmas-themed titles by Mr. Men creator Hargreaves have also achieved the feat, including Little Miss Christmas and Mr. Men: A Christmas Carol (Egmont).

Other titles to have sold well include Christmas classics such as Clement Moore's The Night Before Christmas (HarperCollins) and Raymond Briggs' The Snowman (Puffin).

In total, the top 50 bestselling Christmas tomes for children have sold 224,000 copies in the 12 weeks to 20th November, taking just shy of £900,000 through bookshop tills.

The Yuletide Top 10 (sales since 29th August 2010)

1) Thomas & Friends: The Snowy Surprise (Egmont) 13,296 copies sold
2) Roger Hargreaves' Mr. Men Christmas Pantomime (Egmont) 12,868
3) Daisy Meadows' Cheryl the Christmas Fairy (Orchard) 10,767
4) Disney Storybook Xmas Collection (Parragon) 9,189
5) Roger Hargreaves' Mr Men: The Night Before Christmas (Egmont) 9,010
6) Thomas & Friends: The Snowy Special (Egmont) 8,914
7) Fiona Watt's That's Not My Santa... (Usborne) 8,685
8) Roger Hargreaves' Mr. Christmas (Egmont) 7,145
9) Roger Hargreaves' Little Miss Christmas (Egmont) 6,884
10) Rod Campbell's Dear Santa (Macmillan) 5,662

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