What’s the best way to get adults reading? Get them reading when they’re children – and there’s no better place to start than the Unity Children’s Bestseller Chart.

These lists of the bestselling children’s books at Unity Wellington and Little Unity in Auckland cover the four weeks to October 31 2019.

AUCKLAND

1  Mophead: How Your Difference Makes a Difference by Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press, $25, 5+)

“I think an excellent and topical example is new generation leader and environmental activist Greta Thunberg whose Asperger’s syndrome, OCD and selective mutism has become her superpower because it means, in her own words, that “I only speak when necessary”.”  – the author, to Good magazine.

2  No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg (Penguin, $8, all ages) 

A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.

3  The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (Penguin Random House, $35, 15+)

“This is a book for getting older with” – the Guardian. 

4  Te Tiriti o Waitangi: The Treaty of Waitangi by Toby Morris with Ross Calman, Mark Derby, and Piripi Walker (Lift Education, $20, 8+)

Toby rulz.

5  Maui and Other Māori Legends: 8 Classic Tales of Aotearoa by Peter Gossage (Puffin, $40, all ages)

“Trained in graphic and scenic design as well as curatorial display, Gossage has interpreted the distinctive nature of the Māori story-world with an immediacy that readers, young or old, will find unforgettable. Yet as is the case with cultures who maintain a strong investment in oral history, his stories work best when they are read aloud.” – takahē magazine

6  Wildlife of Aotearoa by Gavin Bishop (Penguin $40, all ages) 

Seriously get this for the kids and We Are Here for the adults and there’s Christmas sorted. 

7  The Adventures of Tupaia by Courtney Sina Meredith & Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin, $35, 10+)

“To be real with you – I cry every time I read it.” – Meredith, interviewed by The Spinoff. 

8  The Dinky Donkey by Craig Smith (Scholastic, $20, 2+) 

“Dinky fucking donkey” has a nice ring to it eh?

9  My First Words in Māori by Stacey Morrison with Ali Teo and John O’Reilly (Puffin, $20, 5+) 

“While speaking Māori with her children in a supermarket a few years ago, she was told by a fellow shopper to stop speaking “that jungle language”.” – the Herald. 

10 The Bomb by Sacha Cotter & Josh Morgan (Huia, $23, 5+) 

The 2019 Margaret Mahy Book of the Year. 

WELLINGTON

1   The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman (Penguin Random House, $35, 15+)

2  No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg (Penguin, $8, all ages) 

3  The Adventures of Tupaia by Courtney Sina Meredith & Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin, $35, 8+)

4  Cleo & Rob by Helen Brown & Phoebe Morris (Allen & Unwin, $23, 6+) 

Fair warning, there’s an absolutely searing backstory. From RNZ: 

In 1983, Helen’s nine-year-old son Sam was killed by a car on a Wellington road.

Before his death, Sam had become entranced with a little runt kitten, Helen says.  

“He saw this little black runt of a kitten and he said ‘Oh Mum, please, please, I really want that cat. Can I have it for my birthday? I want to call it ‘Cleo’ … one day, weeks after the funeral, this woman appeared on the doorstep with what I thought was just a toy in her arms, but it turned out to be this little kitten that Sam had chosen.”

Sam’s brother Rob instantly recognised the cat.

“He ran out and said ‘Mum it’s Cleo, Sam’s kitten. Welcome home, Cleo’.”

5  The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo! by Elaine Bickell & Raymond McGrath (Scholastic, $19, 5+)

“She meets a number of different animals: an owl, a pigeon, a rooster, and a cow, after mistaking their whoo, coo, cock-a-doodle-doo and moo as her BOO. They kindly offer little Ghost their sounds…” – The Sapling

6  The Bomb by Sacha Cotter & Josh Morgan (Huia, $23, 5+) 

7  Wildlife of Aotearoa by Gavin Bishop (Penguin $40, all ages) 

8  For Whom the Ball Rolls Dav Pilkey (Scholastic, $19, 7+) 

“Weird and unabashedly joyful” – Kirkus Reviews. 

9  Aroha’s Way by Craig Phillips (Tikitibu NZ, $20, 4+) 

One of the best of the plethora of books about big feelings. 

10 My First Words in Māori by Stacey Morrison with Ali Teo and John O’Reilly (Puffin, $20, 5+)