Order Your ABC Best Books for Young Readers Catalogs Now

American Booksellers Association member stores can place their orders for this year’s ABC Best Books for Young Readers catalog from now until September 8 via an order form on BookWeb.org. The full-color, 20-page consumer circular is slated to be in stores in early October. 

This will be the first printed Best Books for Young Readers catalog since 2019. Last year, the uncertainty of COVID resulted in a pivot to digital catalog only, with the option for bookstores to print copies as needed. 

The catalog will feature nearly 200 frontlist and backlist titles for children and teens, all suggested by ABA member booksellers and selected by a committee of children's booksellers. The committee members included Brein Lopez, general manager of Children's Book World, in Los Angeles, California; Diane Capriola, owner of Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Georgia; Kathy Burnette, owner of Brain Lair Books in South Bend, Indiana; Meghan Goel, children's buyer at BookPeople in Austin, Texas; Molly Olivo, children's book department head at Child's Play in Washington, D.C.; Rebecca Crosswhite, manager of Rediscovered Books in Boise, Idaho; and Stephanie Heinz, bookseller at Print: A Bookstore in Portland, Maine.

Appearance and Branding

This year’s catalog cover features art from Amari and the Night Brothers, written by B.B. Alston (Balzer + Bray). This is the first time in the catalog's history that the cover features a middle grade title. 

The catalog carries no fourth-quarter/holiday branding, so booksellers can use it throughout the year. And once again this year, the inside of the back cover will feature a full list of the titles contained in the catalog, complete with checkboxes for ease of ordering or wishlist-making.

Booksellers are encouraged to order imprinted catalogs. An imprint is a half-page spread on the back cover of the catalog that is personalized for the bookstore; it consists of the store’s logo, name, location, and hours of operation. With imprinting, the store's name also appears on the front cover. 

Pricing and Ordering

Members of the ABC Children’s Group at ABA will automatically receive 250 free catalogs with no imprinting (stores can join the ABC Group here). ABA stores that have opted to receive the Children’s Box mailing will automatically receive 20 free catalogs with no imprinting. The online order form is for purchasing additional catalogs, either imprinted or plain. 

Additional catalogs are available in units of 500 copies without imprinting, and the cost for each additional 500-unit is $30 for ABC Group members and $40 for non-members, shipping included. The one-time plate cost for imprinting, if desired, is $85 for ABC Group members and $130 for non-members; the minimum catalog order for imprinting is 1,500 copies.

Orders of up to 10,000 copies may be placed via the online form. For larger orders, stores should contact ABC Group Manager Gen de Botton.