CLEVELAND – December 10, 2020 – With K-12 students accessing digital books more than ever due to remote learning, OverDrive Education announced the most-read ebooks and audiobooks worldwide in 2020. Data is based on usage of ebooks and audiobooks from 38,000 schools in 71 countries.
OverDrive Education, the leading digital reading platform for schools, reported tens of millions of digital books were borrowed and read on the Sora student reading app, nearly triple the total in 2019. The top titles in a variety of categories follow (data does not include titles in the free Sora Starter package).
Top Ebooks from K-12 Schools Worldwide in 2020:
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
- Smile series by Raina Telgemeir
- Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce
- Forgotten Bones by Lois Miner Huey
- The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Top Digital Audiobooks from K-12 Schools Worldwide in 2020:
- Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
- Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
- The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Top Young Adult Ebooks and Audiobooks from K-12 Schools Worldwide in 2020:
- A Long Walk To Water by Linda Sue Park
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- The Maze Runner by James Dashner
- One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
The most popular genres for students include comic and graphic books, humor, fantasy, picture book fiction, biography & autobiography and history.
"2020 has been a challenging year for educators and students. With Sora, educators reached more students than ever before, regardless of where they are learning," said Angela Arnold, General Manager of OverDrive Education. "In addition to assigned readings, Sora makes it easy for students to read for pleasure with digital books from their school's collection as well as the local public library."
During 2020, social justice and civil rights issues were front and center. Students borrowed ebooks to learn about slavery, civil rights, gay rights and inequality, including titles from collections donated by OverDrive and their publishing partners. The most-read titles from OverDrive Education's programs on Black Lives Matter and Own Voices and Diversity Books for Students were The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Forgotten Bones by Lois Miner Huey.
The top five nonfiction ebooks and audiobooks (published in 2020) from K-12 schools:
- Stamped--Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds
- Coronavirus by Axel Scheffler
- A Promised Land by Barack Obama
- Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
- Guide to Survival by Mojang Ab
The top five fiction ebooks and audiobooks (published in 2020) from K-12 schools:
- Grime and Punishment by Dav Pilkey
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
- The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
- Blow the Roof Off! by Lincoln Peirce
- One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
A full list of the most popular ebooks and audiobooks of 2020 in K-12 schools can be found here.
To learn more about the Sora student reading app, visit https://company.overdrive.com/k-12-schools/discover-sora/.
About OverDrive Education – a division of OverDrive
OverDrive Education is the leading digital reading platform for K-12 schools, offering the industry's largest catalog of ebooks, audiobooks and streaming video. As a 100% digital company serving over 38,000 schools worldwide, OverDrive combines technology with content to support learning and reading in the K-12 classroom, library and home on all major devices. Sora, the student reading app, was named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2019. Founded in 1986, OverDrive – the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide – and OverDrive Education are based in Cleveland, Ohio USA. OverDrive was acquired by funds affiliated with global investment firm KKR in 2020. overdrive.com/schools