Los Angeles Times Children’s Bestsellers

April 9, 2000

1 HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine: $17.95) Harry risks his life to solve a mystery at the Hogwarts School. Ages 9-12

2 HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine: $16.95) Unhappy at home, a young boy discovers that he is a magician with great powers.

3 HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $19.95) Sirius Black--an escaped convict--is on the loose, and he’s after Harry. Ages 9-12

4 MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB by Salley Mavor and Sarah Hale (Orchard Books: $5.95, paper) The familiar nursery rhyme as a touchy-feely book for youngsters. Ages 4-8

5 GET REAL #1: GIRL REPORTER BLOWS LID OFF TOWN by Linda Ellerbee (HarperCollins: $4.50, paper) An ambitious 11-year-old shoots for journalistic stardom. Ages 9-12

6 ANIMORPHS #40: THE OTHER by K.A. Applegate (Scholastic: $4.99, paper) Battling the evil Yeerks, the Animorphs discover two warriors who might help them -- but is this a trap? Ages 9-12

7 CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE PERILOUS PLOT OF PROFESSOR POOPYPANTS by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic: $3.99, paper) An inventor-turned-science teacher takes control of the school. Ages 9-12

8 HOLES by Louis Sachar (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $16) In the Texas desert, a boy in a juvenile detention camp is forced to dig holes in search of a Wild West outlaw’s hidden treasure. Ages 10 and up

9 BUD, NOT BUDDY by Christopher Paul Curtis (Delacorte: $15.95) A tales of 1930s America in which a 10-year-old boy flees his unhappy foster home to search for a musician he believes to be his father. Ages 9-12

10 BARK, GEORGE by Jules Feiffer (HarperCollins: $14.95) Mama Dog takes her puppy to the vet when, after telling him to bark, George quacks, oinks and moos but doesn’t arf! Ages 4-7

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Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.