Late Summer Sellers

1. Gallop! Rufus Butler Seder. Workman
2. The Night Before Kindergarten. Natasha Wing, illus. by Julie Durrell. Grosset & Dunlop
3. The Night Before First Grade. Natasha Wing, illus. by Julie Durrell. Grosset & Dunlop
4. Alphabet. Matthew Van Fleet. Simon & Schuster/Wiseman
5. First Day Jitters. Julie Danneberg, illus. by Judith Dufour Love. Charlesbridge
6. Bats at the Library. Brian Lies. Houghton Mifflin
7. Madam President. Lane Smith. Disney-Hyperion
8. Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly. Jane O'Connor, illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser. HarperCollins
9. Smash! Crash! Jon Scieszka, illus. by David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon. Simon & Schuster
10. You Can Do It! Tony Dungy, illus. by Amy June Bates. Little Simon Inspirations

1. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X. James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge. Little, Brown
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Jeff Kinney. Abrams/Amulet
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Jeff Kinney. Abrams/Amulet
4. The Book Thief. Markus Zusak. Knopf
5. The Tale of Despereaux. Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick
6. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Brian Selznick. Scholastic Press
7. Just Listen. Sarah Dessen. Puffin
8. The Mysterious Benedict Society. Trenton Lee Stewart. Little, Brown/Tingley
9. Lock and Key. Sarah Dessen. Viking
10. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Sherman Alexie. Little, Brown

Source: Publishers Weekly picture books and children's fiction bestseller lists for August 2008.

1. NCAA Football 09. 360. Electronic Arts
2. Wii Fit. Wii. Nintendo of America
3. Guitar Hero: On Tour. NDS. Activision
4. Wii Play with Remote. Wii. Nintendo of America
5. NCAA Football 09. PS3. Electronic Arts
6. Soul Calibur IV*. 360. Namco Bandai Games of America
7. Mario Kart. Wii. Nintendo of America
8. Rock Band*. Wii. MTV Games/Electronic Arts
9. Soul Calibur IV*. PS3. Namco Bandai Games of America
10. Sid Meier's Civilization: Revolution. 360. Take 2 Interactive
11. NCAA Football 09. PS2. Electronic Arts
12. Battlefield: Bad Company. 360. Electronic Arts
13. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. PS2. Activision
14. New Super Mario Bros. NDS. Nintendo of America
15. Final Fantasy IV. NDS. Square Enix
16. Super Smash Bros: Brawl. Wii. Nintendo of America
17. Mario Kart. NDS. Nintendo of America
18. Unreal Tournament 3. 360. Midway
19. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Wii. Activision
20. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots. PS3. Konami Digital Entertainment
21. * Includes Collector's, Limited, Legendary, Bundles (Guitars) Editions; Source: The NPD Group. Based on U.S. unit sales for July 2008.

Whistle Stop Hobby & Toy

• Webkinz. Ganz, Cheektowaga, N.Y.
• Balsa Wood Gliders. Guillow, Wakefield, Mass.
• Webkinz Trading Card Game. Ganz
• Travel Bingo Cards. Best of Best, Lisle, Ill.
• Hot Wheels. Mattel, El Segundo, Calif.
• Silly Putty. Crayola, Easton, Pa.
• L-C-R Dice Game. George & Co., Naples, Fla.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game and Pokémon Trading Card Game. Upper Deck, Carlsbad, Calif.; and Pokémon USA, New York
• Tech Deck fingerboards. Spin Master, Toronto
• Puzzles. Ravensburger-F.X. Schmid USA, Newton, N.H.

"Webkinz have been selling very well—probably better than anything else," Rick Claggett, manager of Whistle Stop Hobby & Toy, tells Playthings. "They just keep going on and on and on. Ganz keeps coming out with new ones every month and the kids keep coming in for them. I also think [Webkinz] are something grandparents like to buy—a little something they can get the kids to play with while they're at grandma's house. They keep the kids happy and quiet for a while on the computer."

This summer, the 38-year-old store originally known mostly for its Lionel trains has seen several seasonal items take off—notably simple staples like balsa wood gliders and travel games. "Balsa wood gliders sell like crazy in the summer," Claggett says. "They're only a couple of bucks and they occupy the kids forever."

He adds that puzzles, also, "have been selling like crazy." Among the store's puzzle assortment, Ravensburger most often gets the nod from customers on their way to an out-of-town getaway. "Ravensburger sells really well here. Puzzles, in general, sell all year round, but a lot of times in the summer people will pick up more puzzles if they're on their way up to their summer cottage. It's something to do in the evenings," Claggett says.

Other standouts include George & Company's L-C-R Dice Game—"it's a perennial big seller for us no matter when; it's all times of the year," Claggett says, adding that Spin Master's Tech Deck fingerboards are "something we've been selling lots of in the last couple months."