Mad Libs combine language education, creative stimulation, and just plain silly fun. Each page asks for a list of words by part of speech, which are then plugged into strategic blanks in a short story on the page following. When distributed throughout the Mad Libs framework, a list of seemingly ordinary words becomes inventive and hilarious.
― Two of 39 retailers who participated in TDmonthly's March 2010 survey of top-selling travel toys said Mad Libs are their best.
— “We sell three Mad Libs a day,” Ava Allen, owner of Be Beep A Toy Store in Columbia, S.C., told TDmonthly in autumn 2010.
— In an April 2013 survey, two out of 12 retailers said that Mad Libs are one of their best-selling travel products.

You might think a book with no pictures seems boring and serious. Except...here's how books work. Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say...BLORK. Or BLUURF. Even if the words are a preposterous song about eating ants for breakfast, or just a list of astonishingly goofy sounds like BLAGGITY BLAGGITY and GLIBBITY GLOBBITY. Cleverly irreverent and irresistibly silly, The Book with No Pictures is one that kids will beg to hear again and again. (And parents will be happy to oblige.)
— Peg Scholtes, owner of Capitol Kids LTD in Madison, Wis., told TDmonthly in a December 2014 interview that The Book with No Pictures by BJ Novak is one of the best-selling books at their store.

Spot's only full-length lift-the-flap bedtime story is now available as a board book. Spot's had a busy day, and now it's time for bed. Time to put his toys away, to take a bath and to say goodnight to his mom and dad and his cat, Ginger. At last, looking out at the moon, Spot wonders if there's anyone else to say goodnight to. "Oh yes," he says, "Goodnight, me." This charming bedtime book is perfect for easing toddlers off to sweet dreams.
— Syd Clarke, owner of Ali-Cat in Carrboro, N.C., told TDmonthly in a December 2014 interview that Spot books from Putnam are some of the best-sellers at their store.

With over 300,000 copies sold since its publication in 1985, The Very Busy Spider is well on its way to becoming a modern classic. Follow an industrious spider as she carefully spins her web. A cow, a pig, and other farm animals want her to play-but a busy spider needs to finish her work, or there'll be no dinner.
— Mary Walsh-Martel, owner of Magical Child in Greenfield, Mass., told TDmonthly in a December 2013 survey that this is one of their best-selling books.

The witch and her cat are happily flying through the sky on a broomstick when the wind picks up and blows away the witch's hat, then her bow, and then her wand. Luckily, three helpful animals find the missing items, and all they want in return is a ride on the broom.  But is there room on the broom for so many friends? And when disaster strikes, will they be able to save the witch from a hungry dragon?
— As of 12/5/2012 this product had 4.9 out of 5 stars from 128 reviews on Amazon.com
— Pat Siegfried, co-owner of Black Forest Books & Toys in Charlotte, N.C., told TDmonthly in a Winter 2012 survey that Room on the Broom was their bestselling Halloween book.

When Betty Bunny eats chocolate cake for the first time, she declares, "I am going to marry chocolate cake." She loves it so much that she takes a piece to school with her in her pocket and refuses to eat anything else. Mommy tells Betty that she has to eat healthy food first, and have patience because cake is for dessert, not pockets. But Betty doesn't want to have patience; she wants to have chocolate cake. In this hilarious and spot-on tribute to the chocolate lover (and picky eater) in all of us, a new kindred spirit to Olivia, Eloise, and Ladybug Girl makes her stand.
— As of 12/4/2012 this product had 5 out of 5 stars from 20 reviews on Amazon.com.
— In a Winter 2012 survey, Pat Siegfried, co-owner of Black Forest Books & Toys in Charlotte, N.C., told TDmonthly that they sell 25-30 copies of this book each month.

Welcome to the wondrous world of Diana Schoenbrun's "Beasties," where mythic and imaginary creatures come alive from simple materials, such as scrap fabric and thread. From werewolves to zombies to yetis to unidentifiable yet adorable beasts, these projects allow crafters to push the limits of their imaginations to sew a menagerie of whimsical beings.
— “Author Diana Schoenbrun does a fantastic job of presenting an array of wonderful creatures to create,” proclaimed BookLegion. According to the reviewers, the monsters created based on the book “make great personalized gifts for others.”
— Jocelynn Brown of the Detroit News Handmade Crafts Blog loved that the book encouraged the resourceful use of fabric scraps, since the “more woven and textured scraps of fabric, the more interesting your creatures will look.” Her colleague Erik Henrickson loved the irreverent designs of the monsters, from the “soft and fluffy” Tomte to a “patriotic Werewolf” complete with “red, white and blue fur.”

Written by Kimiko Kajikawa and illustrated by Ed Young, this 32-page hardcover tells the story of a rich, old villager name Ojiisan who makes a great sacrifice to save his fellow villagers in the midst of a great tsunami. Launch date: February 5, 2009.

TDmonthly Review:

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This 32-page hardcover tells the classic story of the caterpillar who eats, eats and eats, and then transforms into a lovely butterfly. Launch date: October 15, 1981.
— Two of 44 specialty retailers named this as one of their best-selling books in late 2009.
— As of 8.12.10, this product had 5 out of 5 stars from 17 reviews on ToysRUs.com and was listed No. 21 in best-selling toys and games. PROS: Engaging, interactive and easy for children to understand.

This 40-page hardcover tells the story of how Llama is frightened going to his first day of preschool, and wonders if Mama Llama will come back. The other kids, though, show Llama that school can be fun. Launch date: March 19, 2009.
— "What is doing well is the 'Llama Llama' books by Anna Dewdney," Rebecca Goblish, co-owner of Picayune Toys in Dunwoody, Ga., told TDmonthly when discussing best-selling titles in late 2009. She added that her store sells about a dozen "Llama Llama" books per month, with a plush llama
— Two of 44 specialty retailers commented on the popularity of this book series in fall 2009.

In this word game activity book, kids fill in the blanks about their own family members on topics such as “Family Ghost Stories” and “Famous Ancestors.”
— Barbara Paeth Haas, owner of The Durango Kid in Durango, Colo., said in spring 2009 that Mad Libs sell so well she can’t keep them in stock.
— “A lot of people choose things like Mad Libs for travel specifically because they're very compact and they're entertaining for a while, and they just seem to be one of those perennially popular items,” Gini Wingard-Phillips, owner of Math ‘n’ Stuff in Seattle, told TDmonthly in March 2009.