Los Angeles Times Children’s Bestsellers

May 14, 2000

1. GIRL BOSS: RUNNING THE SHOW LIKE THE BIG CHICKS by Stacy Kravetz (Girl Press: $15.95 paper) A hip primer on how young girls can start their own business, from nail polish companies to vi1684369184 2. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic: $16.95) Unhappy at home, a young boy discovers that he is a magician with great powers. (Ages 9-12)

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

4. 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)

5. A WIZARD OF EARTHSEA by Ursula K. Le Guin (Bantam: $6.99 paper) A young, restless boy named Sparrowhawk becomes a wizard’s apprentice in a fantasy realm. (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. SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL by Patricia MacLachlan (HarperTrophy: $4.95 paper) Two Midwestern children find love and harmony with their new stepmom, just arrived from New England. (Ages 9-12)

8. LITTLE MISS SPIDER by David Kirk (Scholastic: $12.95) Little Miss Spider hatches from her egg and is cared for by a maternal beetle in this prequel to the “Miss Spider” series. (Ages 4-8)

9. CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE PERILOUS PLOT OF PROFESSOR POOPYPANTS by Dav Pilkey (Scholastic: $3.99) An inventor-turned-science teacher takes control of a school and forces everyone to tak1696625513 10. 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. (A1734701856 Rankings are based on a Times poll of Southland bookstores.