Facebook has posted a Most Shared Articles on Facebook in 2011 Page that links more often to parenting-related topics, human interest pieces and odd trivia stories than it does to the major news stories of the year.

The story type that appears most often on the list of 40 articles is parenting advice and parenting-related stories reported by CNN, The Washington Post, Yahoo News, The Wall Street Journal, and The Huffington Post. Another popular theme is the change in zodiac sings, which first gained media traction in late 2010 before spilling over into early 2011. A slightly less popular theme is the late Steve Jobs — but given that it’s a more recent development in the year, it comes as no surprise that people had less time to circulate the story through Facebook.

The number one most-shared story, however, was a top news item — a New York Times photo gallery of Japan before and after the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Several other quake news stories and human interest stories about the tragedy also appear on the list.

Facebook itself also gets a bit of attention at No.7 with a CNN story on Timeline, announced at f8.

Stories are shared on Facebook both directly from the story source itself, with the aid of a Facebook button, and from within Facebook’s News Feed and user Walls where a “Share” option will appear if the user posting the link to the story has the option enabled in their privacy settings.

Here’s the full list:

1. Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami (New York Times)

2. What teachers really want to tell parents  (CNN)

3.No, your zodiac sign hasn’t changed (CNN)

4. Parents, don’t dress your girls like tramps (CNN)

5. (video) – Father Daughter Dance Medley  (Yahoo)

6. At funeral, dog mourns the death of Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan  (Yahoo)

7. You’ll freak when you see the new Facebook  (CNN)

8. Dog in Japan stays by the side of ailing friend in the rubble  (Yahoo)

9.  Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines  (Yahoo)

10. New Zodiac Sign Dates: Ophiuchus The 13th Sign? (The Huffington Post)

11. Parents keep child’s gender under wraps   (Yahoo)

12. How to Talk to Little Girls  (The Huffington Post)

13. Stop Coddling the Super-Rich  (New York Times)

14.Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior  (Wall Street Journal)

15.  (video) – Twin Baby Boys Have A Conversation!   (Yahoo)

16. Man robs bank to get medical care in jail (Yahoo)

17. Why You’re Not Married (The Huffington Post)

18. A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs (New York Times)

19. Ryan Dunn Dead: ‘Jackass’ Star Dies In Car Crash  (The Huffington Post)

20. Scientists warn California could be struck by winter ‘superstorm’  (Yahoo)

21. Notes From a Dragon Mom (New York Times)

22.  A Message to Women From a Man: You Are Not “Crazy” (The Huffington Post)

23. Obama’s and Bush’s effects on the deficit in one graph  (Washington Post)

24. Penn State, my final loss of faith  (Washington Post)

25.  Golden-Voiced Homeless Man Captivates Internet   (Yahoo)

26. The most typical face on the planet  (Yahoo)

27. Widespread destruction from Japan earthquake, tsunamis   (CNN)

28. Permissive parents: Curb your brats  (CNN)

29. A father’s day wish: Dads, wake the hell up! (CNN)

30. (video) – Laughing Baby Loves Ripping Paper!  (Yahoo)

31. Epic Cover Letter: How To Get Hired For Your Dream Job (PICTURE)  (The Huffington Post)

32. New Zodiac sign dates: Don’t switch horoscopes yet  (Washington Post)

33. Things Babies Born in 2011 Will Never Know (Yahoo)

34.  The Psychology of Revenge: Why We Should Stop Celebrating Osama Bin Laden’s Death  (The Huffington Post)

35. (photo gallery) – ‘Where Children Sleep’ (New York Times)

36. Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet, shifted Earth’s axis (CNN)

37. Steve Jobs, Apple founder, dies (CNN)

38. China’s latest craze: dyeing pets to look like other wild animals  (CNN)

39. Grant Hill’s Response to Jalen Rose (New York Times)

40. Steve Jobs’s Patents  (New York Times)