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[CCBC-Net] Shame on HarperCollins! (sorry...kind of long)
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From: Julie Kinney <bear22>
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:31:42 -0500
Dear Vicki (and everyone else...)
HarperCollins used to be a great publisher of classic children's books. I can remember the day we (the staff) at UBS for Kids in Madison, WI (all look sad, because it's gone now) discovered our buyer had gotten us HarperCollins remainders. First we were stunned that our buyer who was not the sharpest crayon in the box had had the wherewithall to actually buy remainder from someplace decent. Secondly, we got not one, not two, but three HUGE boxes (known as "pallets" in the biz) of remaindered books. Cheap Laura Ingalls Wilder...Beatrix Potter...You name it was in there! We were in book HEAVEN!
How sad I am to know that this once respectable publishing house is now only buying celebrity books and movie tie ins. YUCK!
I'm not opposed to celebrity books, on principle, but I also have higher standards than most average readers. In general I am dismayed at the dreck that most book publishers put out. That being said, the young adult market is blossoming with amazing creativity and diversity. My mom (a bibliophile...it's inherited, didn't you know?) has taken to purusing the aisles of the YA section for good new fantasy, rather than checking out the tired old rehashes of the stuff in the "adult" section of the book store.
It seems so unfair that we as educators and readers are forced to limit our choices for our students and ourselves by people out to make a quick buck or to capitalize on their current celebrity status. Just think, in twenty years, we'll have children's books by Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan. YIKES!
Julie
Received on Tue 12 Jun 2007 06:31:42 PM CDT
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:31:42 -0500
Dear Vicki (and everyone else...)
HarperCollins used to be a great publisher of classic children's books. I can remember the day we (the staff) at UBS for Kids in Madison, WI (all look sad, because it's gone now) discovered our buyer had gotten us HarperCollins remainders. First we were stunned that our buyer who was not the sharpest crayon in the box had had the wherewithall to actually buy remainder from someplace decent. Secondly, we got not one, not two, but three HUGE boxes (known as "pallets" in the biz) of remaindered books. Cheap Laura Ingalls Wilder...Beatrix Potter...You name it was in there! We were in book HEAVEN!
How sad I am to know that this once respectable publishing house is now only buying celebrity books and movie tie ins. YUCK!
I'm not opposed to celebrity books, on principle, but I also have higher standards than most average readers. In general I am dismayed at the dreck that most book publishers put out. That being said, the young adult market is blossoming with amazing creativity and diversity. My mom (a bibliophile...it's inherited, didn't you know?) has taken to purusing the aisles of the YA section for good new fantasy, rather than checking out the tired old rehashes of the stuff in the "adult" section of the book store.
It seems so unfair that we as educators and readers are forced to limit our choices for our students and ourselves by people out to make a quick buck or to capitalize on their current celebrity status. Just think, in twenty years, we'll have children's books by Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan. YIKES!
Julie
Received on Tue 12 Jun 2007 06:31:42 PM CDT
