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Re: A Paucity of Picture Books
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From: bookmarch_at_aol.com
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:02:49 -0400 (EDT)
I share the sense that the NYT article was limited and that the picture boo k is magnificent as both an artistic platform and a way of bringing childre n in to books and reading. However I also think there is a specific problem the picture book faces which is not just a function of the cycle of trends and the ups and downs of demographic curves (YA boomed when teenagers as a cohort formed an ever larger % of the population, a bulge that has passed) . Because new picture books are of necessity hardcover (paperback picture b ooks are so slim they disappear), a parent faces a relatively high cost (sa y $16) for a relatively short immersion experience (32, 40, 48 pages plus t he effort the parent puts into engaging the child spread by spread). That i s a tough purchase one, by one, by one. It becomes much more appealing to b uy a new picture book when you already have shelves full of others -- as li braries and some fortunate parents do. Then you are not just spending $16 f or 32 pages, you are adding one more c hoice to a rich set of options. The n ew 3 Billy Goats Gruff is a fun pair with an older one, a nonfiction book o n goats (or bridges for that matter), a silly rhymes book on trolls. I wond er if publishers, and bookstores, might need to offer new picture books in something like a subscription model -- where the buyer gets, say, 5 -- two classic paperbacks, one new hardcover, one book of poetry, one nonfiction - - for some lower set price. While the parent is spending more than $16, she is now populating shelves of a home library with great choices that can be used in many ways. She gets over the "can I spend so much for so little" b arrier.
Marc Aronson
Received on Fri 05 Nov 2010 07:02:49 AM CDT
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 07:02:49 -0400 (EDT)
I share the sense that the NYT article was limited and that the picture boo k is magnificent as both an artistic platform and a way of bringing childre n in to books and reading. However I also think there is a specific problem the picture book faces which is not just a function of the cycle of trends and the ups and downs of demographic curves (YA boomed when teenagers as a cohort formed an ever larger % of the population, a bulge that has passed) . Because new picture books are of necessity hardcover (paperback picture b ooks are so slim they disappear), a parent faces a relatively high cost (sa y $16) for a relatively short immersion experience (32, 40, 48 pages plus t he effort the parent puts into engaging the child spread by spread). That i s a tough purchase one, by one, by one. It becomes much more appealing to b uy a new picture book when you already have shelves full of others -- as li braries and some fortunate parents do. Then you are not just spending $16 f or 32 pages, you are adding one more c hoice to a rich set of options. The n ew 3 Billy Goats Gruff is a fun pair with an older one, a nonfiction book o n goats (or bridges for that matter), a silly rhymes book on trolls. I wond er if publishers, and bookstores, might need to offer new picture books in something like a subscription model -- where the buyer gets, say, 5 -- two classic paperbacks, one new hardcover, one book of poetry, one nonfiction - - for some lower set price. While the parent is spending more than $16, she is now populating shelves of a home library with great choices that can be used in many ways. She gets over the "can I spend so much for so little" b arrier.
Marc Aronson
Received on Fri 05 Nov 2010 07:02:49 AM CDT
