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Re: Price of picture books
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From: sue corbett <scorbett1_at_aol.com>
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:01:23 -0400
I see the pressure Celeste mentions in my own local (public) schools beca use of the heavy reliance in years past on AR at the elementary level. In one school, picture books are pretty much verboten after 1st grade -- the kids need to achieve a certain number of points as part of their reading grade and it forces them to choose chapter books with higher point values . This sickens me on many levels but I will stop there.
I also agree that fewer picture books is not necessarily a bad thing. It's hard to say this out loud because when publishers' lists shrink people ge t laid off and who wants to advocate for that?, but, there are so many med iocre picture books published that come into the world almost stillborn -- no space to review them because review space is shrinking, no publicity dollars to promote them, no niche they are filling ... I try to read ever y single picture book I am sent but am often left wondering WHY? Who decid ed there was a market for another book about (insert timeworn topic here)?
That said, I cannot fathom the "too expensive" complaint. The last time I took 2 kids to the movies it cost me nearly $50 with popcorn! And the mov ie wasn't especially memorable. Picture books are a far greater investment on so many different levels and when you are done with them, you can pack the favorites away for the next generation and make a classroom teacher incredibly happy with the rest. Perhaps you can't buy a $16 hardcover eve ry week but in a country that spends billions on pet toys (not that I have anything against pets, mind you, just an example) I think we should promo te that occasional $16 purchase as a very intelligent and sensible way to spend money.
Sue
Sue Corbett ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ www.suecorbett.com
Message-----
From: Sarah Prielipp <sprielipp_at_sagchip.org> To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of <ccbc-net@lists.wisc.edu> Sent: Fri, Nov 5, 2010 4:32 pm Subject:
Price of picture books
As I was cataloging a trade paperback (adult fiction) tod ay, I thought about the fact that I regularly spend $12 to $15 for a paper back book that I want to read, but I rarely buy hardcover picture books fo r my three children because they are “expensiveвЂ=9 D at $15 to $16 each.В We most often purchase paperback and board books, choo sin g to get our hardcover picture books from the library. В To get slightly back on topic, though, I purchase quite a few picture bo oks for our tribal public library and our tribal elementary academy.В
I don’t see teachers/families pushing chapter books on their stud ents, but that is what I see the younger students selecting.В They se em particularly drawn to those books that are also movies or that theyв Ђ™ve seen their older siblings with (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Guardian s of Gahoole, etc.).В By the end of kindergarten, it seems kids are as king for “chapter books.” It gives th em a feeling of being important because they are proud that they are readers.В My ow n 6 year old son also demands chapter books now, even though I†99d much rather read a picture book before bed. В Sarah Prielipp Tribal Librarian Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe 7070 E. Broadway Mt. Pleasant,MI 48858 989.775.4519 sprielipp_at_sagchip.org В
В
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:01:23 -0400
I see the pressure Celeste mentions in my own local (public) schools beca use of the heavy reliance in years past on AR at the elementary level. In one school, picture books are pretty much verboten after 1st grade -- the kids need to achieve a certain number of points as part of their reading grade and it forces them to choose chapter books with higher point values . This sickens me on many levels but I will stop there.
I also agree that fewer picture books is not necessarily a bad thing. It's hard to say this out loud because when publishers' lists shrink people ge t laid off and who wants to advocate for that?, but, there are so many med iocre picture books published that come into the world almost stillborn -- no space to review them because review space is shrinking, no publicity dollars to promote them, no niche they are filling ... I try to read ever y single picture book I am sent but am often left wondering WHY? Who decid ed there was a market for another book about (insert timeworn topic here)?
That said, I cannot fathom the "too expensive" complaint. The last time I took 2 kids to the movies it cost me nearly $50 with popcorn! And the mov ie wasn't especially memorable. Picture books are a far greater investment on so many different levels and when you are done with them, you can pack the favorites away for the next generation and make a classroom teacher incredibly happy with the rest. Perhaps you can't buy a $16 hardcover eve ry week but in a country that spends billions on pet toys (not that I have anything against pets, mind you, just an example) I think we should promo te that occasional $16 purchase as a very intelligent and sensible way to spend money.
Sue
Sue Corbett ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ www.suecorbett.com
Message-----
From: Sarah Prielipp <sprielipp_at_sagchip.org> To: ccbc-net, Subscribers of <ccbc-net@lists.wisc.edu> Sent: Fri, Nov 5, 2010 4:32 pm Subject:
Price of picture books
As I was cataloging a trade paperback (adult fiction) tod ay, I thought about the fact that I regularly spend $12 to $15 for a paper back book that I want to read, but I rarely buy hardcover picture books fo r my three children because they are “expensiveвЂ=9 D at $15 to $16 each.В We most often purchase paperback and board books, choo sin g to get our hardcover picture books from the library. В To get slightly back on topic, though, I purchase quite a few picture bo oks for our tribal public library and our tribal elementary academy.В
I don’t see teachers/families pushing chapter books on their stud ents, but that is what I see the younger students selecting.В They se em particularly drawn to those books that are also movies or that theyв Ђ™ve seen their older siblings with (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Guardian s of Gahoole, etc.).В By the end of kindergarten, it seems kids are as king for “chapter books.” It gives th em a feeling of being important because they are proud that they are readers.В My ow n 6 year old son also demands chapter books now, even though I†99d much rather read a picture book before bed. В Sarah Prielipp Tribal Librarian Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe 7070 E. Broadway Mt. Pleasant,MI 48858 989.775.4519 sprielipp_at_sagchip.org В
В
---Received on Fri 05 Nov 2010 05:01:23 PM CDT
