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Re: A librarian's Response to the NYTimes rrticle on picture books
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From: Karen MacPherson <karen.macpherson_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 22:01:56 -0400
Everyone: I have to add another two cents in here: given that parents can check out picture books -- FOR FREE -- from the public library (and they do , in large numbers), I personally think that the real concern here is not the price of picture books but the fact that parents increasingly believe they are "baby" books.
To me, this trend, which was mentioned as the second theme in the NYTimes article, is incredibly disturbing. I have actually had a parent of a three year-old tell me that they were reading "Charlotte's Web" because the picture books were too babyish. When I asked how the 3-year-old might deal with the death of Charlotte, the parent told me, "Well, that's too much for our child right now. So we changed the ending, so Charlotte could live." True story!
To me, the real issue is helping parents understand the value of picture books for kids, even those who already can read on their own. Let's face it , books like "Pink & Say," "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" or "Art & Max" are not necessarily for the preschool crowd. We've just got to educat e parents about the fact that picture books are an incredibly rich and valuable literary form.
Cheers, Karen MacPherson Children's/Teen Librarian, Takoma Park Maryland Library Children's Book Reviewer, Scripps Howard News Service
Received on Fri 05 Nov 2010 10:01:56 PM CDT
Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2010 22:01:56 -0400
Everyone: I have to add another two cents in here: given that parents can check out picture books -- FOR FREE -- from the public library (and they do , in large numbers), I personally think that the real concern here is not the price of picture books but the fact that parents increasingly believe they are "baby" books.
To me, this trend, which was mentioned as the second theme in the NYTimes article, is incredibly disturbing. I have actually had a parent of a three year-old tell me that they were reading "Charlotte's Web" because the picture books were too babyish. When I asked how the 3-year-old might deal with the death of Charlotte, the parent told me, "Well, that's too much for our child right now. So we changed the ending, so Charlotte could live." True story!
To me, the real issue is helping parents understand the value of picture books for kids, even those who already can read on their own. Let's face it , books like "Pink & Say," "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" or "Art & Max" are not necessarily for the preschool crowd. We've just got to educat e parents about the fact that picture books are an incredibly rich and valuable literary form.
Cheers, Karen MacPherson Children's/Teen Librarian, Takoma Park Maryland Library Children's Book Reviewer, Scripps Howard News Service
Received on Fri 05 Nov 2010 10:01:56 PM CDT
