Recently, children’s picture books have been adopted for the iPad, Color Kindle, and Nook Color, making the public wonder if printed picture books are on their way out. Book-sellers have responded to the concern saying that children’s books sales are higher than ever.
I doubt that that’s entirely true. I’m sure they’re counting children’s literature, not picture books specifically-- skewing the numbers. More and more children’s novels are being turned into movies, and that naturally improves the sales of the books they were based on, (whether or not the films were box-office successes). From Harry Potter to The Chronicles of Narnia to The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, children’s literature is immensely profitable, and can be franchised to sell a range of products.
As far as sales of picture books are concerned, think of them like children’s cereals. Cereal producers know how to market to kids, (with sugar-laden goodness, cartoon mascots, and toy prizes). They also know to put the cereals at children’s eye-level in stores, so that kids will badger their parents into buying some. Same thing happens with children’s books. Kids go to book stores with their parents and see bright picture-book covers and then convince the parents to buy the books. Don’t underestimate the buying power of those under four feet tall.
As long as there are book stores, there will be picture books for sale. However if there are no more book stores around it will be a different story. But don’t fret!
Listen, I love my Nook as much as any commuter, but while ebooks are convenient they sure don’t look good on a book-shelf. They can’t be signed; They can’t be bought cheaply due to cracked spines and inscriptions; can’t be collected; can’t be read and shared with a room full of first graders. No one will scourer flea markets in hopes of scoring a first edition digital book. The printed book isn’t going to go away completely-- not as long as people enjoy owning things. The desire to possess what we hold dear runs too deeply for it to just stop.
Make no mistake though, book publishing is changing. But rather than fear the end of a few hundred-year old tradition, writers and illustrators should welcome the new technology. Ebook readers present new possibilities for interaction. Like the popular LeapPad series or the Talk N Play from the 1980’s, children’s ebooks can engage readers rather than passively entertain them-- but ebooks can be taken further than their predecessors. Rather than being stuck with a script and button-pressing, writers and illustrators can now think of new ways to tell stories that involve audio, music, animation, video, puzzles, customization… and eventually 3D.
electronic story books then and now.
The process will be slow to start-- publisher will think that they have to literally translate one medium to another instead of taking advantage of the new freedom-- but eventually someone will create an epicture book that inspires a new genre, a brand-new form of entertainment.
I also foresee custom printing for books not commercially available in print, opening up the publishing world to new sources of revenue. Eventually stories may be tailor-made for their readers, haute couture in dust jackets. Story characters, plots and settings will be fully customizable-- like the book equivilant of Little Big Planet. Readers will be able to design and order books online and have them shipped directly to them, no book stores needed.
I for one am very excited to see what the future will bring. May some one much brighter than me figure out how to build on the new technology. Or I guess I could get on the stick and start experimenting with it myself. Hmmm…
What do you think the future of children’s books will look like?
-Jovan
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