Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children
Parents have begun pressing their kindergartners and first graders to leave the picture book behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Publishers cite pressures from parents who are mindful of increasingly rigorous standardized testing in schools.
“Parents are saying, ‘My kid doesn’t need books with pictures anymore,’ ” said Justin Chanda, the publisher of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. “There’s a real push with parents and schools to have kids start reading big-kid books earlier. We’ve accelerated the graduation rate out of picture books.”
And, from a bookseller:
“I see children pick up picture books, and then the parents say, ‘You can do better than this, you can do more than this.’ It’s a terrible pressure parents are feeling — that somehow, I shouldn’t let my child have this picture book because she won’t get into Harvard.”
I don't even know what to say without going into full-on rant mode. As you can probably imagine, GK is not a fan of the standardized testing--and not just because, um, the SAT did not exactly consider GK full of scholastic aptitude.
Rather, it's a matter of the priorities we give children: it's as if we're telling them, at every turn, that learning is just something you do for other people--people far, far away in educational administration offices, people we'll never meet who probably have corrupt interests, anyway. (We're not exactly a generation raised with trust in government organizations.) If we're going to take away books that are age-appropriate, we're going to take away, also, the joy children experience while reading. "Learning" will then be all stick, no carrot; all pre-prescribed memorization, no curiosity-driven exploration.
I'm not a picture book agent--when I receive queries for picture books, I amuse myself by (trying to--the meter is often off) reading them to my interns, but they're really not my area of expertise. (I also don't meet many picture book age children--if anyone can make me feel socially awkward, a toddler can.) Still, some of the works I receive are wordless and haunting--I got one that told the story of a cat's night out in gorgeous watercolors, and I still remember many of the pages.
But even with my limited picture book knowledge, I see listings for picture book sales on PM all the time. This article makes it sound like no one is ever buying them unless they're written by celebrities (um, puke. Sorry, but the whole "I'm a celebrity, therefore I get to write a book and get a huge advance that could have gone to several books by real writers! And I didn't even have to write the book myself! Isn't that neat!" thing really steams me). But that simply isn't so. Picture books seem to be selling fine.
Check out this week in picture book sales, courtesy of PM:
October 9, 2010
Children's: Picture book
Author/illustrator Monica Carnesi's LITTLE DOG LOST, about the brave rescue of Baltic, the dog, from the dangerous and freezing waters of the Baltic Sea -- based on a true story that made waves in the media internationally, to Nancy Paulsen at Nancy Paulsen Books, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency (world).
October 8, 2010
Children's: Picture book
Lise Friedman and Mary Dowdle's BECOMING CLARA: THE BALLET, a book of photographs about a young ballerina's experiences playing Clara in Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker, from auditions through opening night, to Leila Sales at Viking Children's, for publication in Fall 2012, by Jennifer Unter at The Unter Agency (World English).
October 8, 2010
Children's: Picture book
NYT bestseller and multiple Caldecott Honoree Mo Willems's HOORAY FOR AMANDA AND HER ALLIGATOR, to Alessandra Balzer at Balzer & Bray, for publication Spring 2011, by Marcia Wernick at Sheldon Fogelman Agency (NA).
October 7, 2010
Children's: Picture book
NYT bestselling author/illustrator Calef Brown's fanciful bestiary and book of inspiration for young artists, to Melissa Manlove at Chronicle, by Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
October 5, 2010
Children's: Picture book
Einstein's owners, Charles Cantrell and Dr. Rachel Wagner's A FRIEND FOR EINSTEIN: The Smallest Stallion, celebrating the unique size and personality of the mini miniature horse, to Stephanie Owens Lurie at Disney-Hyperion, for publication in April 2011, just in time to celebrate Einstein's first birthday, by Cheryl Pientka of Grinberg Literary (NA).
October 5, 2010
Children's: Picture book
Candace Ryan's MOO HOO, a companion to RIBBIT RABBIT, about a cow named Moo and owl named Hoo, who are the best of friends...until they meet a Roo the kangaroo, to Stacy Cantor at Walker, in a nice deal, by Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World).
But. To give you an idea, YA is generally acknowledged to be selling well--and there was just one more YA deal, since October 5--seven total.
Take that, NYTimes.
11 comments:
Facts: Funny how they can bring light to a hyped-up notion.
As a mom of a little person, my problem with picture books is that the only books he wants are the kind full of Diego or Cars characters.
It eats at me. I'm the kind of person that seeks out debut authors, looks for new talent. But as far as picture books go, it better relate to a TV show or he isn't interested. No matter how much I try. And the TV books are always the ones on display, so they're the first thing he sees at the bookstore.
I could rant about this for ages.
Aaack, I found that article depressing...I grew to love reading because of the picture books I explored as a child. Reading was fun--it wasn't a goal-orientated exercise from my parents or my school. Kids will move on to chapter books when they feel ready--when they're bored with picture books. Why force the issue, and probably kill their enjoyment of reading in the process? Sigh.
But heartening stats at the end of the post--thank you for that :)
The delightful picture book IT'S A BOOK is one of my recent purchases. I can't (or, refuse) to imagine printed books, picture or otherwise, truly disappearing.
This makes me nuts.
Nuts.
Crazy nuts. Seriously, like I can't even see straight it makes me insane.
(Puts on kindergarten teacher hat.)
Look, I think it's important to get kids reading, I really do--but here's the thing... they aren't going to read if it isn't interesting. The more we push, the more chances they have to push back.
It's like people have no appreciation for the ART of a picture book. How is that not just as valuable to a child as reading? I want kids to see and fall in love with the brush strokes of an amazing watercolor, to see how colors blend together and make other colors, to understand how one artist's interpretation of a blue bird is completely different than someone else's--that's what picture books offer to kids. Sure it's nice to see them use their imaginations, but if we don't fill up their little tabula rosa's with beautiful drawings and paintings early--then we're failing them in the same way we would be failing them if we didn't read AT ALL!!
Picture books: the first glimmer of a lifetime love of reading (and some of the best moments of my parenting career).
As an educator and a mother, I agree with you about standardized testing. In attempts to fit children equally into the same box, all it accomplishes is the defeat of children's spirits and their academic self worth.
I have three children-- ages 11, 5, and 2-- and a house FULL of picture books that are read and enjoyed by each one of my kids (my 11 year old is especially fond of It's a Book-- if you don't have it GK, get it. Or I'll send it to you. Because for the luddite in all of us, it is fan-freakin-tastic).
When I read that article I was *so* steamed, because, well, it feels like an extremely low-blow against true literacy and creative thinking/comprehension/imagination... Because yes, my firstborn didn't touch much more than a picture book until he was eight years old. But guess what? He went from Magic Tree House to Harry Potter in one week, because he was ready. And now, my biggest "problem" is finding all the hiding spots and flashlights he hides so he can read well into the night. He reads anywhere between three and eight books A WEEK, and I truly believe it is because he was never pushed to read before he was also ready to comprehend (um, okay, that and the fact that we have no tv or video games or computer games of any kind in the house. That sorta helps too;)). Is my five year old learning to read at a faster pace? Yes. Will I ever stop encouraging him to pick up picture books? Heck no. They are too beautiful, too filled with the heart and soul and depth of childhood to ever, ever remove them from our family's library.
But in truth, that's beside the point. The big beef I have with the NYT article is that I believe it is erroneous-- and dangerously so in a society of helicopter parents who hire tutors for their five year old children to make sure they will be ahead by the time they apply for college 12 years later. If parents swallow that load of hooey, picture books might *actually* begin a real decline. In response to that article, our amazing local bookstore dedicated its window to the joy of picture books-- because the owners understand a true love of literature can be fostered at a very early age, by having it be a visual, familiar, lovely and SIMPLE experience.
Stepping off soapbox. Getting glass of wine and sea salt chocolate bar because I'm all worked up.
Some of my most cherished memories of grade school are of my school librarian, Mrs. Bittenbender (real name). James and the Giant Peach would've been just okay without the pictures. It rocked because of the awesoem illustrations.
As a former teacher standardized testing is a joke. The only way it could truly paint an accurate picture of aptitude is if EVERY school district in the nation had the same funding and curriculum.
S-Testing is extremely biased. Take one look at an inner city school here in Philly then travel out to the burbs. Can you really tell me those little kids are getting a fair and equal education? I think not.
Yes, and one day instead of having dreams we'll all just dream in text. Where's the arm jack to stream straight binary code into our veins?
Oh well. My nieces still love picture books, and while I have no kids of my own (yet) I will very happily keep picture books in my home because we (my nieces and I) still enjoy them!
The thing with picture books is that in my opinion they help to nurture a child's imagination from the very beginning. The bright colours interest them and draw them into the world of reading. Why would you want to get rid of that?
Plus, I agree with you whole heartedly on the celeb book culture. It really annoys me when there are plenty of good writers out there being overshadowed by celebs who don't even try to write there own novels.
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