WHAT HAPPENS NEXT IN CHILDREN'S BOOKS?

Report on Editor's Book Panel, moderated by Roger Sutton, hosted by the Foundation of Children's Books at Boston College

On Tuesday, January 30th The Foundation for Children’s Books hosted a panel discussion panel discussion entitled, “What Happens Next in Children’s Books?” at Boston College. NCBLA president Mary Brigid Barrett was able to attend and this is her report.

Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of The Horn Book, http://www.hbook.com/, moderated an enlightening discussion that addressed not so much what happens next in children’s books, but rather, what is happening now.

Joining Mr. Sutton in conversation were editors: Margaret Raymo of Houghton Mifflin, Judy O’Malley of Charlesbridge Publishing, and Elizabeth Bicknell of Candlewick Press representing all that is good and promising in children’s publishing.

The audience was the “usual crowd”—intersting librarians, committed teachers, and children book enthusiasts. And with a panel of gifted editors slated to speak, a slew of aspiring authors and illustrators were in attendance perusing the crowd, eager to identify the editors, ever hopeful, wondering— should I approach her now or after the presentation? Should I tell her the entire plot of my 1, 789 page epic historical novel for middle graders or wait and put it in a cover letter? –True Cinderellas yearning for that one magic moment when an editor, perhaps the editor will say, “Sure, send it to me.”

Mr. Sutton asked each editor to share her professional background. Ms. Raymo came up the ranks through the traditional transition of English major to hard working peon to talented, experienced editor. When Ms. O’Malley shared that she began her publishing career in fashion magazines such as Seventeen and Glamour, some members of the audience strained to get a view of her attire, to discover, if in deed, the editor wore Prada. Saucy Ms. Bicknell shared an entertaining and witty narrative full of eccentric characters and serendipitous events detailing her professional journey beginning in England and ending in Cambridge, Massachusetts, by way of California.


Panelists discussed the every growing impact of big chains on the book business in the post-Potter world where corporate interests have discovered that there is big money to be made in young people’s publishing. I live in an area of Massachusetts serviced by a “B” level Barnes & Noble, and cannot help but note that someone somewhere on the corporate ladder at B&N has determined that my neighborhood is not smart enough to be exposed to higher forms of literature and art. Is'nt that a form of intellectual censorship? We are all feeling the big book chain impact in our personal and professional lives, as are our kids. Is there anything we can do about it?

Mr. Sutton opined that he believes graphic novels are trend; some of the editors disagreed. I spend a great deal of time working with kids in a wide variety of school situations, and have found that graphic novels are a great way to reach some kids. Teaching creative writing to young people over the course of ten years, I have observed that students’ skill in depicting time, place, setting, in conveying characterization, has greatly diminished. Their skill in writing dialogue has grown, often times without any formal instruction. Not surprising. Many young people’s main exposure to the narrative takes place watching an electronic screen. Graphic novels most closely duplicate that visual experience. Ours is an increasingly visual society and graphic novels are representative of that trend.--If you doubt, look at Time magazines from the 1920's on and compare the text space to the pictoral space; the text space diminishes with each decade. I hope that Mr. Sutton is right when he says that in the long run, and short run, books will succeed because they offer a different, more intimate, more human, higher sensory experience.

The fantasy explosion was discussed, pros and cons. Ms. Bicknell stated frankly that fantasy was not one of her interests. There are, of course, many great fantasy novels, but like Ms. Bicknell, I sometimes get distracted by multi-syllabic Welsh/Celtic inspired names like Gwythrellamyn and Magralynmynryn and wonder if character names with more than one “y” should be banned? Aren’t some fantasy novels just realistic fictions in costume?

An audience member voiced a question concerning what she believed to be an increased blurring of fact and fiction in children’s books, specifically criticizing the use of the term “creative nonfiction.” Why should we be surprised by blurring of fact and fiction in children’s publishing, if it does indeed exist? In the greater world that blurring has been increasing for years- which is one of the reasons why the NCBLA is mounting a democracy@risk (http://www.thencbla.org/democracyatrisk.html) summit at the Library of Congress in spring, 2008. I am unfamiliar with the term “creative nonfiction” and wonder if Frank Lutz-- the pollster and wordsmith who has changed the estate taxes to death taxes, global warming to climate change--- was called in as a consultant to create this label? Is creative nonfiction used to describe bad historical fiction or poorly written nonfiction? Please, someone, my ignorance is in great need of education!

I was frustrated that little time was left to discuss the fate and future of the picture book—in my own neighborhood, the Barnes & Noble has recently cut the picture book display and stock area in half, increasing its mass market non-fiction section. The overall consensus of the panel was that low picture book sales are the result of population swings. I cannot but question that ---even with a downswing in population the number of kids under ten years of age is in the millions. In fact, according to the U.S. Census, there are approximately 40 million children ages birth to 10 years, with boys having a slight edge in all age groups. The economy is good, unemployment is down. Might there possibly be other factors involved in decreasing picture book sales?

Are there creative reasons why picture books are not selling? Picture books were once full bodied stories, the writer and illustrator sharing equal responsibility in storytelling, with the balance of story control tipping slightly toward the writer’s side of the scale. Since the great success of outstanding picture books by Maurice Sendak, Ezra Jack Keats, and Leo Lionni, as well as other talented illustrators in the 1960’s, picture books have evolved into an illustrator’s medium; the writer's contribution is often minimal. Yet, many of those pre-Wild Thing era books are as popular and beloved by children today as they have been for generations. Is it time to reconsider the role of the writer in the creation of a picture book?

Mr. Sutton and the editors all voiced a belief that the traditional printed book will continue to exist despite electronic publishing advances, because books fill basic human needs —sensory needs, privacy needs, creative needs, soul and mind needs—needs which electronic publications cannot address. Mr. Sutton wisely suggested that books will succeed if they continue to celebrate those tactile, human, sensory, differences, those differences that enhance the individual, personal experience of reading.

With those thoughts in mind, have some picture books become too slick, too polished in appearance? Human beings are chronically imperfect and it is that imperfection that fascinates, that attracts, leading us from mere interest to empathy. All visual media uses the same basic technology and design software, with professional variations. That means many picture books now have the sterile, perfect, and often formulaic look of some Hollywood television and movie productions. Once, art directors and editors discouraged illustrators from using illustration mediums, like pastels, that needed to be photographed in order to reproduce successfully in print form, because it distanced the reader even more from the artist’s original work, revealing less of the artist’s hand. Today’s software not only distances us from the artist’s wonderfully imperfect marks, it distances us from the typesetter’s hand, too, removing tactile human qualities. Creative, talented art directors like Chris Paul and David Saylor strive to keep the artist’s hand visible and we can only hope that others follow their lead.

Do some publishers bear part of the responsibility in the decline of picture books sales to a market of 40 million children? Institutional markets, representing a highly educated consumer group, are no longer the primary purchasers of books for young people. Have publishers created a marketing strategy that successfully meets the needs of a general public consumer group that for the most part has little, if any, knowledge of children’s books or of what makes a quality children’s book? Are some publisher’s ultimately self-defeating when books stay in print such a short time that word of mouth marketing, the strongest advertising, is impossible? Are publishers investigating ways to successfully circumvent the big store powerhouses and use the internet, and other means, to communicate directly with potential customers, reaching out to parents, grandparents, and teachers beyond the traditional literature “choir”?

For the last couple of years I have been taking an informal survey asking every parent and teacher I meet where they find information about children’s books. The vast majority of parents I encounter do not have any idea where to go to find out information concerning great books for kids. A few teachers mentioned The Horn Book and School Library Journal, but most mentioned Scholastic’s website. Scholastic does indeed have an informative website, but would it not be best that teachers find information from a more impartial and/or noncommercial source?

Are professional publishing associations lobbying and advocating aggressively for renewed funding for school and public libraries on a national and state level to increase, once again, institutional purchasing dollars-- Which will also, by putting the purchasing power of books back into the hands of educated buyers, increase the possibility that books of high entertainment, literary, and artistic value will be published, read, and appreciated by children of all ages—books that will also represent the wide and multi-cultural experiences of American children’s lives.

The evening presentation was a great success, wonderfully stimulating! I encourage everyone to look into the further offerings of the Foundation for Children’s Books at http://www.thefcb.org/events/