Picture Book Outlook Perhaps Not So Bad
Decatur Metro | October 11, 2010 | 9:10 amLittle Shop of Stories’ Diane Capriola writes in reply to our “Winnona Park Elementary Cited in NY Times Regarding Languishing Picture Book Sales” post…
There’s been a lot of public commentary and outcry on the web in the past 24 hours regarding [the New York Times] article. Apparently, the mom who “forces” her kids to read big kid books feels her comments were taken out of context (http://zenleaf.amandagignac.com/2010/10/when-quotes-are-taken-out-of-context.html), and our own Ilene Zeff was dismayed that her published comments did not fully represent her thoughts on the issue.
Little Shop is the book fair vendor for Winnona Park, and I work closely with Ilene to bring books that students of all grade and reading levels will want to read. We send picture books, chapter books, graphic novels, and a considerable number of non fiction titles. Whether picture or chapter book, roughly 90% of the inventory is always paperback, unless there’s something big (and coveted) in hardcover like a new Wimpy Kid or Percy Jackson, or in the picture book arena, a new Skippy Jon Jones or Fancy Nancy. This makes the fair affordable for everyone, but especially those kids who may not have many books at home. The way we see it, those kids can either go home with one book that costs $18.99 or 3 or 4 books that cost $5.99 each.
If you read the Times piece, you’d think we didn’t send or sell picture books to Winnona Park. This is not because of anything Ilene said or didn’t say. We do send picture books but they are most often paperback classics like Blueberries for Sal, anything by Kevin Henkes, Bread and Jam for Frances. It is rare that, when a book fair ends at the WP, there are any of these books left. Students, parents, and teachers- they gobble these wonderful treasures up.
I am happy to report that in our fine little town, picture books are alive and well.
Slate.com runs an occasional series regarding bogus trends ginned up by the news media. The NYT tends to be one of the worst offenders. For example, the link below is Slate’s takedown of a recent NYT article reporting that more and more, chic women in New York are riding bicycles around Manhattan while dressed in their most fashion-forward clothing (“Heels on Wheels” the NYT titles the story). As it turns out, there is little evidence offered to support the article’s premise.
http://www.slate.com/id/2269270/
Stories regarding what’s “in” or “out” are highly subjective, and in the case of the picture book article, it appears the reporter edited the quotes she got to fit the trend she wanted to report. One question, WHERE ARE THE NYT’S EDITORS TO CHECK THIS STUFF? One would think they would start to get embarrassed by their reporters not being able to even get the fluff pieces right.