Whoo Knew Owls Would Play Such a Large Part in Children's Literature?

Children's Literature is awash with owls.  From Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel to Harry Potter's loyal Hedwig, owls have appeared regularly in the genre.  The question is why?

I have always felt owls posses a mysterious majesty and believe many people are affected by their presence in the same way.  Within many cultures, owls symbolize strength and wisdom, due in large part to wings that allow soaring, claws that effectively clinch their prey, and laser eyes of field and forest, allowing nothing to go unnoticed.  These are all aspects admired by most children who, by virtue of being young and therefore, powerless, use vicariously.

Let's take a look at some, albeit some of this blogger's favorites, illustrate the love and admiration in kids' hearts for owls.  Owl Babies is a charmer, warm and fuzzy, by Martin Waddell.  These babies are as close as human babies as it gets.  All claws tucked away, this is a dream of a night time read!  

Another favorite of mine is The Owl and the Moon, again by Arnold Lobel.  I used to read this book to my boys, and they loved it, the soothing funniness of Owl's reaction to the moon and his environment.  Still a must-read for tucking-in time.

My all-time favorite owl book was written by my friend, Jane Yolan.  Owl Moon not only is a classic in the true sense of the word, it is biographical.  Jane's daughter loved to go owling with her dad, and the story comes directly from those adventures.  A delight for everyone, Owl Moon is a poem to nature, and love, and life.

Maybe there is something in the wisdom of owls.  After all, most cultures that validate these birds believe it to be true.  Or perhaps their most amazing eyes give an expectation of wisdom, all judicial, impartial, unbiased. Perhaps they allow us humans a glimmer into a mysterious world of non-judgmental behavior that makes and keeps kids emotionally whole.   Who knows, but one can hope.

The Bestselling Children's Books of 2012

How about a look at the bestselling kids' books of 2012.  Some surprises and some, not so much...

For children’s books, without a doubt, the Hunger Games was the story of the year. Its performance far exceeded all other books for children and teens.

 In 2012 Suzanne Collins’s dystopian trilogy sold an astounding 27.7 million copies: 15 million print books and 12.7 million e-books. Of that print number, 8.8 million was for hardcovers, since only the first of the three books is available in paperback. 

Though the Hunger Games was already a huge phenomenon before the March 2012 release of the Lionsgate film, the movie launched book sales into the stratosphere. Back in 2010, Hunger Games books sold 4.3 million copies, which jumped to 9.2 million in 2011; that number tripled in 2012, making for a 201% increase over previous year sales. 

Rick Riordan’s books show a different sales pattern, because a movie is not currently driving sales (the first film from his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Lightning Thief, was released in 2010; Sea of Monsters is due in theaters this August).

 Riordan’s various myth-based series sold a combined 5.6 million copies in 2012 (2.52 million in hardcover, 1.79 million in paper, and 1.27 million e-books). Those numbers are up slightly over 2011, when five million books were sold, though still down from 2010’s high-water mark of 10 million.

Other bestselling franchises of note: a combined 2.7 million copies sold of James Patterson’s assorted series; 2.1 million copies sold of Rachel Renée Russell’s Dork Diaries; two million copies of the first two books in Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy (#3 is due out this October); and 1.4 million Big Nate books by Lincoln Peirce. 

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series may have declined from its glory days, but it still sold 1.1 million in 2012, with almost half of that coming from e-books. Harry Potter, however, is virtually gone from the lists, with just one title (the first in the series) appearing on our paperback backlist chart.

Figures were supplied by RandomHouse in confidence for ranking purposes only; Penguin supplied e-book figures in confidence for ranking purposes only.

J.K. Rowling Sets Record with Sale of Harry Potter First Edition--All for Charity

For fans of the boy wizard, this could be the most coveted copy of all the Harry Potter books in the world.

A first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that contains author JK Rowling's notes and 22 original illustrations fetched STG150,000 ($A234,815) at a London auction recently. - a new record for a printed book by the author.

Sotheby's said the work, offered as part of a charity book sale jointly organized with the English PEN writers' association, was sold to an anonymous bidder by telephone.  Two bidders ratcheted up the price for the book before the hammer finally came down, triggering a round of applause at the Sotheby's auction house.

 

Rowling wrote many personal annotations, including editorial decisions, comments on the process of writing and a note on how she came to create the game of Quidditch.  She also drew about two dozen illustrations in the copy, including a sleeping baby Harry on a door step and an Albus Dumbledore Chocolate Frog card.

As part of the fundraising event, Rowling and dozens of other best-selling author were asked to "scribble second thoughts, marginalia or drawings" on a first-edition copy of one of their books. 

J.K. Rrowling

A copy of Roald Dahl's best-selling children's book Matilda containing new drawings by illustrator Quentin Blake fetched STG30,000 pounds, while an annotated copy of Kazuo Ishiguro's acclaimed novel The Remains of the Day was sold for STG18,000 pounds.  Other participating authors in the charity sale included Ian McEwan, Seamus Heaney, Lionel Shriver and Yann Martel.

In all, the sale raised a total of STG439,200 pounds.  Certainly a good day in the charity business!

New Study Finds the Number of Kids Reading eBooks Has Nearly Doubled Since 2010

Have a look at this interesting study from Scholastic.  Not surprisingly, ebook reading has exploded and will continue in that vein, I have no doubt.  Take a look at the material, and see what you think!


In the fourth edition of the Kids & Family Reading Report™ , a national survey released today, kids age 6-17 and their parents share their views on reading in the increasingly digital landscape and the influences that impact kids’ reading frequency and attitudes toward reading.
The study, a biannual report from Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and the Harrison Group, a leading marketing and strategic research consulting firm, reports that:

• The percent of children who have read an ebook has almost doubled since 2010 (25% vs. 46%).
• Half of children age 9-17 say they would read more books for fun if they had greater access to ebooks – a 50% increase since 2010.
• Overall, about half of parents (49%) feel their children do not spend enough time reading books for fun – an increase from 2010 when 36% of parents were dissatisfied with time their child spent reading.
• Seventy-two percent of parents show an interest in having their child read ebooks.

Findings reveal the potential for ebooks to motivate boys, who are more commonly known to be reluctant readers, to read more.

• One in four boys who has read an ebook says he is now reading more books for fun.

eBooks may also be the key to transition moderately frequent readers (defined as kids who read one to four days a week) to frequent readers (those who read five to seven days a week).

• More than half (57%) of moderately frequent readers who have not read an ebook agree they would read more if they had greater access to ebooks.

Even so, the love of and consistent use of print books is evident among kids, regardless of age.

• Eighty percent of kids who read ebooks still read books for fun primarily in print.
• Fifty-eight percent of kids age 9-17 say they will always want to read books printed on paper even though there are ebooks available (a slight decline from 66% in 2010), revealing the digital shift in children’s reading that has begun.

"We are seeing that kids today are drawn to both print books and ebooks, yet ereading seems to offer an exciting opportunity to attract and motivate boys and reluctant readers to read more books," noted Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic. "While many parents express concern over the amount of time their child spends with technology, nearly half do not have a preference of format for their child’s books. 

The message is clear – parents want to encourage more reading, no matter the medium.

The report also notes that the gender gap in reading frequency and attitudes towards reading is narrowing; however, the narrowing of the gap is driven more by decreases among girls than it is by increases in boys.

• Among girls since 2010, there has been a decline in frequent readers (42% vs. 36%), reading enjoyment (39% vs. 32% say they love reading), and the importance of reading books for fun (62% vs. 56% say it is extremely or very important).
• Among girls ages 12-17 there was an increase in the amount of time they spend visiting social networking sites and using their smartphones for going online.
• Among boys since 2010, there has been an increase in reading enjoyment (20% vs. 26% say they love reading), and importance of reading books for fun (39% vs. 47%). Reading frequency among boys has stayed steady, with 32% being frequent readers.

The study also looked at the influences that impact kids’ reading frequency, and parents ranked extremely high. The report found that having a reading role-model parent or a large book collection at home has a greater impact on kids’ reading frequency than does household income. Plus, building reading into kids’ daily schedules and regularly bringing home books for children positively impacts kids’ reading frequency.

New Study: 55% of YA Books Bought by Adults

Here is an interesting and important new post found at Publishers Weekly concerning adults who are reading Young Adult books--a first!


According to a new study, fully 55% of buyers of works that publishers designate for kids aged 12 to 17 -- known as YA books -- are 18 or older, with the largest segment aged 30 to 44.  Accounting for 28% of sales, these adults aren’t just purchasing for others -- when asked about the intended recipient, they report that 78% of the time they are purchasing books for their own reading. The insights are courtesy of Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age, an ongoing biannual study from Bowker Market Research that explores the changing nature of publishing for kids.

“The investigation into who is reading YA books began when we noticed a disparity between the number of YA e-books being purchased and the relatively low number of kids who claim to read e-books,” said Kelly Gallagher, v-p of Bowker Market Research. “The extent and age breakout of adult consumers of these works was surprising. And while the trend is influenced to some extent by the popularity of The Hunger Games, our data shows it’s a much larger phenomenon than readership of this single series.”

 

Indeed, 30% of respondents reported they were reading works in the Hunger Games series. But the remaining 70% of readers reported a vast variety of titles (over 220), only two of which commanded more than five percent of overall sales – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Breaking Dawn.

“Although bestsellers lead, there’s a long tail of rich reading that has interesting implications for the publishers of YA books in terms of discovery and consumer relationships,” said project editor Kristen McLean.

The trend is good news for publishers, as these adult consumers of YA books are among the most coveted demographic of book consumers overall. Additional insights from the Bowker study show these readers are:

Early adopters: More than 40% read e-books, equivalent to the highest adoption rates of adult genres of mystery and romance

• Committed: 71% say that if an e-book of their desired title was unavailable, they would buy the print book instead
• Loyal: Enjoying the author's previous books has a moderate or major influence over the book choice for more than two-thirds of the respondents
• Socially active: Although more than half of respondents reported having "no interest" in participating in a reading group, these readers are very active in social networks and often get recommendations from friends.

Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age is sponsored in the U.S. by Little Brown for Young Readers, Random House, HarperCollins, Scholastic, Disney, Penguin, DK, and Macmillan. To order a copy, contact Bowker Market Research at MarketResearch@bowker.com.

JK Rowlings and Hogwarts Style Tree House

Just a bit of fluff for a holiday weekend in the U.S.  And what better fluff than some sour grapes thrown at none other than JK Rowlings and her kids, no less!  But lest you get upset, Scottish sensitivities prevailed... 

 



Photograph: Jp Masclet/AP

It seems the city of Edinburgh council has given  author,  JK Rowling, the go-ahead to construct two  Hogwarts-style tree houses in the grounds of her home, despite objections from neighbors.

 

The author JK Rowling has won permission to build two Hogwarts-style tree houses in the garden of her home, despite complaints from neighbors
 
Rowling plans to build the two-story structures for her children David, nine, and Kenzie, seven, in the grounds of her17th century mansion in an Edinburgh suburb. The author of the Harry Potter series was given permission by City of Edinburgh council despite objections from several neighbours who are already upset by other renovations and building work around her home.
 
Drawings submitted to the council's planners show the tree-houses will be erected on tall stilts beside mature conifers in the garden. They will have tall cedar shingle conical roofs and be connected by long partly-elevated walkways and a rope bridge.
 
The buildings will feature turreted windows, pennants, a basket and pulley, and an owl perch. David's playhouse will include a long tunnel under a walkway and a fireman's pole; his sister's boasts a trapdoor, rope ladder, a metal slide and spiral staircase down to the garden.
 
Members of Cramond and Barnton community council had urged the council to reject the proposals because they believed a gap in a line of trees in her garden meant the tree houses would be visible to passers-by. Dr Patricia Eason, the community council's secretary, said: "Our concern is without this high and substantial screening belt of conifers, the entrance to the conservation area would be marked by this massive and very high tree house development and this would be quite out of character with the area and unacceptable."
 

Rowling's application was approved without a vote by the council's planning committee because less than six objections were received.  John Bury, the council's head of planning and building standards, said: "The proposals comply with the development plan and will not adversely impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area."
 

Ah, democracy and, again, a large dash of common sense at work in Scotland!   JK Rowlings, enjoy your hard earned compensation.  Authors rule!

Children's Books are Growing Fast Across the Genres

Have  a look at the children's section in the book store lately or see what's forthcoming this season, from picture books through titles for teens.

This fall's offerings span a wide variety of topics and suggest why children's books have turned into the fastest-growing segment of the publishing industry. And, interestingly, adults are crossing over to read their kids' books!

The magical spell J.K. Rowling cast over kid lit with "Harry Potter" found new blood with Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" saga and most recently, Suzanne Collins' fight-to-the-death "The Hunger Games," creating a halo effect for the entire genre that doesn't show any signs of slowing.

Last year, overall publisher revenues for children's books were up 12%, to $2.78 billion, and e-books made astounding gains, according to BookStats, a collaboration of the Assn. of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group.
 

In the middle-grade genre, Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" has begun a bevy of illustrated, humorous, confessional-style bestsellers, which will continue in the coming months.   Many forthcoming children's books have already been snatched up by movie studios.
 

The young adult, or YA, category is particularly healthy as a result of blockbuster franchises and strong crossover readership. Many young adult books are read as much by adults as they are by their intended teen audiences.

Scholastic reports that 50% of the readers of "The Hunger Games" are adults. And more than half of the readers of the bestseller "Divergent" by Veronica Roth are at least 25 years old, according to a HarperCollins spokeswoman.

The stigma of adults "reading down" with children's titles is gone, said David Levithan, editorial director of Scholastic Press, which also published the Harry Potter series in the U.S.

"Adults have no hesitation at all to buy young adult anymore, so it's very easy to cross over," said Levithan, who anticipates high adult readership for "The Raven Boys," a mythological paranormal thriller kicking off a four-book series by "Shiver" trilogy author Maggie Stiefvater, another Scholastic writer.

Like "The Raven Boys," many of the most anticipated titles for fall hybridize genres. Libba Bray's "Diviners," for example, is paranormal historical fiction that follows a young woman during the Roaring '20s who becomes embroiled in an occult-related murder mystery.
Paramount has already optioned Bray's book for film, which shows that readers aren't the only ones interested in what's coming.

"We're finding as much interest from networks and studios. They are so hungry for teen content they're acquiring rights even before the books come out," said Susan Katz, president and publisher of HarperCollins Children's Books. On Tuesday, the publisher will release "Don't Turn Around" from debut author Michelle Gagnon. The thriller, about a teen computer hacker, has already been optioned for television.

"What seems to be different about the teen market as opposed to adult fiction is that young, first-time authors have a wide-open opportunity to sell like gangbusters," Katz said.

Veronica Roth was in college when she began writing "Divergent," the first book in a trilogy that will conclude next year. The series, which has sold 2 million copies since it began in May 2011, was recently optioned by Summit Entertainment, the production studio that brought Meyer's "Twilight" saga to the big screen.

Although overshadowed by the crossover appeal and attention paid to young adult books, the middle-grade, or tween, category for readers ages 8 to 12 is drawing a growing number of talented authors.

 

This fall also sees the release of several highly anticipated sequels in bestselling series, including new installments in Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" and "Big Nate" by Lincoln Peirce.

susan.carpenter@latimes.com