Talking Kids at NAIBA

This story originally appeared in Children's Bookshelf on September 28, 2006 Sign up now!

by Kevin Howell, Children's Bookshelf -- Publishers Weekly, 9/28/2006

Children’s publishing was well represented at the annual New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association gatheringin King of Prussia, Pa., from Sept. 15–17. In fact, many thought the best line of the entire show was delivered by Libba Bray, when she accepted the award for NAIBA’s best children’s book of the year, Rebel Angels (Delacorte). Picking up the award for the second year in a row (her Great and Terrible Beauty won last year), Bray sang the praises of indie booksellers, saying, “Independent booksellers are the Iggy Pop of the book biz: on the edge, a little dangerous, cooler than you’ll ever think of being and still alive despite the odds.”

At the same ceremony, Jane O’Connor picked up the award for NAIBA’s best illustrated children’s book, Fancy Nancy (HarperCollins). “I love getting prizes,” she said. “But I’m only half of the act, and the plain half at that,” honoring absent illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser. “This experience has been rapturous, which is a fancy word for happy.”

One well-attended seminar was “Engaging Young Readers,” in which Dinah Paul of A Likely Story Children’s Bookstore in Alexandria, Va., and Alicia Hoffman of Talking Leaves in Buffalo, N.Y., offered tips to fellow booksellers.

“Every year teenagers get wiser a year earlier,” Paul said. “Parents think they’re protecting their kids, but they’re not. Teens enjoy the darkness of stories, especially those that transcend it.” Among the mature YA titles in her store that are favorites among teen readers:

· Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl series (Little, Brown), which she called “Sex and the City for the teen set.”

· Julia Bell’s Massive (Simon Pulse), which deals with weight issues and bulemia.

· Patricia McCormick’s Cut (Scholastic/Push), about a girl who is a cutter and a boy hooked on drugs.

“Fifteen-year-olds don’t want to read Anne of Green Gables because they read that at age nine,” Paul pointed out. “The level of reading in school has been raised, according to the reading list we’re getting. The ninth-grade reading list had no YA titles at all.”

Admitting she didn’t know where to draw the line, because children are seeing so much on television, Paul told of taking a father aside to advise him that Running with Scissors might not be appropriate for his 12-year-old. The father bought the book, read it and thanked her for bringing it to his attention.

Among the crossover YA titles that were recommended for teens who want something more mature:

· Carolyn Mackler’s The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things (Candlewick), which Paul called “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret grows up in the real world.”

· Frank Portman’s King Dork (Delacorte), a title Paul called ideal for boys. “Boys tend to get shafted in YA,” she said. “Books for boys is the biggest hole in YA. King Dork is quirky, edgy and is all about two kids thinking up names for their nonexistent band.”

Among the suggestions for activities to woo YA readers:

· Start a “teen board” that meets once a month in the store for pizza and discussion. Unlike a book club, the teen board members all read different books, discuss them and create shelf-talkers to encourage browsers to pick up the book. Kids earn a 20% discount coupon for every shelf-talker they create in Paul’s store. She also lures them into the store with those coupons to chat with kids on the weekend and to play costume characters at specific events.

· Organize a “book bash.” Pick two books to go head-to-head. Build a display of the two books and offer a discount coupon toward the purchase of either or both books. Throughout the month, the bookstore collects the paper ballots that are cast between the two rival books. The winner is announced at a party held in the store with events geared around the winning book.

· Start a Yahoo user group for teens to talk about hot new books.

· Hold a teen/tween reading night on one of the store’s slower nights where the group just sits and reads books from the shelves. Although this sometimes doesn’t encourage purchase, it does create a habit of going to the bookstore.

· Start a summer reading club based on your school’s summer reading list.

· Don’t forget homeschoolers, who often fly under the radar. Find organizations in your area on the Internet and contact them about qualifying for the store’s teacher discount. This is a tight group who are well-connected with each other and happy to spread the word.

· Remember that librarians are true book lovers and are usually more interested in buying books through a local bookstore, where they can connect with people, rather than getting a larger discount through a wholesaler. Get the e-mail address of local school librarians and email them your newsletter.