First National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Named

Scieszka. Photo: Marc Bryan-Brown.

Jon Scieszka, author of such bestselling picture books as The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, has been named the country’s first national ambassador for children’s books.

Modeled on the highly successful Children’s Laureate position in the U.K., the two-year appointment is a joint effort of the Library of Congress and the Children’s Book Council. “It’s an old idea that has kicked around for a while,” said John Cole, director of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, “but it got a new lease on life when I got an email from Robin Adelson,” back in October 2006. The email was one of Adelson’s first acts as the newly installed executive director of the CBC.

The two joined forces and the position was eventually approved by Librarian of Congress James Billington. This past October Cole and Adelson met with a five-person committee of children’s book experts to select the first ambassador.

“Jon is articulate, smart, funny, and is someone who appeals to kids,” Cole said. “His sense of humor makes him an especially attractive candidate. And with Guys Read, he’s already part of the network.” Scieszka, who calls his selection a “spectacular honor,” said he chose the theme “Reaching Reluctant Readers” as his platform to dovetail with the Guys Read initiative he founded in 2001, which focuses on boys and reading. “I see this as an extension of what I’m already doing now,” he said. “It’s a great way to expand that mission.”   read more

“We were definitely busy, and we were happy with our season. I don’t think sales were down from last year, but I don’t think they were up significantly.” Bookseller Barbara O’Grady’s report sums up the sentiments of most of the children’s booksellers we spoke with, for our annual holiday survey. O’Grady, owner of Adventures for Kids in Ventura, Calif., said her store had a lot of “big dates” in terms of sales, “starting the day after Thanksgiving.” Most reported modest sales increases over Christmas 2006, but there were exceptions (both positive and negative).
In Portland, Ore., Kira Porton, children’s buyer at A Children’s Place, estimated that holiday sales at her store were up 20% over last year. “I don’t know if it was because the neighborhood is growing—more young families—but we are getting new customers every day so that was good,” she said, counting Olivia Helps with Christmas by Ian Falconer (S&S), The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and Gallop! by Rufus Butler Seder (Workman) among hot sellers at her store.

But farther down the Pacific coast, Jennifer Christensen, co-owner of Imagine That! Children’s Bookstore in Riverside, Calif., reported that sales in her store’s fourth quarter were down by 20%. “Everyone said when they came in they weren’t spending as much this as they had in previous years,” she said. “It’s just in Southern California, especially in the town we’re in. The housing market, gas—the economy’s just not that strong. [It’s] tight for people who bought homes beyond their means. In our region it’s impacted everyone.”   read more

This month Chronicle Books is publishing Doodle All Year: Over 365 Pages of Fun!, its fourth title in a series of interactive coloring books by Taro Gomi. The three other titles—Scribbles, Doodles and Squiggles—have sold over 223,000 copies, which, priced at $18.95, make the series one of the publisher’s most profitable.

“It’s the kind of book that works in all channels—specialty trade and gift markets—that’s really where Chronicle shines,” said Bill Boedeker, publishing director of Chronicle’s children’s division. Because Doodle All Year, which has a 35,000-copy first printing, is somewhat smaller in trim size than the three previous volumes, Chronicle lowered the price point to $16.95. “We’re following the Japanese format,” said Boedeker.    read more